Toyota Halts Sales of Yaris Model in Thailand After Safety Test Issue

[webfact]

 

by Paul Rujopakarn

BANGKOK (NNT) - Japanese carmaker Toyota Motor Corp has stopped sales and deliveries of its Yaris Ativ in Thailand, after its affiliate Daihatsu rigged part of the door in side-collision safety tests.

 

Masahiko Maeda, Toyota’s CEO for the Asia region, said at a press conference in Bangkok that the problem may have occurred due to pressure on Daihatsu to shorten the development time of the Ativ. He added, however, that the vehicles customers are currently using are safe.

 

Toyota was working with the Thai government to resume sales of the model, which has been produced in Toyota’s Gateway plant in Chachoengsao province, and further investigation was underway.

 

Maeda said, "If development had been carried out under appropriate conditions, this kind of problem would of course not have happened."

 

Toyota and Daihatsu disclosed last month that they were investigating how part of the door in side-collision safety tests carried out for some 88,000 small cars had been changed for the purpose of side-on crash safety testing.

 

Daihatsu has said some 76,000 of those vehicles were Yaris Ativ models mainly bound for Thailand, Mexico and the Gulf Cooperation Council. The Gulf Cooperation Council comprises Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman.

 

Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda said he had visited the Gateway plant for the first time in a decade to assure workers, also saying he had come to Thailand because he loved it.

 

Toyoda has a personal attachment to the kingdom, calling it his "home away from home" at an event to celebrate Toyota’s 60th anniversary of operations in the country late last year.

 

Source: https://thainews.prd.go.th/en/news/detail/TCATG230509114720944

 

-- © Copyright NNT 2023-05-09

 

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[hotchilli]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

"If development had been carried out under appropriate conditions, this kind of problem would of course not have happened."

This is what happens when accountants run a business.

[Wiggy]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

He added, however, that the vehicles customers are currently using are safe.

So, what’s all the fuss about? If, as he says, the vehicles already on the road are safe, then surely so are any subsequently manufactured vehicles, so no need to stop sales. However, if they are proven to be unsafe, hence the reason for stopping sales, then those currently on the road are also unsafe. 

Edited May 9, 2023 by Wiggy

[BritScot]

54 minutes ago, Wiggy said:

So, what’s all the fuss about? If, as he says, the vehicles already on the road are safe, then surely so are any subsequently manufactured vehicles, so no need to stop sales. However, if they are proven to be unsafe, hence the reason for stopping sales, then those currently on the road are also unsafe. 

Didn't they say changes were made before testing?

[Burma Bill]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

Toyota Chairman ..........................................................................saying he had come to Thailand because he loved it.

Has he been smoking marijuana by any chance???

[Wiggy]

16 hours ago, BritScot said:

Didn't they say changes were made before testing?

Changes were made for the initial crash tests, so that the cars would pass. They reverted to standard materials/design following the test. Therefore all the cars currently on the road do not have the crash test materials/design fitted.

[BritScot]

4 hours ago, Wiggy said:

Changes were made for the initial crash tests, so that the cars would pass. They reverted to standard materials/design following the test. Therefore all the cars currently on the road do not have the crash test materials/design fitted.

Someone's doing a German!!!

[Wiggy]

My wife ordered one of these in March. Originally scheduled for delivery this week, Toyota have now said that it will be delivered in two weeks’ time, so it looks as though the problem may have been sorted. 

[transam]

Just now, Wiggy said:

My wife ordered one of these in March. Originally scheduled for delivery this week, Toyota have now said that it will be delivered in two weeks’ time, so it looks as though the problem may have been sorted. 

Yep, you are dealing with Toyota.............????

[Wiggy]

3 minutes ago, transam said:

Yep, you are dealing with Toyota.............????

Good to see you back Trans. 

[SAFETY FIRST]

3 hours ago, Wiggy said:

Good to see you back Trans. 

Where'd he go? 

[transam]

Just now, SAFETY FIRST said:

Where'd he go? 

Secret.........................????

[KhunLA]

That kind of deceit goes above & beyond some of their other issues:

https://www.hotcars.com/problems-with-toyotas-nobody-talks-about/#toyota-tundra-ndash-accelerator-pedal-failure

 

https://getjerry.com/car-repair/common-problems-with-toyota#what-are-the-most-common-toyota-problems

 

https://atlcolumbus.com/7-common-toyota-problems-and-how-to-address-them/

 

 

[transam]

5 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

That kind of deceit goes above & beyond some of their other issues:

https://www.hotcars.com/problems-with-toyotas-nobody-talks-about/#toyota-tundra-ndash-accelerator-pedal-failure

 

https://getjerry.com/car-repair/common-problems-with-toyota#what-are-the-most-common-toyota-problems

 

https://atlcolumbus.com/7-common-toyota-problems-and-how-to-address-them/

 

 

I suppose your MG ZS never gets issues, eh................

 

Like being uncomfortable from factory and gutless.......................????

[HauptmannUK]

This news is not quite as exciting as it first appears. Toyota fully took over Daihatsu a few years back (2017 I think). The new Yaris/Veloz DNGA platform is a Toyota/Daihatsu joint project and Daihatsu engineers did most of the crash test approval work. At some point whilst preparing test cars a Daihatsu engineer scored a groove into the rear surface of the door inner plastic trim - the idea being to produce a stress concentration and cause this location to preferentially fracture during side impact, avoiding the potential for creation of any sharp edges. For whatever reason, this alteration didn't appear in the production moulding. However, the production vehicles do in fact meet the ECE UN R95 regulation (which includes 50km/h side impact). Subsequent internal testing of production vehicles confirms compliance as does independent testing with external oversight from the Belgian crash test authority. The suspension of deliveries in Thailand is because Thai government representatives want to witness new tests.  Clearly something went wrong with Toyota's internal procedures - potentially it was fraud. But it appears that cars meet the required standard even without the modification that was made. 

[Wiggy]

9 hours ago, HauptmannUK said:

This news is not quite as exciting as it first appears. Toyota fully took over Daihatsu a few years back (2017 I think). The new Yaris/Veloz DNGA platform is a Toyota/Daihatsu joint project and Daihatsu engineers did most of the crash test approval work. At some point whilst preparing test cars a Daihatsu engineer scored a groove into the rear surface of the door inner plastic trim - the idea being to produce a stress concentration and cause this location to preferentially fracture during side impact, avoiding the potential for creation of any sharp edges. For whatever reason, this alteration didn't appear in the production moulding. However, the production vehicles do in fact meet the ECE UN R95 regulation (which includes 50km/h side impact). Subsequent internal testing of production vehicles confirms compliance as does independent testing with external oversight from the Belgian crash test authority. The suspension of deliveries in Thailand is because Thai government representatives want to witness new tests.  Clearly something went wrong with Toyota's internal procedures - potentially it was fraud. But it appears that cars meet the required standard even without the modification that was made. 

Thanks for that insight. Very interesting. Can we assume then that these subsequent tests have now been witnessed by the Thai government, as deliveries are set to resume?

[QballQ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJBEIol7KqA