Wednesday

31st May 2023

Car lobby complained about emissions tampering by others

  • Some diesel vehicles require AdBlue, a brand of diesel exhaust fluid made of urea and deionized water. (Photo: Peter Teffer)

The motor vehicle industry's main lobby organisation in Brussels asked the European Commission in 2012 to take action against a company offering to tamper with emission filters, according to an email seen by EUobserver.

The request is somewhat ironic, considering that it has since emerged some car companies themselves have misled the public about how their cars' emissions filters worked.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

Many diesel cars and trucks have an emissions filtering system that requires AdBlue, a brand of diesel exhaust fluid made of urea and deionized water.

After so many kilometres of driving, the AdBlue tank needs to be refilled, at the cost of the owner. Most cars will refuse to start if the engine control unit (ECU) thinks the AdBlue tank is empty.

In an email to the commission, a representative of the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) wrote that a company called ECUFlash was “once again” advertising to reprogramme diesel cars so that a warning to replace AdBlue will no longer appear in the vehicle's dashboard.

The tampering would allow the car or truck to operate without the emissions filter doing its work to prevent pollution.

The ACEA employee wrote in April 2012 that the issue had already come up two years before, and that at the time vehicle manufacturers persuaded ECUFlash to no longer publish their logos on its website. ACEA also pointed out that in the US, a website domain of a company offering similar services was seized.

“Can't the EU also act like the US Department of Homeland Security and take similar measures against websites offering goods or services that are against the common interest?”, the author added.

“Clearly, the devices on this web-page pose a significant risk to the correct functioning of essential (approved) environmental systems.”

“Most grateful for your advice how this issue can be followed up at EU level to stop such devices being sold that defeat the objective of EU legislation and the substantial investments by industry into complying with EU legislation.”

Defeat devices

The email had the subject line “Emission control defeat devices advertised on the web”.

Defeat devices, which switch off or turns down the emissions filter under certain circumstances, are banned in the EU and the US.

But ACEA's request for action against the sale of defeat devices rings somewhat hollow four years later.

In the period the email was written, Volkswagen Group was already installing its own defeat devices in diesel cars, aimed at fooling the emissions tests.

Recent revelations have also shown that many car manufacturers have equipped their diesel cars with defeat devices, even though most of them argue that these are allowed, because of an exception in EU legislation.

The commission, for its part, wrote ACEA back a week later.

Cat-and-mouse

An EU civil servant wrote that although is was unclear whether the sale of the equipment was illegal, “it is clearly undermining the objectives” of the EU's car emission legislation. The civil servant added the commission should “raise the awareness of member states that ECU [engine control unit] tampering equipment exists and is readily available for sale on the internet”.

“Obviously the issue will need permanent supervision, probably resulting in a cat-and-mouse game between manufacturers of vehicles and tampering tools,” the commission representative wrote.

The issue was discussed some months later at a so-called expert group meeting of member states, the commission, and ACEA.

It is unclear what measures were decided, but the Italian delegation had sent comments in advance, which are available online.

“The issue of ECU tampering is not negligible, and a concrete action aimed to reduce this kind of manipulation is needed,” the Italians wrote ahead of the September 2012 meeting.

They said that to discourage tampering, “adequate fines” for repairers and resellers, as well as for customers who ordered it, must be established.

The Italian request for fines against tampering with the engine control unit also has some irony to it. Italy has one of the lowest penalties in the EU in place for the use of defeat devices.

'Fully guaranteed'

Four years later however, the UK-based company in question is still advertising its services online.

ECUFlash is even boastful about it.

“Our Adblue removal service is fully guaranteed and will never cause you a problem again,” the company says on its website.

“This process of ECU reprogramming will not leave any traces of the system being inactive or any fault codes on the dash or in the ECU so you can take it into the dealers for service and they won’t be able to detect that its been disabled,” it adds, noting that after the procedure the car “will even still pass” the annual exhaust emissions test required by British law.

Investigation

Porsche told EU not to publish diesel emission result

The EU Commission has kept results of an emissions test of a Porsche diesel vehicle secret for months, at the request of the German car company - which was fined €535m for its role in the Dieselgate scandal.

EU commission appeals Dieselgate ruling

The Court of Justice of the EU annulled legislation which relaxed toxic emission limits for cars. EU commissioner Bienkowska said the commission will appeal.

Infographic

Top 100 European places where Dieselgate 'kills' most

In Europe, more than a third of those killed each year by toxic particulate matter - associated with unlawful diesel emissions exceeding the EU limits - live in about 100 conurbations, mainly in Italy, France, Germany, UK, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain.

Latest News

  1. Germany unsure if Orbán fit to be 'EU president'
  2. EU Parliament chief given report on MEP abuse 30 weeks before sanction
  3. EU clashes over protection of workers exposed to asbestos
  4. EU to blacklist nine Russians over jailing of dissident
  5. Russia-Ukraine relations the Year After the war
  6. Why creating a new legal class of 'climate refugees' is a bad idea
  7. Equatorial Guinea: a 'tough nut' for the EU
  8. New EU ethics body and Moldova conference This WEEK

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. International Sustainable Finance CentreJoin CEE Sustainable Finance Summit, 15 – 19 May 2023, high-level event for finance & business
  2. ICLEISeven actionable measures to make food procurement in Europe more sustainable
  3. World BankWorld Bank Report Highlights Role of Human Development for a Successful Green Transition in Europe
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic summit to step up the fight against food loss and waste
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersThink-tank: Strengthen co-operation around tech giants’ influence in the Nordics
  6. EFBWWEFBWW calls for the EC to stop exploitation in subcontracting chains

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. InformaConnecting Expert Industry-Leaders, Top Suppliers, and Inquiring Buyers all in one space - visit Battery Show Europe.
  2. EFBWWEFBWW and FIEC do not agree to any exemptions to mandatory prior notifications in construction
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic and Baltic ways to prevent gender-based violence
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: Economic gender equality now! Nordic ways to close the pension gap
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: Pushing back the push-back - Nordic solutions to online gender-based violence
  6. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: The Nordics are ready to push for gender equality

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us