Following the emergence of certification testing irregularities for diesel engines at Toyota Industries Corporation (TICO) which led to a probe, the Japanese transport ministry has announced that it will lift the suspension on shipment of engines manufactured by TICO, Toyota has announced.
The models that will see resumed production are the Toyota Hiace, Ace and Granace which are made at the Inabe Plant production line #1, as well as at the Gifu Auto Body production line.
The certification irregularities surfaced when a special investigation committee found that the horsepower output of the engines being tested were measured using ECUs with software that was different from those used in mass production, in order for values in the test results to appear smoother with less variation.
In January, Toyota stated that 10 vehicle models used the affected engines, the 1GD, 2GD and F33A. The 2.8 litre 1GD is used on the Land Cruiser Prado from August 2020 (since discontinued), the HiAce/GranAce/Bongo Brawny from 2017 and the Hino Dyna/Dutro from May 2021, as well as the Thai-made Hilux and Thai and Indonesian-made Fortuner from May 2020.
Meanwhile, the 2.4 litre 2GD is used in the Thai-assembled Hilux and Indian-built Innova units from May 2020. Finally, the 3.3 litre V6 F33A series diesel engines are units equipping the Land Cruiser 300 and LX 500d models built by subsidiary Toyota Auto Body.
Toyota noted that production of the Land Cruiser 300 with the diesel engine for overseas markets has already resumed, and domestic delivery of this model has also resumed as of this announcement. Shipment of the Hilux pick-up truck, which is manufactured at Toyota Motor Thailand, will resume on March 4, it added.
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