Third party to probe sudden acceleration claims on Montero Sport

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is hiring a third party to resolve allegations of sudden unintended acceleration (SUA) of the Montero Sport, a DTI official said on Thursday.

The probe will start next month.

“At least five (units) will be sent out to a third party,” Trade Undersecretary Victorio Mario A. Dimagiba told reporters in Makati.

The government is paying for the proceedings while Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. is shouldering the cost of transporting the sports utility vehicles.

“What we will do is pick up a vehicle from different production matches since this model was released in the market from 2010 to 2015,” Dimagiba said.

The DTI will include a unit from the group that has filed charges with the department, one from those that have claimed to experience SUA but have settled with Mitsubishi, and one that has not been involved in an SUA incident, the Trade official noted.

“They (Mitsubishi) have already accepted those conditions,” he said.

Last month, Mitsubishi Motors urged the government to hire a credible and independent third party to resolve the allegations of SUA plaguing the Montero Sport. The carmaker made the move as calls for a mass recall of the vehicle models supposedly involved in the incidents were raised.

“At this point, we believe such a recall order is not called for. That is why we have been pushing for a third party to settle the issue,” MMPC First Vice President Froilan Dytianquin said in an emailed statement.

Some 97 vehicles were reported to have exhibited SUA, but MMPC and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. of Japan found nothing wrong with the vehicles involved.

MMPC said it has “conducted extensive testing and investigation” against all the claims and assured the public that “the Montero Sport is neither defective nor unsafe to use.”

Mitsubishi Corp. of Japan “has not found any defects of cause directly linked to the vehicles involved,” it said. – VS, GMA News