What does Nissan do when authorities accuse it of misleading them on fuel consumption and emission levels? It submits a report revealing irregularities in testing external noises and horn volume.
In July, Nissan admitted some tampering with the way in which tests of exhaust emissions and fuel economy were conducted, with the purpose of creating falsified reports. At the time, it also promised a comprehensive investigation into the matter.
The Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) asked the carmaker to submit the report of the investigation by September 26, a deadline Nissan announced it has met.
The investigation was conducted by a dedicated team led by Japanese law firm Nishimura and Asahi, which was also responsible for considering appropriate countermeasures. It revealed all sorts of interesting facts, very few of them actually related to fuel consumption and emissions.
As far as these two go, there were cases of rewriting of measurement values and test environment data to make them fit in the required ranges, as well as deviation from prescribed test environments.
In essence, Nissan employees were not using some high-tech defeat device like Volkswagen’s, but rather a pen or keyboard and their imagination.
These practices were uncovered at all Nissan and affiliate vehicle production plants in Japan, except Nissan Motor Kyushu. In all, “misconduct in exhaust emissions and fuel economy occurred during sample testing in a total of 1,205 vehicles,” said Nissan.
Secondly, there were cases of improper procedures related to vehicle precision measurements and tests. This means certain required tests, most of them not related to emissions, were not conducted at all or only partially for new vehicles.
That includes not testing the brake fluid warning light, external noise, maximum stable inclination angle of cars or the horn volume.
You can read the entire Nissan report in the document attached below, complete with recommendations for the future.
The Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) asked the carmaker to submit the report of the investigation by September 26, a deadline Nissan announced it has met.
The investigation was conducted by a dedicated team led by Japanese law firm Nishimura and Asahi, which was also responsible for considering appropriate countermeasures. It revealed all sorts of interesting facts, very few of them actually related to fuel consumption and emissions.
As far as these two go, there were cases of rewriting of measurement values and test environment data to make them fit in the required ranges, as well as deviation from prescribed test environments.
In essence, Nissan employees were not using some high-tech defeat device like Volkswagen’s, but rather a pen or keyboard and their imagination.
These practices were uncovered at all Nissan and affiliate vehicle production plants in Japan, except Nissan Motor Kyushu. In all, “misconduct in exhaust emissions and fuel economy occurred during sample testing in a total of 1,205 vehicles,” said Nissan.
Secondly, there were cases of improper procedures related to vehicle precision measurements and tests. This means certain required tests, most of them not related to emissions, were not conducted at all or only partially for new vehicles.
That includes not testing the brake fluid warning light, external noise, maximum stable inclination angle of cars or the horn volume.
You can read the entire Nissan report in the document attached below, complete with recommendations for the future.