Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors Corp is inspecting its large trucks for free after 23 cases of tires falling off were reported, including one accident that killed a pedestrian.
The free inspections announced yesterday will affect more than 120,000 vehicles, said company spokesman Tetsuro Miyano. Exports of the problem trucks are believed to be minimal, but the automaker is checking on whether any were sold overseas
The reported problems with its truck tires are a severe blow to the image of Mitsubishi Motors, which has been trying to turn around its ailing business with partner DaimlerChrysler AG of Germany. Mitsubishi sales in Japan plunged after a recall scandal in the summer of 2000 and have only slowly recovered recently.
Earlier this month, a tire that fell off a Mitsubishi "The Great" truck in Yokohama, near Tokyo, rolled down a slope and fatally crushed a 29-year-old housewife. The child with her was injured. No other injuries or damages have been reported associated with the tires falling off Mitsubishi trucks, which happened from June 1998 to January, Miyano said. A few of the 23 cases were caused by people failing to tighten the bolts enough, but the other causes are still under investigation, he said.
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