Production at Subaru plant halted over faulty part; 20,000 vehicles possibly affected

TOKYO -- Japanese automaker Subaru Corp. halted operations at its only car plant in Japan on Jan. 16 and has yet to resume them due to a problem with an electric power steering component, the company announced on Jan. 23.

The problem at the company's Gunma Prefecture plant, northwest of Tokyo, could affect some 20,000 vehicles, and officials say some units have already been shipped out with the faulty part -- a finding likely to raise questions about the automaker's quality control system.

Subaru said the faulty device -- part of the electric power steering that assists drivers when they turn the wheel -- could stop functioning, making the steering wheel harder to turn.

The problem affects three Subaru models: the company's Forester and Subaru XV sport utility vehicles, and its Impreza compact. It is possible vehicles produced between late December 2018 and Jan. 16 this year were fitted with the problematic part. The company is considering measures to amend the problem, such as issuing a recall and offering free repairs.

Officials first discovered the possibility of a problem on Jan. 16. Besides the three models in question, the plant has temporarily stopped producing and shipping out six models including its Legacy mid-size cars and the Toyota 86 sports car that it makes with Toyota Motor Corp., as they are assembled on the same line.

The company says it now has prospects of solving the problem, and is looking to resume production as early as Jan. 28.

Subaru reported the problem to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport after suspending production. As for why it took such a long time for the company to publicly announce the issue, a representative said the company had been "collecting information sufficient for disclosure." Company officials say they will quickly make an announcement if any issues that should be disclosed arise regarding the automaker's business performance in connection with the production suspension.

A number of testing irregularities have come to light at the automaker since the autumn of 2017, resulting in the recall of about 530,000 vehicles. To prioritize quality checks, Subaru this month announced a plan to reduce domestic production in 2019 to around 650,000 vehicles, down 2 percent from the previous year.

(Japanese original by Naoya Matsumoto, Business News Department)