On Sept. 26, 2005, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., was informed by Mahle Tennex Corp. that the company had supplied Nissan with parts containing asbestos that were installed in 165,804 vehicles produced in Japan between 1995 and 1999 for the domestic market. The models are mostly commercial vehicles and include the AD VAN, Caravan and Atlas 10.
Following our own internal investigation, we have verified this information.
In September 1994, Nissan instructed its suppliers to comply with its new quality and measurement standard for delivered parts. Known as the "Nissan Engineering Standard," it prohibits the use of asbestos in any part supplied to Nissan. Following the new information from Mahle Tennex, Nissan has begun a comprehensive investigation of all parts delivered by existing suppliers to verify that they are in full compliance with the Nissan standard. Results of the investigation will be disclosed as soon as possible.
Regarding the affected part from Mahle Tennex, the asbestos is contained in a sealing part within air filters and oil coolers. Under normal circumstances, the asbestos within each of these parts is fully contained and there is little chance of it being dispersed.
The Japanese government prohibited the manufacturing and usage of certain auto and construction parts containing asbestos from Oct. 1, 2004. However, this sealing part is not part of that list.
We had previously announced that parts containing asbestos in our vehicles for the domestic market had all been replaced by the end of 1994. However, in light of this new information, we retract that statement and sincerely apologize for the inaccurate information.
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