Dozens of transport ministry officials inspected Mitsubishi Motors' offices across Japan on Tuesday after the automaker last week widened a recall to about 1.7 million vehicles.

The inspection of Mitsubishi's Tokyo headquarters and quality-control offices nationwide came after the ministry criticized the firm over the latest expansion of an oil leak recall.

"We are inspecting the company's offices to see whether the quality improvement program that Mitsubishi submitted to us is appropriate," ministry official Tsuneki Matsuo told AFP.

He added that the inspection, which involves about 40 ministry staff, would include Mitsubishi dealerships in Japan.

Two years ago, Mitsubishi recalled nearly 250,000 vehicles, adding about 300,000 more vehicles to the call back this year, after anonymous tips to the transport ministry prompted officials to order the firm to revisit the glitch.

Last week, the company said it was adding another 1.2 million vehicles to the recall, which is the latest in a string of safety and quality issues that have negatively impacted Japan's auto sector.

A faulty engine part could trigger an oil leak and light the oil pressure gauge on the dashboard. In a worst case scen­ario the engine could seize, the company said.

AFP