Mitsubishi Fuso admits defect may send truck wheels flying

[Hachiko]

[hick]Looks like a famous, familiar brand of automobiles just don't seem so perfect[/hick]:

Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corp. acknowledged Thursday that some of its large vehicles have design flaws that could cause the wheels to come off, as in an accident that killed a woman in 2002.
The automaker, which had previously argued that wheels were coming off due to faulty maintenance instead of any problem on its part, said it will recall all large vehicles manufactured during and prior to 1996 and replace the hubs, which keep the wheel on the axle, to prevent further detachments.

Japan Times

 

[Uncle Frank]

Reminds Me Of The Ol Famous Song.....

"You Picked a Fine Time to Leave Me, LOOSEWHEEL!"

Frank

 

[Hachiko]

"You Picked a Fine Time to Leave Me, LOOSEWHEEL!"

Frank

Frank, just out of curiosity, who originally sang that song? Loosewheel? Never heard of that band before...

 

[silver angel]

It might've been a band Frank was in....maybe he's famous! *asks for an autograph...*

 

[Uncle Frank]

He Was Like Weird Al Yankovitch Only More...

Frank, just out of curiosity, who originally sang that song? Loosewheel? Never heard of that band before...

country/western paradies. He passed away several years back I think. Box Car Willy comes to mind, but I don't think so. It will come to me around 2AM some nite?

Frank

 

[shiroma]

Followup

Police Arrest 7 Former Mitsubishi Motors Executives (Reuters)

DaimlerChrysler's Japanese Truck Unit Is Raided by Police; Seven Arrested (Bloomberg)

 

[shiroma]

Yet Another Case

Scandal-Hit Mitsubishi Fuso to Recall 16,800 Trucks (Mainichi)

Mitsubishi Fuso Files Recall for 168,002 Trucks (Kyodo)


Mitsubishi Fuso

 

[sadakoyamamura]

This thread here reminds me a near accident.

In the Philippines, we have a variety of public transportation. The most common would be the jeepney. One time, I was sitting at the seat next to the driver listening to music. Suddenly, the driver swerved and out of the corner of my eye I saw the approaching truck jerking to avoid a head on collision .

The cause was the wheel of our vehicle flying off...

 

[shiroma]

Mitsubishi Motors Recalls 163,707 Cars to Fix Faults (Bloomberg)

M'bishi Motors Digs up More Dirt on Quality Issues (Reuters)


Mitsubishi Motors

 

[sadakoyamamura]

Mitsubishi Motors Recalls 163,707 Cars to Fix Faults (Bloomberg)

I always did wonder why our Mitsubishi Lancer car always broke down but I'm glad my mom sold the other Mitsu car...

 

[shiroma]

Mitsubishi Admits 62 Additional Defect Cover-ups (Mainichi)

 

[Ewok85]

Was it the whole wheel or the hubcaps?

 

[shiroma]

Mitsubishi Fuso Reports 3 Fatal Accidents June 14-21 (Kyodo)

 

[Maciamo]

Mitsubishi Motors is in serious trouble. It seems that they have already withdrawn from the European market (too tough competition) and are struggling on the Japanese one, as sales fall dramatically. The only way for the company to survive will be to concentrate its activities on China and the US, as consumers are less concerned about car safety in these countries (do they even talk about the Mitsubishi scandal in the US now ?).

Mitsubishi might have to change its name in order not to tarnish the corporate image of the rest of the group (finance, trading, heavy industry, electronics, pencils, etc.), but also to regain the public's trust. When they have heard of fatal accidents due to defetcs almost every week (day ?) in the last few months, people just do not want to buy a Mitsubishi car anymore.

 

[shiroma]

Mitsubishi might have to change its name in order not to tarnish the corporate image of the rest of the group (finance, trading, heavy industry, electronics, pencils, etc.), but also to regain the public's trust.

Mitsubishi Pencil has nothing to do with the Mitsubishi group...

