Last month, the EPA demonstrated that stopping the installation of aftermarket defeat devices for vehicles and engines remains a top enforcement priority.
These defeat devices are “aftermarket parts or software, such as modified exhausts or chip tuning products and services, that inhibit or bypass a vehicle’s emissions controls,” according to MotorTrend.
On June 4, 2024, the EPA announced enforcement actions against two companies allegedly selling these types of defeat devices.
The first was an agreement reached with Thoroughbred Performance Products of Winchester, Kentucky (d/b/a Thoroughbred Diesel), in response to EPA claims that the company illegally sold thousands of aftermarket products that disable vehicles’ emissions control systems. As part of the settlement, Thoroughbred Diesel agreed to stop selling defeat devices and pay a civil penalty of $1,250,000.
Thoroughbred Diesel also agreed to certify that it has stopped selling devices that disable vehicle emissions controls and to remove from its webpages and social media accounts all advertisements, photos, videos, and information that relate to tampering with and/or selling, offering to sell, and/or installing defeat devices.
The second action was the announcement that Full Force Diesel Performance, Inc. (FFDP), an automotive aftermarket parts distributor based in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, was assessed civil penalties in the amount of $525,438 to settle claims that the company allegedly sold illegal “defeat devices” designed to render automobile emissions controls inoperative in violation of the federal Clean Air Act (CAA).
As part of the settlement, FFDP agreed to certify it has stopped selling devices that disable vehicle emissions controls and removed from its webpages and social media accounts all advertisements, photos, videos, and information that relate to tampering with and/or selling, offering to sell, and/or installing defeat devices.
“Cracking down on sellers of illegal defeat devices is a top enforcement priority for EPA,” said acting Regional Administrator Jeaneanne Gettle in an EPA news release. “These illegal practices contribute to harmful air pollution and impede federal, state, and local efforts to implement air quality standards that protect public health. Emissions from mobile sources play a particularly important role in EPA’s Southeastern region, and the use of these defeat devices hampers our ability to maintain compliance with the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS).”
Tampering with vehicle engines, including installing aftermarket defeat devices intended to bypass manufacturer emissions controls, results in significantly higher releases of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matter (PM), both of which contribute to serious public health problems in the United States. These problems include premature mortality, aggravation of respiratory and cardiovascular disease, aggravation of existing asthma, acute respiratory symptoms, chronic bronchitis, and decreased lung function. Numerous studies also link diesel exhaust to increased incidences of lung cancer.
One EPA study found that known sales of defeat devices for certain diesel trucks between 2009 and 2020 resulted in more than 570,000 tons of excess NOx and 5,000 tons of excess PM over the lifetime of the trucks.
“As a matter of enforcement discretion, EPA is concerned with the sale and use of aftermarket parts that increase emissions,” states an EPA fact sheet on defeat devices and tampering. “EPA generally takes no enforcement for the sale and use of aftermarket parts if the person can demonstrate a reasonable basis for knowing that such use will not adversely affect emissions performance.”
Proof of “reasonable basis” includes:
- The aftermarket part is identical in design and function to the part it’s replacing.
- The vehicle, as modified, meets emissions standards when tested using the same tests as the ones the original vehicle manufacturer used to certify the vehicle with the EPA.
- By producing an Executive Order from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) that covers the same device on the same vehicle the device is installed on.
To be certain your company is in compliance before you sell aftermarket parts, ensure you have proof that the parts won’t increase emissions.
For ensuring compliance after the installation of aftermarket parts, have proof that the vehicle will be returned to its original, stock configuration after installation, or have proof that the parts won’t increase emissions.
Penalty amounts
Violation of the anti-tampering and defeat device provisions of the CAA may result in penalties up to the statutory civil penalties. As of January 13, 2020, the statutory civil penalties are $48,192 per violative vehicle or engine for manufacturers and dealers and $4,819 per violative vehicle or engine or defeat device for any person other than a manufacturer or dealer.