Excess Emissions Prove Costly as Fiat Chrysler is sued by the United States Government
On Tuesday, May 23, the United States Department of Justice sued Fiat Chrysler for cheating on diesel emissions tests. The U.S government has alleged that Fiat used a combination of software and defeat devices to trick officials into thinking that its 3.0-liter eco-diesel engines are eco-friendly.
According to the civil lawsuit filed by the U.S government, Fiat, the world’s seventh-largest automaker, illegally used software to bypass emission controls in over 100,000 diesel vehicles sold since 2014.
The lawsuit against Fiat by the U.S Department of Justice comes amid growing scrutiny of diesels by regulators around the world. Earlier this year, a similar offense landed Volkswagen, the German automaker, a $2.8 billion fine. Just like Fiat, Volkswagen was accused of cheating on emissions tests, which eventually led to the huge fine. However, the approach used by Fiat to cheat on emissions was a bit different from the one used by Volkswagen.
To cheat on emissions tests, Volkswagen used ‘defeat device software’ that recognized when the car was being tested for emissions. In order to make sure that their cars met emission standards, the company used the software to turn pollution controls on during testing. Ultimately, the use of illegal software to cheat on emissions tests landed the German automaker in trouble as the scandal led to criminal charges, multiple resignations and settlement payouts in the billions.
Whether you’re a large car manufacturer or an individual vehicle owner, emission cheating is never legitimate. So, if there are chances of your vehicle(s) failing an emissions test, get replacement auto engines right away. Today, you can easily buy used engines or replacement engines such as used Japanese engines, low mileage Japanese engines and other used engines for sale from suppliers offering quality replacement engines for sale. There is no real reason for you to risk fines or pollute the environment when you have such options right at your fingertips.
Returning to the subject at hand, unlike Volkswagen that used illegal software to turn on pollution controls during testing, Fiat is accused of making the engines of its vehicles perform differently for the first twenty-two minutes after they were turned on, which is a few minutes longer than the length of German emissions tests.
While the lawsuit by the U.S government is likely to end in a settlement, the troubles for Fiat won’t end so easily. In addition to the lawsuit by the U.S government, Fiat is being investigated by the French government over excessive nitrogen emissions from its diesel-powered vehicles. Additionally, the EU is set to take Italy, the country from where Fiat is being run, to court for failing to take reports of Fiat’s diesel cheating seriously.
Sources:
https://www.engadget.com/2017/05/23/us-sues-fiat-chrysler-over-emissions-cheating/
http://jalopnik.com/why-the-u-s-government-is-suing-fiat-chrysler-over-che-1795483130
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