In December of last year, Subaru and Japanese law firm Ohno & Tsunematsu opened an internal investigation to determine if employees tampered with fuel economy ratings for some of its Japanese-market vehicles. The issue arose in the wake of Nissan and Subaru being faulted for decades of improper final inspection procedures at specific plants. While the issue initially seemed relatively benign, subsequent interviews with Subaru employees resulted in confessions that “certain data with respect to fuel economy and emissions may have been altered” during the course of final vehicle inspections.
What originally appeared to be automotive employees taking bureaucratic shortcuts evolved into something a bit more serious. Subaru recently released the results of the investigation and has admitted to falsifying the fuel consumption data of 903 cars assembled at its Gunma Manufacturing Division and Yajima factory. However, the internal probe only encompasses December 2012 until November 2017. All data from before this period is mysteriously absent.
Interesting, considering the suspect employees claim the figure flubbing probably started around 2002.
A final report on the matter has been submitted to Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. We’re expecting more to come of this, as the ministry was upset about uncertified workers signing off on vehicles even before news of the falsified data surfaced.
Subaru attributes the altering of fuel consumption data to senior employees advising inspectors to change results for each vehicle that did not meet internal quality control standards. It also said “managers at or above the section chief level and executive managers were not aware of alterations.”
According to the automaker’s official report, employees also altered the data with the intention of minimizing variance in measurement values in order to avoid questions from the group chiefs and section chief. As a result, some of the vehicle data was altered to show it performing worse.
The investigation looked into roughly 6,500 vehicles, discovering that data was inappropriately altered on 903 of them.
At face value, it looks like inspectors were just trying to avoid making more work for themselves and the company. But that would also be a perfect excuse for a more sinister, decade-long corporate plot to bolster fuel economy data. There’s no evidence to suggest this, but questions remain as to why senior to junior inspectors decided to implement a policy they had to know was against the rules.
Subaru’s been extremely apologetic since the final inspection issue came to light in 2017. In the translated report, the company apologizes numerous times and said it will take every step necessary to restore lost trust:
“Subaru takes [this matter] very seriously and profoundly regrets that this issue was taking place in addition to the Nonconforming Final Inspections disclosed last year … these problems undermined the trust of its customers and other stakeholders in our final vehicle inspections, product performance data and catalog values released by the company, and thus in Subaru itself.
The problem stems from causes similar to those behind the Nonconforming Final Inspections, namely a lack of awareness of public interest in, and importance of, final vehicle inspection work, a lack of normative consciousness leading to inspection results being altered to their own advantage, and inadequate internal communication … Subaru needs to reform its corporate culture from the ground up.
Subaru sincerely regrets the facts uncovered by the Investigation and has openly disclosed the details. In addition to taking measures to prevent recurrence of the Nonconforming Final Inspections, Subaru is determined to implement measures to prevent recurrence of this problem, to reform outdated aspects of its corporate culture such as authoritarianism, reliance on precedents, and formalism, and to become a genuine ‘upright company,’ [with each employee thinking], ‘what is the right thing?’ and implementing [it correctly].
Subaru’s management and employees will work collectively to restore lost trust and ensure that such circumstances do not recur.
We would like to reiterate our deepest apologies for the significant trouble and inconvenience caused to our customers, partners, and all other stakeholders.”
[Image: Subaru]
Considering how important the NA market is to Subaru, they shouldn’t be left off the hook with “it was Japan only”.
I guess low tension piston rings didn’t allow enough oil by to stretch the fuel?
They should have to right this be sending out rebate checks.
Or bags of weed.
Or Trader Joe’s gift certificates.
Re Trader Joe’s
Make fun all you want (I know I certainly do regarding my snooty sister in law who thinks Trader Joe’s is the Messiah her dinner parties have been seeking) – but dang try the cheap wine and the chocolate.
Aldi does better on the cheap wine and the chocolate, IMHO.
Heck yes, I’d shop at Trader Joe’s for certain stuff, but I guess ol’ Joe doesn’t think my neighborhood is highfalutin’ enough for him.
They have excellent frozen fish as well (ahi tuna and swordfish), at least at the St. Louis location.
Back on topic – it just seems odd that peons would come up with this and that nobody higher-up had anything to do with fudging those figures. Hmmmm….
Damn good chocolate.
You folks do know about the Trader Joe’s and Aldi connection, yes?
@packardhell1: :Back on topic – it just seems odd that peons would come up with this and that nobody higher-up had anything to do with fudging those figures. Hmmmm….”
