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U.S. Sues FCA for Diesel Emission Violations
The U.S. Dept. of Justice has filed a civil lawsuit in Detroit that claims Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV used illegal software to evade diesel emission limits.
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The U.S. Dept. of Justice has filed a civil lawsuit in Detroit that claims Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV used illegal software to evade diesel emission limits.
The complaint also names as codefendant FCA’s V.M. Motori SpA unit, which designed the engine under investigation.
Federal and California regulators have been in discussions with FCA for months over the purpose of unreported software they found in diesel-powered 2014-2015 model Jeep Grand Cherokee SUVs and Ram 1500 pickup trucks. Both groups of vehicles are equipped with FCA’s 3.0-liter V-6 diesel.
Regulators have questioned whether the software was used to tweak pollution controls to pass emission tests, then relax them to allow considerably higher emissions on the road. FCA has insisted it didn’t engage in any deliberate scheme to cheat on tests and will defend itself against claims to the contrary.
The federal lawsuit comes less than a week after FCA applied to certify the emission levels for its 2017 model diesels. FCA said it proposes to use the same new software in those engines to update the 2014-2015 SUVs and trucks currently under scrutiny.
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