Toyota apologizes for cheating on certification tests; stops production of 3 models

Toyota apology overview: 

• Who: Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda apologized for the company cheating on certification tests.
• Why: Toyota cheated on certification tests for seven vehicle models.
• Where: The apology was made at a news conference in Tokyo, Japan.

Toyota was cheating on certification tests for seven of its vehicle models, including for collision and airbag inflation tests, the automaker’s chairman said Monday.

Chairman Akio Toyoda apologized for the massive cheating scandal, and suspended production of three of them, the Associated Press reports.

The suspended models are the Corolla Fielder, Corolla Axio and Yaris Cross. Deceptive tests were also found to have been applied to discontinued vehicle models.

“We sincerely apologize,” Toyoda said Monday at a press conference.

Toyota, which is based in Japan, said the wrongdoing does not affect the safety of vehicles already being driven by its customers, including the Corolla subcompact and Lexus luxury vehicles.

Mass fraudulent testing

Toyota —- which sells more than 10 million vehicles around the world —- now admits that its fraudulent testing scheme involved the use of inadequate or outdated data in collision tests.

It also involved incorrect testing of airbag inflation and rear-seat damage in crashes. Engine power tests were found to have been falsified as well, the Associated Press reports.

The disclosures come after a Japanese government investigation into Toyota, which began in January, turned up fraudulent activity. 

Toyoda said on Monday some certification rules might be overly stringent, but he didn’t condone the violations at all.

“We are not a perfect company,” Toyoda said. “But if we see anything wrong, we will take a step back and keep trying to correct it.”

Other automakers also caught in investigation 

Several other automakers were also exposed in the investigation, and have halted production of certain models of vehicles. 

Mazda Motor Corp. was hit with accusations of irregular certification testing after the investigation. It has stopped production of two models: the Roadster and Mazda 2. 

The company said incorrect engine control software was used in the tests. None of the violations affected safety, it said. 

Honda Motor Co. also apologized Monday for improper tests relating to noise levels and torque. It said affected older models — the Accord, Odyssey and Fit — are no longer in production. None of the violations affected safety, it said. 

In April, Toyota issued a recall for 211,000 2023-2024 Prius and Prius Prime vehicles due to a rear door latch issue that can allow doors to open while the vehicle is in motion.

The Prius recall impacts 55,000 vehicles in the United States, with the remainder in Japan, the rest of North America, Europe and Asia.

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