Nissan to recall 1.16m vehicles over inspection scandal

October 7, 2017

TOKYO- Nissan Motor Co. informed the Japanese transport ministry on Friday that it will recall around 1.16 million units of 38 vehicle models, following revelations that some final inspections were carried out by unqualified technicians.

Vehicles subject to the recall are those manufactured between Jan. 6, 2014, and Sept. 19, 2017, covering 28 Nissan models and 10 models supplied on an original equipment manufacturer basis to Isuzu Motors Ltd., Suzuki Motor Corp., Mazda Motor Corp. Mitsubishi Motors Corp. and Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corp.

Although Nissan has yet to find out when the final checks by unqualified workers started, the Japanese automaker narrowed the recall range to vehicles that had not received the first mandatory safety checks since being registered.

It is unusual for an automaker to recall all vehicles registered within the past three years.

Nissan will investigate the faulty inspections and plans to turn in a report to the ministry by the end of this month.

According to people familiar with the matter, the ministry may slap Nissan with a fine of 200 million yen if the company is found to have disguised the unqualified inspections as qualified ones by falsifying related documents.

Japan raised the upper limit on the fine against data falsifications from 300,000 yen by revising the road trucking vehicle law in the wake of the fuel economy test data manipulation by Mitsubishi Motors. The amended law, put in effect in May, also stipulates cancellation of a type certificate necessary for mass vehicle production in case of law violation.

Pundits also pointed to the possibility of Nissan being ordered to pay administrative penalties up to 300,000 yen for each of the vehicles subject to the recall. Jiji Press