 

[kirei_na_me]

Maciamo, it is also news in the U.S. And I would say most people are concerned with safety in the U.S. Especially those with children. After all, most of the people here will have carseats in their cars where Japanese don't even think it's that big of a deal(until recently). That is the main reason I got a Volvo, as a matter of fact. For their reputation of being the safest car on the road. I'm not the only American person concerned with safety, either. I think it might be a bigger concern than you're giving them credit for.

 

[Uncle Frank]

I Bought My.....

Subaru Forester for it's great crash test rating, gas mileage, and AWD for safe winter driving!

Frank

 

[Maciamo]

Mitsubishi Pencil has nothing to do with the Mitsubishi group...

Of course it does ! What makes you think otherwise ?

=> Zaibatsu

Maciamo, it is also news in the U.S. And I would say most people are concerned with safety in the U.S. Especially those with children. After all, most of the people here will have carseats in their cars where Japanese don't even think it's that big of a deal(until recently). That is the main reason I got a Volvo, as a matter of fact. For their reputation of being the safest car on the road. I'm not the only American person concerned with safety, either. I think it might be a bigger concern than you're giving them credit for.

I know it really depends on the people. But my point was that American cars are not very competitive compared to Japanese and European cars, which is why nobody buy them outside the States. I am sure that if the average people had more concern about safety, etc. US car makers would try harder to satisfy them. What is more, I heard Mitsubishi motors is going to rely on the American market because Americans (that is, the average people) were the least concerned about the current scandal.

 

[shiroma]

Of course it does ! What makes you think otherwise ?

This does.

 

[Maciamo]

This does.

And how are they using the same name and logo if there it wasn't part of the group originally (before the zaibatsu were dismantled after WWII) ?

 

[playaa]

How scary would that be if your wheel flew off? Now I can say many of americans do drive mitsubishi, but they by far do not have a good name, for engine reliability. So alot of people tend to stay away..

 

[shiroma]

And how are they using the same name and logo if there it wasn't part of the group originally (before the zaibatsu were dismantled after WWII) ?

This is what the Google hit/link pages say:

Mitsubishi Pencil registered the three-diamond logo/brand in 1903 based on the founder Niroku Masaki's family crest mitsu-uroko.

The logo of Mitsubishi zaibatsu became current shape in 1910, supposedly the combination of the crests of Iwasaki and Yamauchi families (sankai-bishi and mitsu-kashiwa,) which was officially registered in 1914.

Related page

 

[sho]

Request for correction

I think it is JREF's responsibility to correct the following page which include false information:
Zaibatsu

Mitsubishi Pencil is not a part of Mitsubishi group even though it holds the same company name and the three diamonds logo. If you just search around this topic in Japanese language you'll know the backgrounds.

Quotation from Mitsubishi Group Website:
mitsubishi.com Mitsubishi Companies

Q6: Why isn't Mitsubishi Pencil included in the list of Mitsubishi companies on this web site?
A6: It often causes a lot of confusion owing to the same "Mitsubishi" name, but Mitsubishi Pencil Co., Ltd. is not a part of the Mitsubishi companies. They have a completely different origin. For information on Mitsubishi Pencil, please refer to their company web site. (http://www.uni-ball.com/uni-ball/)

 

[Mike Cash]

And how are they using the same name and logo if there it wasn't part of the group originally (before the zaibatsu were dismantled after WWII) ?

Read the page and find out:
http://www.dik.co.jp/seken/GOGEN/mitubisi.htm

 

[enjoku]

Fuso is the Truck division of Mitsubishi, does that mean that every Mitsubishi product is defective? Have you guys heard of wheels flying off a Galant or a Lancer or a Pajero? Does Mitsubishi Motors have direct ties with Mitsubishi Fuso and do they have the same manufacturing practises? Just curious if the Fuso name is dragging down the whole Mitsubishi's name as there are lots of Mitsubishi companies, and products including Nikon.
And considering Mitsubishi has the worlds largest bank, one of its division may be in trouble but when all the hoopla is done I think they will do a campaign to get rid of the bad reputation and eventually consumer confidence will come back.