Tokyo (AP) - Japan’s Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corp. is recalling 75,000 small trucks and buses due to a faulty braking device, the Transport Ministry and the company said Tuesday.
Subject to recall are 75,260 Fuso Canter trucks and 131 Rosa model buses produced between June 30, 1995, and March 22, 2004, they said. The vehicles involved were all sold in Japan.
Water containing snow melting agent may infiltrate into the braking system used on a hill start because of a defective waterproof structure, causing the brake to overheat and catch fire in a worst case, ministry official Taketoshi Tanabe said.
There have been two cases of catching fire due to the defect in Japan to date, but no injuries were reported in either case, he said.
Mitsubishi Fuso said it will also recall 748 Canter model trucks in Japan, manufactured between Aug. 25, 2005, and Dec. 6, 2005, due to a defective metal fitting that holds a spare tire, the company said on its website. Of the same truck model, it exported 87 Canter trucks to Singapore and the safety measure will be taken according to the country’s safety regulations, Tanabe said.
Tanabe said there was one report of a spare tire dropping off the fitted position in Japan, but no one was injured.