Yes, where have we heard this before?
Geozinger is onto this. No wonder so many Subaru’s burn oil with engineered low tension piston rings.
Or flannel shirts.
Or doggie snacks.
If the factory fudging was involved in the U.S. certifications, the
EPA should fine them on the same order of magnitude as VW’s dieselgate.
The indicated violation is infinitesimal compared to what VW did.
>The indicated violation is infinitesimal compared to what VW did.
(disclaimer: Subaru owner)
“emissions may have been altered”
Burn the witch!
They just harshed lots of Subaru owners’ mellow. Duuuuuude.
The beginning of the Subaru deathwatch in five, four, three, two…
I think we are still a ways off from that. Unless that video of its executives clubbing baby seals goes viral. Then….well…bring on the deathwatch.
But, but…. I thought Subaru only wanted to “share the love” and drive dogs and outdoorsy types around all day long. Are you trying to tell me that they are a corporation who wants to profit from it’s customers???? Is the “love” really about advertising driven image and fuzzy tag lines so they can take my money???
Mind….Blown!!!!!!
ya, but the dogs still have to be purebred, not the kind of mutts i’d own. /s
If you listen carefully enough, you can hear resale values falling.
It is all done for sake of LOVE.
@Inside Looking Out
Yes, All in the name of Love
Love for money
Suba who? Head gasket failures, airplane pancakes.
Yeah, and all of the new snow blowers have those funny slanted one cylinder Fuji – Subaru Motors. They don’t plow through the white stuff like the good old 8 horsepower Tecumseh snow King did.
There used to be an Allure with Japanese products. Maybe it was kung fu or the karate craze when growing up in the 80s. The Mystique is gone. Japan makes junk just like GM.
@”The Mystique is gone.”: Someday we will be longing for the quality of Chinese cars and complaining about what the Sudanese are churning out.
+1000.
LOVE
This doesn’t strike me as a VW style conspiracy to fudge the numbers in order to fool the evil bureaucrats. This strike me as some Japanesey type thing – “I will get in trouble with my boss if the numbers are higher or lower than expected or show too much variation between individual cars. Therefore I will smooth out the numbers a little bit and I won’t get in trouble.” The old Japanese saying is that the blade of grass that sticks up higher than the others gets its head chopped off.
Such behavior isn’t limited to Japan.
> This doesn’t strike me as a VW style conspiracy
Can I upvote this as one of may be 3 or 4 replies on this thread that are actually worthy of the so-called “Best and Brightest” comment section? Sheesh.
The most fitting punishment would be a ban from producing syrupy commercials and sickenly cloy adverts for ten years. Additionally, the cheesy “Love” spots would have to be replaced with ones showing bitter owners with “RESIST” and other passive/aggressive bumper stickers.
The responses make me wonder if publishing news here is worth the trouble, since nobody seems to have the faintest memory of the “scandal” of a few months ago.
Nissan and then Subaru admitted to not having trained inspectors properly to give the Japanese government final inspection for JAPANESE MARKET cars. Part of the bureaucracy endemic there that does not seem to acknowledge that modern quality assurance exists, and that guys in white gloves equipped with eyeballs and a clipboard can spot deficiencies deep in the bowels of a vehicle. Such a quick once over “inspection” is legally required for Japanese customers but no one else. How quaintly 1958.
Now it transpires that inspectors made it all seem good, worried that saying anything else would cause corporate shame and bring criticism down on their heads.
The Reuters expose in 2015 of how Subaru treated foreign temporary workers at Ota/Gunma at Subaru suppliers, working them hard for very low wages, never gained traction in the news media. Doggies first.
https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/japan-subaru/
Read that. I own a Subaru but this kind of made me puke. Nasty corporation at heart, far worse than some slipshod white glove “inspection”.
Here’s a sentence: “What Subaru does not tout is that its boom is made possible in part by asylum seekers and other cheap foreign laborers from Asia and Africa.”
Doesn’t make for inspiring reading.
I’ve always wondered about variance between individual, stock cars vis-a-vis estimated mileage. I got a new Impreza after Dieselgate, and I gotta say I think the mileage on mine fairly well sucks. I’ve broken 30 mpg on a tank maybe once or twice in the year I’ve had it. I think my wife’s Forester gets better mileage. Other people claim to be getting 40 mpg or at least the 37 mpg it was rated.
I’d be very interested to see if Subaru’s North American division gets caught up in this. I like the car pretty well otherwise, but I’m not a lead-footed driver, and I want my damn 35+mpg I bought into.