I feel vindicated that after having written a series of articles in this column in 2012 warning the public against the sudden unintended acceleration of Montero sports SUVs, now the House of Representatives, the Senate and the Department of Trade and Industry are finally conducting investigations on the matter. Broadcast networks, the print and social media, are also now avidly reporting on the frightening accidents involving the sudden un-commanded acceleration of the Mitsubishi Montero Sport.
Although the Montero owners who figured in such wild acceleration accidents have been made to sign confidentiality agreements upon the buyback of their defective units by Mitsubishi, they are now speaking up. One of them told me that she feels it is her moral duty to come forward to help save lives. In the past years, despite the many complaints filed at the Department of Trade and Industry, its action has been slow and lame. This discouraged the victims in pursuing claims for the injuries they suffered and caused to third persons. Thus, they would grudgingly accept the standard offer of Mitsubishi to buy back their vehicles and nothing more. They were also pressured into signing an agreement that prohibited them from divulging the contents of the agreement. Hence, the blogs that used to be maintained by victims shut down. But the occurrence of sudden unintended acceleration of the Montero Sport went on. This year alone, at least 97 complaints were filed at the Trade Department and the accidents showed similar patterns, that is, from a parked position, when the key is turned on to start the vehicle, it suddenly and uncontrollably accelerates without the driver stepping on the gas, or despite full application of the brakes.
In the ongoing investigation at the Trade Department, Mitsubishi officers are still at their old defense sounding like a broken record. There is nothing wrong with the Montero, they say. They even conducted a test drive of a brand new Montero, with media men in tow, last week. Expectedly nothing went wrong. So they insist that there is nothing wrong with the Montero SUV and the accidents must have been caused by driver error. But, quoting from William Cowper, absence of proof is not proof of absence. An expert on the subject, who has conducted many tests in various countries on the occurrence of sudden unintended acceleration, Dr. Antony Anderson, explains that it usually happens when the vehicle’s battery is weak. When the vehicle is started, the electronic throttle which is computerized gets confused because it lacks the power needed to start the engine. Thus, to make the car run, it compensates by revving up the engine with such power that it becomes uncontrollable. The Montero that was test driven for the media last week must have had new batteries, or its electronic sensor may have been different, no one knows for sure.
The fact is, research reveals that Mitsubishi cannot feign clean hands. In numerous articles published, one of which was written by Richard Hanson in 2004 (Asiatimes Online), Mitsubishi was reported to have been ordered by the Japanese government to recall more than two million cars and other vehicles and made to pay fines for defects in its vehicles discovered in 2000 onward. On top of that, its executive officers were arrested for having concealed a design defect that had been responsible for accidents for more than two decades. Wikipedia reports that Mitsubishi Japan was forced to admit to systematically covering up defect problems including failing brakes, fuel leaks, and malfunctioning clutches. Further, in 2013, the Japanese government warned Mitsubishi for delaying vehicle recalls. Mitsubishi then declared that it would recall 3,839 Outlander SUVs due to a problem in the software that controls the front and rear drive motors, as well as potential problems in the vehicle’s generator and front drive motor (http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mitsubishi-motors-recall-idUSBRE93M09E20130423#XHwBu6Sq5BacDy3Q.99). In all, Mitsubishi Japan has been forced to recall millions of vehicles no less than four times.
In the Philippines where regulators seem to lean more in favor of protecting business rather than the public, more lives will continue to be sacrificed until the Philippine government begins to match the strict standards followed by Japan and other countries. Ninety-seven reported accidents involving the Montero Sport for 2015 alone cannot be glossed over. The good news is, Filipinos are becoming more vigilant about protecting their rights. Victims of the Montero sudden unintended acceleration, one of whom is Raffy Nieto, have founded a Mitsubishi Montero SUA Facebook club whose membership now has reached 500. The group vows to keep stepping up pressure until Mitsubishi recalls the Montero Sport from the market. Until then, no one, not even Trade officials, is completely safe on the road.
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