Mitsubishi issues inspection notice to Montero, Strada owners

MANILA, Philippines - Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. (MMPC) is conducting a safety inspection campaign on Montero Sport and Strada vehicles sold from 2009 up to present to check on welding conditions as well as the power assisted reclining switch.

In a statement yesterday, MMPC said it needs to inspect the weld condition of the front suspension lower arm of 11,403 units of the four-wheel and two-wheel drive Montero Sport models as well as 4,050 units of the four-wheel and two-wheel drive Strada models sold from 2011 to 2012.

“The welding bead dimension of the front lower arm is suspected to be insufficient that may result to breakage while vehicle is in use,” the firm said.

The inspection procedure is estimated to take 1.7 hours at the most and when needed, replacement of both front lower arms is estimated at 6.3 hours.

The firm said it also needs to look at the weld condition of the front propeller shaft of four wheel drive models, which covers 66 units of the Montero Sport and 13 Strada units sold in 2012.

The inspection is needed as the width of the welding bead between the tube and stub shaft is suspected to be insufficient, which may result to breakage while the vehicle is in use.

MMPC also announced that it will inspect 8,059 Montero Sport four-wheel drive models sold from 2009 up to the present, to check the power assisted reclining switch for the driver’s seat.

“The power assisted reclining switch may get stuck during usage and may result to power seat motor overheating. Replacement of the reclining switch is estimated at 18 minutes and when needed, power seat motor replacement should require a total of 2.5 hours,” the firm said.

MMPC is conducting a safety inspection of the vehicles in line with a directive from its principal Mitsubishi Motors Corp. to ensure the quality of vehicles and consumer safety, even as there has been no reported failures and or incidents nationwide related to the above.

MMPC president and chief executive officer Hikosaburo Shibata said the company has already mobilized its customer service operation to contact all the affected customers.

He also said that all the firm’s service centers nationwide are prepared to do the necessary inspection.

Customers can check MMPC’s website www.mitsubishi-motors.com.ph through the vehicle identification number to find out if their vehicle is included in the safety inspection campaign.

For additional concerns and inquiries, customers can also get in touch with MMPC Customer Care Center at telephone numbers 658-0673 from Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.