Should You Worry About Faulty Metals in Your Car?
An employee assembles a Nissan Motor Co. SUV on the production line of the company's Kyushu plant in Kanda Town, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, on July 9, 2015.
Photographer: Buddhika Weerasinghe/BloombergIs the car in your garage made with flimsy metal? Many drivers are wondering and worried following an admission by Kobe Steel Ltd., one of Japan’s oldest manufacturers, that it falsified data on the strength and durability of aluminum and copper products used in cars, trains, planes and rockets. As Kobe customers like Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Co. scramble to understand what the news means for them, concerned drivers have plenty of questions.
Kobe’s top customers include many of Japan’s largest automakers. Nissan has already said aluminum hoods that fail to meet specifications could pose a risk to pedestrians during front-end collisions, while Toyota said the metal could have been used in some of its hoods and rear doors. Other carmakers, including Subaru Corp., Honda Motor Co., Mazda Motor Corp., Suzuki Motor Corp. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp., have expressed similar concerns about whether they received substandard metal and are still evaluating how it might impact their cars. All in all, Kobe said the products were delivered to more than 200 unidentified companies.