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Isuzu to upgrade brakes on 215,000 SUVs

DETROIT, June 11 Reuters reported that Isuzu Motors Ltd. on Tuesday said it would upgrade the anti-lock braking systems on 215,000 Isuzu and Honda sport utility vehicles to shorten their stopping distances.

Isuzu spokesman Chip Letzgus said the upgrade would cover 1998 and 1999 model Isuzu Rodeo, Isuzu Amigo and Honda Passport SUVs built at an Indiana plant Isuzu owns jointly with the Subaru unit of Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. (Tokyo:7270.T - News)

Letzgus said government tests had found that the affected SUVs could take longer than other vehicles to stop, especially in cases where one side of a road had less traction than another.

Models built after 2000 did not have the problem, so Isuzu will replace the computer chip in the 1998 and '99 models with the modern version, Letzgus said.

The upgrade will take several months to complete. The problem is not considered a defect by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and Isuzu's action is not classified as an official safety recall, a NHTSA spokesman said.