Photo: original photo by autoevolution
As we all know, the Qashqai is a crucial car for Nissan, without which the automaker probably wouldn't be where it is today. However, the future of the crossover is put in jeopardy by yet another emissions scandal.
The South Korean Ministry of the Environment claimed it found a defeat device on Nissan Qashqai crossovers equipped with diesel engines. At the time of the announcement, about two weeks ago, it wasn't clear whether they were referring to old models or new ones, but that's changed.
Apparently, the affected engines are Euro 6 ones, so to avoid further financial damage, Nissan has been forced to stop temporarily selling the model. Until the government finishes its study and publishes the findings, the Qashqai will not bee Nissan's Cashcow, at least not in Korea.
Hong Dong-kon, a director at the ministry, said it was discovered that certain emissions control systems were being shut off when the engine's temperature reached 35 Celsius, about 30 minutes after the engine began to work. "Usually, some cars turn off the emission reduction device when the temperature reaches 50 degrees Celsius, to prevent the engine from overheating. The Qashqai was the only vehicle that turned it off at 35 degrees,'' Mr. Hong said.
Even if the company didn't develop a "defeat device", like Volkswagen, they could be looking at a major recall. The Korean government no doubt found NOx emissions in the real wold far exceed those promised by the manufacturer. But by how much?
Nissan says that it is aware of such issues and is prepared to carry out a technical improvement to reduce NOx to a point agreed upon with the South Korea Ministry of the Environment.
This kind of reminds me of the subprime credit crisis, where the banks that started it all were looking great just as everybody else was feeling the shock. Volkswagen stocks have been climbing nicely in the past few months, but everybody else seems to be suffering. Opel has repeatedly been accused of cheating, but nothing has been proven so far.
Mitsubishi has publicly admitted that it has lied about the fuel consumption of its cars for several years. Believing the company won't survived, chairmen have voted to partner up with Nissan, who is soon to buy a 34% stake.
Apparently, the affected engines are Euro 6 ones, so to avoid further financial damage, Nissan has been forced to stop temporarily selling the model. Until the government finishes its study and publishes the findings, the Qashqai will not bee Nissan's Cashcow, at least not in Korea.
Hong Dong-kon, a director at the ministry, said it was discovered that certain emissions control systems were being shut off when the engine's temperature reached 35 Celsius, about 30 minutes after the engine began to work. "Usually, some cars turn off the emission reduction device when the temperature reaches 50 degrees Celsius, to prevent the engine from overheating. The Qashqai was the only vehicle that turned it off at 35 degrees,'' Mr. Hong said.
Even if the company didn't develop a "defeat device", like Volkswagen, they could be looking at a major recall. The Korean government no doubt found NOx emissions in the real wold far exceed those promised by the manufacturer. But by how much?
Nissan says that it is aware of such issues and is prepared to carry out a technical improvement to reduce NOx to a point agreed upon with the South Korea Ministry of the Environment.
This kind of reminds me of the subprime credit crisis, where the banks that started it all were looking great just as everybody else was feeling the shock. Volkswagen stocks have been climbing nicely in the past few months, but everybody else seems to be suffering. Opel has repeatedly been accused of cheating, but nothing has been proven so far.
Mitsubishi has publicly admitted that it has lied about the fuel consumption of its cars for several years. Believing the company won't survived, chairmen have voted to partner up with Nissan, who is soon to buy a 34% stake.
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