Japan’s carmakers to jointly relax standards for what makes a part defective

It’s well known that Japanese carmakers employ the highest quality standards in the entire industry. Parts with even the smallest defects are discarded, ensuring that the finished product will be the benchmarks by which all others are judged. However, due to the unpredictable situation in the Middle East, raw materials are becoming scarcer and a coalition of carmakers are developing new standards that won’t be so quick to toss “defective” parts into the rubbish.

Historically, the top ranking Japanese companies, such as Toyota, have held themselves to incredibly rigorous internal quality standard. Even the slightest imperfection and the part is deemed unworthy of installation in a car. But according to the Nikkei, eight members of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, including Toyota and Honda, are developing a unified standard for determining whether parts are defective.

That sounds innocuous on the surface, but what’s actually happening is that bar for what is considered defective will be relaxed. “Even if individual companies determine a part to be defective, it will be used if it does not meet the unified policy,” the Nikkei reports, “This initiative aims to ensure a stable supply of parts within Japan, especially as the Middle East crisis makes it difficult to procure raw materials.”

With the new rules, a company like Toyota will be required to use a part even if it’s deemed flawed by its own internal metrics. In other words, some Japanese carmakers hold themselves to such a high standard that the rest of the industry needs to step in and say, “enough.”

The rules will not affect the safety of the finished cars. Most of the rules involve defects such as visual blemishes on parts that most owners will never see. Only time will tell if this will erode the legendary reputation for quality that companies like Toyota and Honda enjoy. For enthusiasts, it’s another reason to hang on to older cars built before such changes.