The Ministry of Transportation and Communications on Monday urged Mazda Motor Taiwan to respond to an automobile safety investigation involving two of its vehicle models after a series of complaints were filed against the company over its diesel engine.
The Japanese automaker on Tuesday last week announced that it would begin recalling Mazda CX-5 and Mazda 6 Skyactive vehicles on May 6 after 36 owners complained of coolant leaks from auxiliary radiators.
However, the coolant leaks were not the only problem affecting the two models, as owners have also complained about the diesel engine’s oil pump chain breaking and exhaust gas pressure sensors going out of order, the ministry said.
The Vehicle Safety Certification Center on March 12 convened a meeting to discuss the problems affecting the two models, in which it ruled that Mazda must submit an investigation report on the causes of the broken oil pump chain and malfunctioning exhaust gas pressure sensors to the center within one month.
However, the company did not submit the report until Friday last week, following multiple requests from the center, the ministry said, adding that it found the report to be incomplete.
Broken oil pump chains are a safety concern, but the company concluded after analyzing only a few cases that the failures were caused by an improper change of motor oil, the ministry said.
The company failed to provide a detailed report that should have included examinations of oil pump chains, motor oil and other possible component failures, it added.
Although the exhaust gas pressure sensors of the two models have relatively high malfunction rates, Mazda did not recall the vehicles, saying that the problem does not trigger an alarm for possible air pollution, the ministry said.
However, it did not specify how a malfunctioning exhaust gas pressure sensor would affect the vehicle’s overall operations, it said, adding that the center has asked the company to submit a report on the matter by Friday.
“We want to remind Mazda that it must not avoid, interfere or reject investigations launched by the ministry, as doing so would contravene the Consumer Protection Act (消費者保護法),” the ministry said.
“We would carry out all legal measures if it is found doing so,” the ministry said, adding that the company could face a fine of NT$30,000 to NT$300,000 for contravening the act.
A preclearance service to facilitate entry for people traveling to select airports in Japan would be available from Thursday next week to Feb. 25 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taoyuan International Airport Corp (TIAC) said on Tuesday. The service was first made available to Taiwanese travelers throughout the winter vacation of 2024 and during the Lunar New Year holiday. In addition to flights to the Japanese cities of Hakodate, Asahikawa, Akita, Sendai, Niigata, Okayama, Takamatsu, Kumamoto and Kagoshima, the service would be available to travelers to Kobe and Oita. The service can be accessed by passengers of 15 flight routes operated by
GIVE AND TAKE: Blood demand continues to rise each year, while fewer young donors are available due to the nation’s falling birthrate, a doctor said Blood donors can redeem points earned from donations to obtain limited edition Formosan black bear travel mugs, the Kaohsiung Blood Center said yesterday, as it announced a goal of stocking 20,000 units of blood prior to the Lunar New Year. The last month of the lunar year is National Blood Donation Month, when local centers seek to stockpile blood for use during the Lunar New Year holiday. The blood demand in southern Taiwan — including Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Taitung counties — is about 2,000 units per day, the center said. The donation campaign aims to boost
ENHANCING EFFICIENCY: The apron can accommodate 16 airplanes overnight at Taoyuan airport while work on the third runway continues, the transport minister said A new temporary overnight parking apron at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport is to start operating on Friday next week to boost operational efficiency while the third runway is being constructed, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The apron — one of the crucial projects in the construction of the third runway — can accommodate 16 aircraft overnight at the nation’s largest international airport, Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) told reporters while inspecting the new facility yesterday morning. Aside from providing the airport operator with greater flexibility in aircraft parking during the third runway construction,
MORE FALL: An investigation into one of Xi’s key cronies, part of a broader ‘anti-corruption’ drive, indicates that he might have a deep distrust in the military, an expert said China’s latest military purge underscores systemic risks in its shift from collective leadership to sole rule under Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), and could disrupt its chain of command and military capabilities, a national security official said yesterday. If decisionmaking within the Chinese Communist Party has become “irrational” under one-man rule, the Taiwan Strait and the regional situation must be approached with extreme caution, given unforeseen risks, they added. The anonymous official made the remarks as China’s Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia (張又俠) and Joint Staff Department Chief of Staff Liu Zhenli (劉振立) were reportedly being investigated for suspected “serious
RSS