Engine maker Cummins Inc. will recall 600,000 Ram trucks as part of a settlement with federal and California authorities that also requires the company to remedy environmental damage caused by illegal software that let it skirt diesel emissions tests.
New details of the settlement, reached in December, were released Wednesday. Cummins had already agreed to a $1.675 billion civil penalty to settle claims – the largest ever secured under the Clean Air Act – plus $325 million for pollution remedies.
That brings Cummins’ total penalty to more than $2 billion, which officials from the Justice Department, Environmental Protection Agency, California Air Resources Board and the California Attorney General called “landmark” in a call with reporters Wednesday.
I wouldn’t bring it in because the “fix” will be to hobble the engine and make it worse, namely lower power, and a big decrease in mpg.
Big decrease in mpg? Is the fix going to make the cars less efficient?
Very likely. Higher NOx out of the engine generally means lower fuel consumption, so the fix will likely decrease the real world mpg that owners were seeing.
I’ve not yet seen any technical information on the defeat device, but from my time in the industry I can make an educated guess how it will play out
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There probably won’t be a decrease in power, as it was likely an aftertreatment issue (sizing, durability, cost cutting) that made them decide to use a defeat device. Cummins would retrofit every cheating engine with a brand new aftertreatment system at great cost rather than reduce the power of their engines. The brand damage of reducing power would far outweigh any repair and warranty costs.
This exact thing happened previously with the RAM eco diesel (2014-2016-ish). The ‘fix’ negatively impacted the performance of the truck.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MmSUAOwpRY
Luckily my truck doesn’t have any emissions equipment, or after treatment garbage on it to worry about.