Yahoo Autos Can Diesel Engines Survive the 21st Century? It All Depends on Integrity
Dieselgate started back in 2014, but it has never really ended, as more and more allegations roll in of defeat devices across the diesel spectrum.
From VW and Daimler to Cummins and Bosch, the EPA, CARB, and the DOJ have slapped historic fines on manufacturers as recently as 2023.
As diesel engines begin to phase out, the few remaining from Ford and GM will be judged on their integrity of emissions compliance above all else.
Like millions of other Volkswagen TDI owners, I have a personal connection to what we now know as Dieselgate. Gripping the three-spoke steering wheel in my mom's turbodiesel Jetta SportWagen, I was intent on driving every single hour required under Oregon's Provisional Instruction Permit driving program.
It wasn't the Miata I really wanted and wasn't equipped with a manual transmission like my 1991 Saab 900 Turbo, but its 236 lb-ft of torque may as well have been Tesla Plaid levels of power to my juvenile senses.
Two months after being permitted, the sprawling emissions scandal that we now know as Dieselgate broke, and the family gem of a station wagon was bought back by its creator not long after that. Ultimately, it was a small price for my family to pay in the name of a cleaner future, unlike the nearly $35 billion in fines and settlements that Volkswagen has paid to the same effect.
DIESELGATE
But it wasn't just Volkswagen that was complicit. Since that shocking 2015 announcement, Dieselgate has dragged on, encompassing parts suppliers, commercial operators, and legacy domestic manufacturers. From Daimler and Bosch to Stellantis and Cummins, the proliferation of diesel cheat devices was not a few-bad-apples incident.
The latest example of this came late last year, as diesel technology developer Cummins agreed in principle to pay a $1.675 billion fine for its role in installing emissions defeat devices on nearly one million diesel Ram pickup trucks. This comes after Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (now Stellantis) pleaded guilty to emissions fraud for the same models in 2022.
Largest fine in history
This $1.675 billion fine is the largest civil penalty ever secured under the Clean Air Act, and it's going to get even more expensive for Cummins in the coming months. In addition to civil fines, Cummins is on the hook for $325 million worth of pollution remedies, bringing the bill to around $2 billion for the Indiana-based company.
This monetary fumble is only half of the trouble ahead for Cummins, as engine customer Stellantis is likely giving Cummins an earful. That's because 630,000 diesel-engined Ram 2500 and 3500 Heavy Duty models will soon be recalled to remove the emission defeat devices, according to the Associated Press.
Cummins has remained insistent that there is no evidence of bad faith actions, making an official statement on its financial obligations late last week."We are looking forward to obtaining certainty as we conclude this lengthy matter and continue to deliver on our mission of powering a more prosperous world," the statement reads.
More fines coming?
In addition to the 630,000 trucks set for recall, the Environmental Protection Agency, California Air Resources Board (CARB), and Justice Department alleged that roughly 330,000 more trucks (model year 2019 through 2023) were equipped with undisclosed emissions control software.
Cummins says that punishment for the unreported software has already been included in previous penalties. Even so, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said that the emission-bypassing engines emitted "thousands of tons of excess emissions of nitrogen oxides" over the years.
WHY DIESELS POLLUTE
Why are diesel engines so different than traditional gasoline-powered engines? The scientists at CARB were more than happy to explain, but ultimately it comes down to a higher compression ratio, higher combustion temperature, and a leaner air-fuel ratio.
"NOx is produced by this high-temperature combustion and as a result, diesel engines inherently have higher NOx emissions," a representative from CARB explained in an interview with Autoweek. "In addition, the combustion of diesel produces diesel particulate matter, a known carcinogen, which is not an issue for gasoline engines."
Additionally, traditional three-way catalysts produced for gasoline engines don't work for diesel engines due to the high levels of particulate that diesel engines produce. Instead, diesel-powered vehicles are equipped with control technologies like engine gas recirculation, diesel particulate filters, diesel oxygen catalysts, and selective catalytic reduction systems to fully treat diesel exhaust.
"These add cost and complexity as each component has its own optimal conditions. SCR systems need to reach a high temperature before being fully effective and DPFs need to reach a high temperature regularly to regenerate or have an active regeneration design," the folks at CARB explained.
