Mitsubishi Will Replace HD Truck Wheel Hubs

Tokyo, Japan, Nov. 15, 2002 - (JCN Newswire) - Mitsubishi Motors
Corporation (MMC) today announced plans to replace free of charge all
heavy-duty vehicle wheel hubs that were not replaced during recent
voluntary inspections.

MMC initiated a voluntary safety inspection campaign in January this
year to check the wheel hubs of certain heavy-duty trucks and buses. The
campaign was extended in July to cover both wheel hubs and alloy wheels.
As of November 9, 2002, MMC had inspected 94.2 percent of vehicles
covered by the initial campaign and 61 percent of vehicles subject to
the extended campaign.

Since MMC's previous announcement on July 26, one incident of a tire
coming off was reported on August 7. This was a rare case, however, as
the vehicle in question was affected by a previous accident.

Despite conducting stringent inspections, MMC has learned of four other
cases since October 7 in which a tire has come off due to hub or wheel
wear and tear that exceeded the stipulated levels for replacement.
Faulty measuring equipment and misidentification of wheel type caused
them to be overlooked. Although the current problem stems from glitches
in organizing inspections, MMC strongly acknowledges the need to address
the problem as quickly and thoroughly as possible.

MMC has taken a number of steps-including using information gained from
accidents caused by overloading and use under severe conditions-to
detect faults during inspection. But it is impossible to detect all
problems that may arise during overloaded use and maintenance related
problems such as over-tightening of bolts.

To address such problems and assure the highest levels of traffic
safety, MMC has decided to replace all hubs that were not replaced
during inspection, regardless of current wear and tear.

Reference


1. Additional hub replacement

Vehicle type       Production period      Vehicles subject
Replacements to
                                          to inspection            be
done 

Heavy prime mover  Nov. '86 - Feb '97         12,149
10,942 
Heavy dump truck   Oct. '86 - Apr. '96        24,771
19,710 
Large bus          Nov. '87 - Dec. '97         7,927
6,769 
Others             Oct. '86 - Dec. '97        42,712
37,193 
Total                                         87,559
74,614 

 

2. Progress of initial inspections (from January 22)

Vehicle type     Total  No.inspected  %inspected  No.exceeding  %
exceeding level*
                  (A)       (B)        (C = B/A)   level* (D)       (E =
D/B) 
 
Heavy prime      12,149    11,504        94.7%       1,207
10.5%    
mover(tractor)  
Heavy dump truck 24,771    22,959        92.7%       5,061
22.0% 
Large bus         7,927     7,840        98.9%       1,158
14.8% 
Others           42,712    40,194        94.1%       5,519
13.7% 
Total            87,559    82,497        94.2%      12,945
15.7% 

*Replacement level: Wear on hub of 0.8mm

 

3. Progress of extended inspections (from July 26)

Vehicle type     Total  No.inspected  %inspected  No.exceeding  %
exceeding level*
                  (A)       (B)        (C = B/A)   level* (D)       (E =
D/B) 

Heavy prime 
mover(tractor)    344       171          49.7%          15
8.8% 
Heavy dump truck  863       382          44.3%          38
9.9% 
Large bus       3,050     2,156          70.7%         110
5.1% 
Others          1,769       967          54.7%          70
7.2% 
Total           6,026     3,676          61.0%         233
6.3% 

*Replacement level: Gap between hub and wheel of 0.9mm, or wear of 0.7mm
on wheel.