Yahoo Autos EPA Fines Diesel Exhaust Tuner Flo-Pro $1.6 Million For Defeat Devices
Flo-Pro Performance Exhaust and its distributor Thunder Diesel & Performance are facing fines of $1.6 million in relation to a 2018 EPA investigation into the companies’ alleged violation of the Clean Air Act. According to the agency, the hefty fine is the result of Flo-Pro selling around 100,000 diesel emissions defeat devices annually in the United States.
The large $1.6 million penalty facing Alberta-based Flo-Pro is actually a reduced settlement from the EPA’s initial request, as the company was found financially incapable of paying more. Despite Flo-Pro’s partner Thunder Diesel & Performance being cited in the lawsuit, the Arkansas-based distributor has already shuttered its doors and no longer provides any vehicle-related services. Regardless, the pair is responsible for paying the $1.6 million fine, as well as ending any customer support or warranty contracts related to the illegal diesel emissions defeat devices.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen diesel tuners face this sort of pressure from the EPA. Back in March of 2021, EZ Lynk was sued by the agency for the manufacturing of these parts, and later refused to cooperate with the investigation. Earlier this summer, Spartan Diesel Technologies was fined $1.3 million for selling just 14,000 of these emissions defeat devices. The founder of the company was also sentenced to a year and a day in prison.
“The exhaust from diesel pickup trucks equipped to operate without essential emissions controls causes severe harm to our nation’s air quality,” said Acting Assistant Administrator Larry Starfield for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “This action will stop the manufacture and sale of these illegal products, preventing additional excess pollution caused by aftermarket defeat devices and keeping the air we breathe clean.”
Diesel tuners aren’t the only ones starting to feel some pressure from the government as it relates to their trucks. Just last month, Road & Track reported that the New Jersey DEP is using used car marketplaces to search for non-compliant vehicles. This practice has been utilized to issue massive tickets related to emissions compliance, of which the only options are to comply or scrap the vehicle entirely. That’s all to say that this sort of enforcement isn’t going to slow down anytime soon. If you happen to own a modified diesel, be sure to check with your local regulations related to emissions. You don’t want to be the next one writing a check.
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