The California Air Resources Board (CARB) said this week it has reached a settlement agreement with FCA US LLC (FCA) of Auburn Hills, Mich., for $4,185,820 for violations of CARB’s air quality regulations. The FCA vehicles concerned include model year (MY) 2014 through 2016 Ram ProMaster 1500, 2500 and 3500 vehicles equipped with 3-liter inline-4 diesel engines.*
“CARB’s robust compliance testing ensures that auto manufacturers sell the exact vehicles that received certification for sale within California, without alterations made to skirt the state’s regulations and release excess emissions that harm air quality and public health,” said CARB Executive Officer Dr. Steven Cliff.
During follow-up compliance testing by CARB, the engine configuration was found to have an unapproved device that circumvented emissions control and did not comply with the emissions standards used when the engine was originally certified for sale in California.
As a pernicious result, the engines exhibited different emissions control behavior during real-world operation versus certification testing, resulting in nearly 55 tons of excess oxides of nitrogen being released into the air. As part of the settlement agreement, FCA will recall the vehicles to modify the emission control system to be compliant with state vehicle emission regulations. FCA is now part of the Stellantis global automotive empire.
The FCA settlement includes a more than $2 million civil penalty that will go to CARB’s Air Pollution Control Fund, which provides funding for projects and research to improve California’s air quality. The remaining $2,092,910 will fund a Supplemental Environment Project, dubbed Marine Vessel Speed Reduction Incentive Program, through the Ventura County Air Pollution Control District. The project aims to provide incentives for ocean-going cargo vessels to slow down in certain areas during peak whale and ozone seasons to provide wildlife and air quality benefits. [FCA shall not deduct any monies spent to comply with any provision of this Settlement Agreement in calculating and submitting its federal, state, or local income tax. – AutoCrat]
Previously, CARB entered a joint settlement in 2022 with FCA for similar allegations that the company violated the Motor Vehicle Pollution Control Device Regulation with certain gas engines. The company also settled with CARB in 2019 for allegations that the company violated environmental and consumer protection laws by using “defeat-device software” to circumvent emissions testing on more than 100,000 vehicles nationwide.
AutoInformed on
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, publisher (kzhw@aol.com), is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
Zino is at home on test tracks, knows his way around U.S. Congressional hearing rooms, auto company headquarters, plant floors, as well as industry research and development labs where the real mobility work is done. He can quote from court decisions, refer to instrumented road tests, analyze financial results, and profile executive personalities and corporate cultures.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
Ram ProMaster Diesel Engines – CARB Fines FCA $4.2M
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) said this week it has reached a settlement agreement with FCA US LLC (FCA) of Auburn Hills, Mich., for $4,185,820 for violations of CARB’s air quality regulations. The FCA vehicles concerned include model year (MY) 2014 through 2016 Ram ProMaster 1500, 2500 and 3500 vehicles equipped with 3-liter inline-4 diesel engines.*
“CARB’s robust compliance testing ensures that auto manufacturers sell the exact vehicles that received certification for sale within California, without alterations made to skirt the state’s regulations and release excess emissions that harm air quality and public health,” said CARB Executive Officer Dr. Steven Cliff.
During follow-up compliance testing by CARB, the engine configuration was found to have an unapproved device that circumvented emissions control and did not comply with the emissions standards used when the engine was originally certified for sale in California.
As a pernicious result, the engines exhibited different emissions control behavior during real-world operation versus certification testing, resulting in nearly 55 tons of excess oxides of nitrogen being released into the air. As part of the settlement agreement, FCA will recall the vehicles to modify the emission control system to be compliant with state vehicle emission regulations. FCA is now part of the Stellantis global automotive empire.
The FCA settlement includes a more than $2 million civil penalty that will go to CARB’s Air Pollution Control Fund, which provides funding for projects and research to improve California’s air quality. The remaining $2,092,910 will fund a Supplemental Environment Project, dubbed Marine Vessel Speed Reduction Incentive Program, through the Ventura County Air Pollution Control District. The project aims to provide incentives for ocean-going cargo vessels to slow down in certain areas during peak whale and ozone seasons to provide wildlife and air quality benefits. [FCA shall not deduct any monies spent to comply with any provision of this Settlement Agreement in calculating and submitting its federal, state, or local income tax. – AutoCrat]
Previously, CARB entered a joint settlement in 2022 with FCA for similar allegations that the company violated the Motor Vehicle Pollution Control Device Regulation with certain gas engines. The company also settled with CARB in 2019 for allegations that the company violated environmental and consumer protection laws by using “defeat-device software” to circumvent emissions testing on more than 100,000 vehicles nationwide.
AutoInformed on
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, publisher (kzhw@aol.com), is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. Zino is at home on test tracks, knows his way around U.S. Congressional hearing rooms, auto company headquarters, plant floors, as well as industry research and development labs where the real mobility work is done. He can quote from court decisions, refer to instrumented road tests, analyze financial results, and profile executive personalities and corporate cultures. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.