Details of 10 Toyota cars halted from production due to diesel engine certification fraud

A special committee recently conducted an investigation into Toyota regarding certification regulations related to the emission performance of forklift engines and construction machinery. During the investigation, the committee found some irregularities in the certification tests of diesel engines developed by Toyota Industries, a branch of the Toyota Group.

In particular, the special investigating committee discovered anomalies in the power output tests for the certification of three diesel engine models by Toyota. The electronic control units used in the power output tests were different from those used in the engine production process.

As a result, Toyota had to halt production of a total of 10 vehicle models that use these three diesel engines, including the Toyota Fortuner, Toyota Innova, Toyota Hiace, Toyota Hilux, Toyota Land Cruiser 300, Lexus LX500D, Toyota Land Cruiser Prado, Toyota Granace, Mazda Bongo Brawny, and Hino Dyna/Dutro.

List of 10 vehicle models affected by the diesel engine certification fraud of Toyota

Speaking at a press conference in Japan, Koichi Ito, Chairman of Toyota Industries, explained that the cause of this issue was a lack of communication with the Toyota Group, as well as insufficient coordination regarding the testing procedures and compliance requirements.

According to Toyota Industries, they have sold approximately 84,000 affected diesel engines in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2023. In an exchange with reporters on January 29, 2024, Koji Sato, Chief Operating Officer of Toyota, revealed that the company currently uses 36,000 affected engines per month worldwide, equivalent to 432,000 engines per year. However, Toyota’s spokesperson couldn’t immediately provide information on how many affected vehicles the company has sold in previous years.

In Japan, production has been temporarily halted at 6 assembly lines in 4 plants. The company stated that they have confirmed that both the engines and vehicles affected still meet the engine performance standards.

Toyota stated that they have been working to explain the detailed issues to regulatory authorities. The company will also take measures such as conducting new engine certification tests in the presence of regulatory agencies, if necessary.

According to Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, an on-site investigation will be conducted at the Hekinan plant of Toyota Industries in Aichi Prefecture, where the company produces automotive and industrial engines, on January 30, 2024.