Following Daihatsu’s admission of wrongdoing in safety crash tests last year, Japan’s ministry of land, infrastructure, transport and tourism (MLIT) requested various car manufacturers to verify their car certification applications, referred to as “investigation of facts regarding the existence of irregularities in applications for type designation.”
Recently, Mazda announced it had investigated all of its 2,403 tests, where it discovered irregularities in a total of five tests in two test categories. These have since been reported to the MLIT on May 30, 2024 and it was identified that 150,878 units produced and 149,313 units sold are affected – all in Japan.
One of the irregularities involves crash testing. In a certification test for occupant protection in the event of a frontal collision, it was discovered that an external device was used to trigger a timed activation of the airbag instead of spontaneous activation based on collision detection by an onboard sensor.
The Japanese carmaker named the Mazda 6 (known as the Atenza there) as well as the Mazda 3 (known as the Axela there) as models that failed to meet type designation, with a total of 97,708 units produced and 97,192 units sold being affected.
According to the company, the sedan models are no longer in production and it was confirmed that they still have the performance to meet the legal standards for occupant protection performance in the event of a frontal collision.
“There is no safety issue for the customers to continue to drive the affected vehicles. We will promptly take appropriate measures such as confirmation of conformance with laws and regulations in consultation with the ministry of land, infrastructure, transport and tourism,” Mazda wrote in its release.
Meanwhile, the second irregularity involves the rewriting of engine control software in the testing of two models that are still currently in production. The cars are the Mazda MX-5 RF (known as the Roadster RF there) and Mazda 2 equipped with a 1.5 litre petrol engine.
As the company explains, the test performed on these models should have been performed using engine control software in the same condition as a mass-production vehicle, but it was conducted by using control software in which the ignition timing adjust function was partially deactivated.
In total, 53,170 units produced and 52,121 units sold of these two models are affected, with production of both temporarily suspended since May 30 this year. This irregularity is not related to safety and the company says owners can continue to drive their vehicles safely.
“We will promptly conduct the tests again under the same conditions as those for mass-production vehicles and make preparations to undergo a re-examination by the authorities for type designation,” Mazda said.
The carmaker said an insufficiency of governance structure and mechanism to check whether tests are conducted in conformance with laws and regulations for type designation was one reason for the irregularities. This is compounded by inadequate procedures for conducting tests as well as the lack of facilities to stably meet testing conditions, all of which it will remedy. The company also apologised for the inconvenience and concern this may cause to its customers and other parties.
The post Mazda confirms irregularities in five tests – 150,878 units of Mazda 2, 3, 6, MX-5 RF produced affected appeared first on Paul Tan's Automotive News.
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