U.S. to Ask Mitsubishi to Vouch for Cars

Federal auto safety officials will ask Mitsubishi to vouch for the quality of cars it has sold in the United States, after the auto maker’s parent company admitted to systematically concealing consumer complaints in Japan. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration was preparing a letter to Mitsubishi Motor Sales of America, posing questions about the safety of cars sold to Americans. NHTSA has no evidence that Mitsubishi had failed to report problems with its cars to U.S. authorities. But the agency, which is in charge of auto safety recalls, wants reassurances no such lapses have taken place, said Tim Hurd, a NHTSA spokesman. The NHTSA action follows admissions from Mitsubishi Motors Corp. executives in Tokyo this week that the company hid consumer complaints from the government for more than 20 years. The parent company announced a recall of 88,000 vehicles in Japan and about 200,000 overseas. The recall includes 10,000 Galant sedans made in 1994 and 1995 and sold in the U.S., which may have fuel tank cracks, and 344 Monteros with possible brake-hose problems. But the auto maker’s U.S. subsidiary said the problems in Japan have little bearing on American customers, and that the company has worked closely with the highway safety agency.