Toyota Motor Corp. and other major Japanese carmakers said Thursday that aluminum plates provided by Kobe Steel Ltd., which is mired in a data fabrication scandal, and used in the hoods or doors of their vehicles do not affect car safety.

The reassurances come as external auditors consider conducting on-site surveys this week to establish whether the problematic data affect the steel maker's compliance with ISO 9001 quality management certifications, according to a report by NHK, and days after the European Aviation Safety Agency advised companies to stop buying materials from the Japanese firm.

Toyota said in its statement that it had examined data on faulty Kobe Steel aluminum plates for the past three years and confirmed "the materials satisfy applicable statutory standards, and our own internal standards, for key safety and durability requirements for vehicles."