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Mitsubishi recalls 141,000 Lancers, Outlanders, and Outlander Sports

Mitsubishi issued two recalls this month, one big, one small, that affect several cars from the brand's past and current lineup. The major recall covers old Lancers, Lancer Sportbacks, Outlanders, and Outlander Sports that might have an issue with corrosion weakening the suspension. The second recall affects the current-generation Outlander and Outlander PHEV that have improperly built seat belt assemblies. NHTSA campaign No. 20V279000 states that Mitsubishi is recalling 141,200 2008-2010 Lancers, 2010 Lancer Sportbacks, 2008-2013 Outlanders, and 2011-2016 Outlander Sports due to the possibility that the front cross member on these vehicles might be damaged. If these vehicles encountered road salt, snowmelt water, and anti-freezing agents, the cross member could corrode. If the cross member corrodes, there is a slight possibility the front control arm could detach and create an extremely dangerous situation.  This recall only pertains to vehicles in the Salt Belt region, which includes Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Washington D.C. Mitsubishi dealerships will inspect affected cars and make a judgment call from there. If the damage is minimal or non-existent, Mitsubishi will spray and seal the cross member with new anti-corrosion protection. If the cross member is damaged, Mitsubishi will replace it for free.  NHTSA campaign No. 20V280000 affects 3,238 2019-2020 Outlanders and 2019 Outlander PHEVs due to potentially faulty seat belts. On these vehicles the seat belts for the second-row passenger-side seat might have the wrong part. "Due to inappropriate manufacturing process at the supplier, the guide piece (which is a component part of the second-row seat belts’ anchorage) for the left side seat belt was mistakenly assembled with the right side seat belt, causing seat belt restraint efficiency for vehicle occupants to decrease in the vehicle collisions," a recall document states. Mitsubishi dealerships will inspect the seat belts in affected cars and replace them, if necessary. It is believed only 1% of the 3,238 vehicles have the defect. Visit the NHTSA for more information.

Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida rules out closer capital ties with Renault

YOKOHAMA — Nissan is committed to its automaking alliance with Renault but will not look to deepen its capital ties with the French automaker any time soon, its new CEO said on Monday. On his first day in the new position, chief executive Makoto Uchida also pledged to repair profitability at Japan's No. 2 automaker and said setting realistic targets would be key toward that goal, as it tries to make a clean break from the leadership of former chairman Carlos Ghosn. "Closer capital ties with Renault are not a focus in the short term," he told reporters. Uchida became CEO of Nissan on Dec. 1, as the car maker tries to recover from a profit slump and draw a line under a year of turmoil after the Ghosn scandal. The ousted chairman is fighting financial misconduct charges in Japan. One of the new CEO's big tasks is to salvage ties with Renault, which have deteriorated since Ghosn's ouster as chairman of both companies. Renault holds a 43.4% stake in Nissan after it saved the Japanese automaker from financial ruin two decades ago, and has pushed for the two companies to merge. In rejecting a notion of a merger with Renault, Uchida, 53, echoes his predecessor Hiroto Saikawa, who stepped down in September. He added that the alliance must re-think how it can serve all of its three members, which also includes Mitsubishi Motors. "The alliance has to benefit each of its partners in terms of revenue and profit," he said. "We need to re-evaluate what has worked and what hasn't worked in the alliance in the past few years." The CEO called for Nissan to set "challenging but achievable" targets, adding that this and the launch of more new car models and vehicle technologies would be key to its financial recovery. Nissan is bracing for its lowest annual profit in 11 years and has slashed its dividend by 65%. Its struggles come at a time when car companies desperately need scale to keep up with sweeping technological changes like electric vehicles and ride-hailing. "Somewhere along the way we created a culture of setting targets which could not be achieved," Uchida said, adding that this had resulted in a focus on short-term results. "Years of this had led Nissan to its current "difficult situation," he said, using heavy vehicle discounting in the U.S. market as an example of how aggressive sales targets to grow market share had deteriorated the company's brand.

Carlos Ghosn, a year after arrest, still seeks trial date and access to evidence

TOKYO — A year after his arrest, Nissan ex-Chairman Carlos Ghosn remains stuck in Tokyo under stringent bail conditions and without a trial date as he seeks access to a trove of Nissan emails and other evidence to fight charges of financial misconduct. His lawyers have asked a court to grant access to 6,000 pieces of evidence collected from Nissan such as electronic communications, which they say is crucial for a fair trial, showed an Oct. 4 court filing seen by Reuters. The once-feted executive has spent 129 days in detention since his arrest shortly after his private jet touched down at a Tokyo airport on Nov. 19, 2018. He faces four charges — which he denies — including hiding income and enriching himself through payments to dealerships in the Middle East. Nissan sacked Ghosn, saying its internal investigations revealed misconduct ranging from understating his salary while he was its chief executive, and transferring $5 million of Nissan funds to an account in which he had an interest. An earlier court ruling allowed prosecutors to hand back evidence to Nissan during pretrial wrangling over witnesses and evidence similar to the U. S. discovery process. If prosecutors are "given the freedom to unilaterally delete the collected evidence and return it to relevant parties, this is equivalent to granting the investigative agencies the right to destroy evidence," showed the filing to the Tokyo District Court. The lawyers also asked the court to rescind the earlier ruling, saying some evidence could be erased by Nissan to protect confidential business information. They argued the "ruling deprives Mr. Ghosn of his right to receive a fair public trial by an impartial court," as it enabled prosecutors to view and use the evidence and withhold it from the defense. Prosecutors are not required to hand over all evidence they or the police gather during investigations unless ordered by the court, unlike in the U.S. discovery process where prosecutors and defense lawyers disclose the evidence they intend to present in court. A spokeswoman for the Tokyo prosecutors' office said the office could not comment on individual cases. A Nissan spokeswoman declined to comment. Ghosn's lawyers have also asked the court to dismiss all charges against him, accusing prosecutors of colluding with government officials and Nissan executives to oust him to block any takeover of the automaker by French alliance partner Renault SA, of which Ghosn was also chairman.