Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. received instructions from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism to investigate whether there had been any fraudulent activity in type approval applications, and conducted an internal investigation. As a result, we discovered improprieties in two certification tests, and reported the details and future responses to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism on May 31, 2024.
Noise testing: Conditioning under inappropriate conditions (test preparation adjustment)
During noise testing, the mufflers (mufflers) made of glass wool sound-absorbing material were conditioned (adjusted for testing) to a condition for normal road use. However, during the conditioning process, the certification tester experienced heat damage to the test equipment, causing it to melt. The certification tester mistakenly determined that changing the engine power output to avoid melting the test equipment was acceptable as long as it did not affect the durability and deterioration of the glass wool sound-absorbing material and met the test conditions, including exhaust pressure, duration, and number of test cycles. Furthermore, all of the affected current vehicle models that were tested under inappropriate conditions were retested under the specified conditions, and all were confirmed to comply with the standards. Shipments of the affected products have currently been suspended.
We will submit the retest report to the relevant authorities and take the necessary measures after consulting with them. Furthermore, we have not confirmed any issues that would cause problems in actual use for the vehicles for which shipments have been suspended or for vehicles that have already been shipped.
Target vehicle
The affected vehicles are as follows:
Large motorcycle “YZF-R1” (on sale from August 20, 2020)
It was produced in the past
“YZF-R3” (April 20, 2015 – July 2017, January 20, 2018 – September 2018)
“TMAX” (April 7, 2017 – September 2019, May 8, 2020 – October 2021)
cause
Noise testing: Conditioning under inappropriate conditions (test preparation adjustment)
- We had a mistaken understanding of the law, which was that even if we made some changes to the conditioning conditions, there would be no problem from a technical standpoint as long as it did not affect the scattering of glass wool sound-absorbing material.
- In certification testing, there was a lack of awareness of the importance of compliance, not only in terms of the impact on the test results, but also in terms of the testing process.
- There was uncertainty regarding the methods for ensuring compliance with the testing process and the responsibility for each process, which meant that proper checks were not carried out and incorrect decisions by the testing department were not discovered.
Horn sound pressure test: When applying for a type, enter the chassis number of a vehicle other than the one on which the test was conducted on the application form.
The laws and regulations related to certification applications were not properly communicated within the company, resulting in incorrect applications being submitted without a full understanding of the rules regarding application procedures.
Measures to prevent recurrence
We will take the following thorough measures to prevent recurrence so that such an incident will never occur again.
- The testing regulations clearly distinguish between certification work and development work.
- To ensure and maintain compliance with the law in certification work, we will provide ongoing education on the importance of the testing process and important points to note.
- The certification department will be clearly designated as the responsible department to ensure compliance with the testing process.
- We will create a system to keep thorough records of all items that must be managed in certification and development work, and then check the consistency and compliance of internal records with application documents.
- Create a system for internal review of application documents and internal reports, and ensure that the preparer and approver check each other to ensure effective checks and ensure that the process does not become a simple, formal comparison.
- Regarding the conditioning of vehicles for certification tests, we will clarify our internal interpretation of the law, then make it a regulation and publicize it.
- We will establish a system to thoroughly incorporate into our internal regulations the procedures required for certification applications as required by laws and regulations.
We take this recent inappropriate incident very seriously and deeply regret it. We sincerely apologize for damaging the trust of our customers, business partners, other related parties, and all other stakeholders surrounding our company. In addition, following the report of this inappropriate incident, we have retested the affected vehicles, which are currently suspended from shipment, as well as vehicles that have already been shipped, and have confirmed that there are no problems with their actual use.
Yamaha News Release
https://global.yamaha-motor.com/jp/news/2024/0603/corporate.html
