Toyota resumes production of select diesel models

TOYOTA has officially recommenced manufacture of models affected by the latest diesel controversy, with Australian-spec Coaster, LandCruiser 70 Series, and LandCruiser 300 Series vehicles rolling down the production line once more.

Speaking with GoAuto last week, a Toyota Australia spokesperson said, “Toyota Motor Corporation resumed production and shipment of LandCruiser 70, LandCruiser 300, and Coaster models for the Australian market”.

“HiAce and Granvia remain paused at this stage. Production and shipment of HiLux and Fortuner, built outside Japan, were not paused,” the spokesperson confirmed.

The report follows news earlier this month that Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) had suspended production at six of its production lines following an announcement that irregularities were found in certification tests of three of its diesel engines.

The irregularities were found to impact engines with production dates stretching back to early 2020 and are understood to affect some 84,000 vehicles sold under 10 nameplates worldwide and come on the back of earlier testing scandals at Toyota-owned brands Daihatsu and Hino.

In a statement, TMC said: “The investigation found that irregularities occurred during the horsepower output testing for the certification of three diesel engine models for automobiles that Toyota has commissioned from Toyota Industries.”

According to Indian publication Timeline Daily, TMC has also resumed production of models powered by four-cylinder 1GD-series engines – the same found in Aussie Fortuner, Granvia, HiAce and HiLux – following a “brief pause”.

The report states that the suspension placed on engines produced by Toyota Industries Corporation (TICO), a subsidiary of TMC, had been lifted with the company “reaffirming that the diesel engines comply with Indian regulations”.

The latest controversy called into question Toyota’s usually high quality standards as inconsistencies arose from a special investigation by the Japanese Transport Ministry into potential certification irregularities.

Scrutiny of Toyota’s 1GD- (2.8-litre) and 2GD- (2.4-litre) series four-cylinder turbo-diesel units and F33A-series (3.3-litre) V6 turbo-diesel units found discrepancies relating to the ‘smoothing’ of power and torque curves, which could potentially impact the engines’ power delivery and driveability.

Further investigation found the units listed were also fitted with a different Engine Control Unit (ECU) to those specified.

TMC has assured customers that the issue does not compromise emissions or safety standards of the affected vehicles. It is continuing to take orders as usual.

The manufacturer says it is working swiftly to address the inconsistencies found and that, moving forward, it will prioritise quality assurance measures to prevent similar issues from reoccurring.