Toyota could face penalties for emissions cheating in certain diesel engines

Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism has accused Toyota of emissions misconduct

Despite maintaining its position as the leading automaker in the world for 2023, Toyota is not exactly experiencing a rosy start to 2024. For starters, Toyota subsidiary Daihatsu has been marred by a safety scandal. This has resulted in Daihatsu temporarily halting vehicle shipments although they have already resumed.

Not only that but Daihatsu's management has been shaken up as Toyota appointed several of its executives within the company to rectify the issue. While it seems Daihatsu is now back towards the straight and narrow, Toyota is once again experiencing another set of issues – this time involving emissions.

Toyota is currently facing possible penalties from the Japanese government after the country's transport ministry accused the automaker of misconduct over emissions cheating on several diesel engines. According to a report by Nikkei Asia, Toyota Industries, a Toyota-affiliated company that makes engines for the automaker, admitted that they have engaged in misconduct that included tampering with performance data for multiple automobile and forklift engine models.

The transport ministry has since found out that the misconduct has resulted in several of Toyota's engines exceeding emission standards. Based on our previous report, the affected diesel engines include the 1GD, 2GD, and the F33A. However, Toyota Motor Philippines has since announced that vehicles such as the Fortuner, Hilux, Innova, and Land Cruiser 300 are not affected by the emissions issue.

For now, the transport ministry appears to be focused on the misconduct of the forklift engines. In addition, the transport ministry is looking to revoke the certification of the affected vehicles, especially against two forklift engine models for which the cheating was deemed deplorable. Should any of the engines have their certifications revoked, they will have to reapply before they can be produced and sold to the market.

This is not the first time a Toyota-affiliated company has been involved in an emissions scandal. Back in 2022, Hino (a Toyota subsidiary) was caught cheating emissions and was even kicked out of the Commercial Japan Partnership Technologies Corporation by Toyota & Isuzu.

With Toyota facing another scandal involving emissions, the automaker will have its hands full in the coming weeks and months.