Nissan Admits to Falsifying Exhaust Emissions and Fuel Economy Data

Nissan has joined a growing list of automakers caught in emissions scandals.

The Japanese automaker admitted earlier this week that it has discovered sample test environments for exhaust emissions and fuel economy at most of its factories in Japan were not accurate. Those tests were conducted during final vehicle inspections, and Nissan says those inspection reports were based on altered measurements. A total of 19 models sold in Japan have improperly measured exhaust emissions and fuel economy, but the falsified data doesn’t apply to vehicles exported overseas. The issue applies to requirements specific to the Japanese market, Nissan said.

This is the second recent major scandal from Nissan, after last October it admitted that for decades, uncertified inspectors had signed off on final checks for vehicles sold in Japan. That resulted in a recall of 1.2-million vehicles.

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Following its initial scandal last year, the company launched voluntary compliance checks and that is how it discovered the falsified emissions and fuel economy data. Nissan said around 2,200 sample tests were performed at six plants, and 1,200 units at five factories showed some form of falsification. The Japanese automaker found vehicle conditions such as driving speeds and durations, as well as external temperatures, were not in line with Japanese regulations. In addition, testing equipment had not been calibrated properly. Mileage data has also been overstated to make the vehicles appear more fuel efficient than they really are.

The company is continuing its investigation, but has initially found tampering began in 2013 and involved 10 employees. It is possible it goes back even further.

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