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The eBearing News
December 3, 2004
Isuzu Recalls Trucks Over Hub Bearing Failures
copyright © 2004 eBearing Inc.
Isuzu Motors Ltd. (Japan) notified Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport it
will recall 2,335 midsize Forward trucks due to front wheel bearing failures.
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Isuzu Forward
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The trucks, built between August 2000 and May 2004, use hub bearing units sourced from
Mitsubishi's deeply troubled Fuso truck parts division. Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus was
recently spun off from Mitsubishi Motors.
Fuso hub and bearing units used in their own trucks have been implicated in a wide range of wheel-off
and bearing failure incidents going back over a decade.
Both Mitsubishi and Fuso executives face civil and criminal charges stemming from their
efforts to cover up the failures, providing falsified information to safety authorities,
and responsibility for at least one death. The company went so far as to cover up engineering
studies showing the hub and bearing unit was prone to catastrophic failures and wheel-offs.
Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus is currently in stop-production of all heavy trucks due to their
front and rear wheel hub and bearing assemblies not meeting safety or service standards.
The hub and bearing units sourced by Isuzu for the Forward are apparently are not prone to wheel-offs,
but are prone to locking up from overheating. There have also been reports of overheated wheel
bearing units causing the grease to ignite, burning the wheel and brake assemblies and the trucks themselves.
In 2005, Isuzu will transition its Forward truck away from a proprietary chassis to a standard
General Motors truck chassis and drivetrain. General Motors is Isuzu's largest investor.
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- by Bruce A. Carr
from individual research,
tips and commercial sources.
Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.
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eBearing.com ... for everything that moves™
Entire contents Copyright 1999-2008, eBearing Inc. All rights reserved.
eBearing.com and "... for everything that moves" are registered
trademarks of eBearing Inc.
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eBearing.com ... for everything that moves™
Entire contents Copyright © 1999-2008, eBearing Inc. All rights reserved.
eBearing.com and "... for everything that moves" are registered trademarks of eBearing Inc.
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