Cummins Diesel Violations Supporting Documents
The following documents are related to the settlement reached by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and California Attorney General with Cummins, Inc. for the use of illegal defeat devices in model year 2013-2018 Ram 2500 and 3500 trucks with a 6.7-liter diesel engine manufactured by Cummins. The case involves approximately 97,000 engines in California and nearly 1 million vehicles nationwide.
The defeat devices – software programs that alter or shut down a vehicle’s emissions control system under normal driving operation – were found using advanced testing methods and protocols developed by CARB in the wake of the 2015 Volkswagen diesel case. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency partnered on the investigation, which revealed additional violations in 2019 to 2023 model year Ram 2500 and 3500 trucks.
The devices affected vehicle operations in a way that allowed a vehicle to pass certification testing but then shut down vehicle emissions control equipment during actual on-road driving, resulting in excess oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions. NOx is an air pollutant that contributes to the formation of ozone and particulate matter. It can greatly aggravate health problems such as asthma and cardio-pulmonary disease and is a particularly serious and expensive problem in California.
Only under certain, specific conditions is the software that alters the operation of the emissions control system (known as an ‘auxiliary emission control device’) permitted, typically to protect the engine. However, it must be disclosed to regulators as part of the engine’s certification. In this case, Cummins did not disclose the existence of the auxiliary emission control devices.
The total settlement is valued at over $2 billion dollars with California receiving $372 million of the settlement for penalties and mitigation.
The company will repair effected vehicles to replace the engine control software at no cost to owners. Cummins will also extend the warranty period for certain parts in the repaired vehicles and employ new internal procedures to ensure there are no future violations