Home Add to Favorite Contact Submit  
           29 March, 2024


    
Category:  Press » Automotive

 

Federal Settlement Targets Illegal Emission Control 'Defeat Devices' Sold for Autos

Popularity:
         Views: 1668
2007-07-11 11:26:03     
U.S. Department of Justice

The Department of Justice and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today a landmark settlement requiring Casper's Electronics, of Mundelein, Ill., to pay a penalty and stop selling devices that allow cars to release excess levels of pollution into the environment, in violation of the Clean Air Act (CAA).

Today's settlement, the first of its kind, requires Casper's to stop selling electronic devices -- known as oxygen sensor simulators or "O2 Sims," -- recall the devices, and pay more than $74,000 in civil penalties to the United States. An O2 Sim tricks an automobile engine's computer into sensing a properly functioning emission control system, even when the catalytic converter is missing or faulty. These "after-market" sensors are considered illegal "defeat devices" under the federal CAA.

Casper's has sold approximately 44,000 defeat devices through retailers and from its Web site since 2001. The EPA estimates that the increased emissions from installation of these devices over the life of the vehicles are 7,400 tons of hydrocarbons, 347,000 tons of carbon monoxide, and 6,000 tons of nitrogen oxides. This is equivalent to the emissions produced by a half- million cars with fully operational emission control systems over their lifetimes.

"Emission control defeat devices, like those used here, risk harming human health and the environment by allowing huge increases in pollutants from motor vehicles," said Ronald J. Tenpas, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division. "The Justice Department will continue to vigorously enforce all of the provisions of the Clean Air Act -- including its rule against these devices -- against violators, including those using the Internet to illegally sell their wares."

"Reliable and effective automobile pollution control systems are essential to protect human health and the environment from harmful automobile emissions," said Granta Nakayama, the EPA's Assistant Administrator for enforcement and compliance assurance. "Casper's sale of the oxygen sensor simulator defeat devices over a multi-year period is a serious violation because it facilitated the removal or malfunctioning of motor vehicle catalytic converters, which are the primary emission controls devices to prevent excessive pollution from cars and trucks."

An oxygen sensor simulator sends a false electronic signal to the car's engine control computer, preventing the "check engine" or "malfunction indicator" light from illuminating. The malfunction light, part of a vehicle's on-board diagnostic (OBD) system, alerts the driver when there is a problem with the emission control system.

Casper's O2 Sims allowed vehicle owners to remove or disable the catalytic converter without the OBD system detecting the problem and turning on the check engine light. The CAA prohibits the manufacture and sale of any devices, such as Casper's O2 Sims, that bypass or defeat required pollution control equipment on motor vehicles. Cars and trucks with defeat devices can emit up to 50 times the amount of harmful pollution emitted by vehicles with properly functioning emission controls.

The EPA is currently investigating other automobile parts manufacturers and sellers that may also be making and selling similar products. EPA has found that some companies are advertising O2 Sims and other defeat devices as a way to enhance a car's performance. In addition, some companies include in their advertisements a claim that the devices are for "off-road use only," despite clearly marketing the devices for on-road vehicles.

Air emissions from cars include harmful pollutants such as non-methane hydrocarbons and oxides of nitrogen, key ingredients in the production of ozone, a major component of urban smog. Tailpipe emissions also include carbon monoxide, which impairs breathing. Both ozone and carbon monoxide are especially harmful to children, people with asthma and the elderly.

The recall required by the settlement requires Casper's to implement a mandatory repurchase program under which it must notify its customers that Casper's will buy back any O2 Sims sold by Casper's or its distributors, and create and implement a reporting system to ensure future compliance.

Both the complaint and the consent decree were filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division.

The consent decree is subject to a 30-day public comment period and subsequent court approval, and is available for viewing at the Justice Department Web site http://usdoj.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html.

Specialized in: Federal Settlement
URL: http://www.usdoj.gov
Print press release      Bookmark this page
Related Press releases 
Continental Mitsubishi offers customers the option to defer payment on new Mitsubishi models and used vehicles for 90 days (Popularity: ): COUNTRYSIDE, Ill. - April 17, 2020 -- Continental Mitsubishi, a dealership serving the automotive needs of Chicago and the entire surrounding area, is currently offering buyers of both new and used vehicles the option to defer payments for 90 days. This offer applies to both new Mitsubishi models and vehicles from its extensive pre-owned inventory.The special payment deferment offers from Continental Mitsubishi are being implemented in an effort to provide ...
Dominion Dealer Solutions Names Sharon Kitzman President of Dominion DMS (Popularity: ): NORFOLK, Va. - January 07, 2020 -- Dominion Dealer Solutions, a leader in automotive dealership software and services, announced today that it has promoted Sharon Kitzman to President of Dominion DMS following the retirement of Van Koppersmith, President and Founder of ACS, now Dominion DMS.Ms. Kitzman, who joined Dominion DMS in 2019, is highly regarded in the automotive and technology communities. She has worked as an executive and consultant to ...
Trucks Plus USA Announces 2015 Dodge JOURNEY SE SPORT UTILITY 4D (Popularity: ): Yakima, Washington ( press.abc-directory.com ) November 2, 2018 - Trucks Plus USA is the only Eastern Washington dealer with Nationally Certified Pre-Owned vehicles. It is the premier destination for powerful trucks in the Union Gap, WA area. They have everything from fully customized used trucks in Yakima WA to the SUVs, including this 2015 Dodge Journey.When asked about their service, the spokesperson replied "As one of the leading Yakima SUV ...
Altia and Cypress Deliver ISO 26262-Compliant HMI Graphics and Storage Solutions for Automotive Displays (Popularity: ): COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - November 02, 2018 -- Altia and Cypress Semiconductor Corp. have collaborated on a new automotive instrument cluster graphics solution that delivers functional safety. Altia and Cypress will demonstrate the instrument cluster at the 2018 Electronica trade show from Tuesday, November 13 to Friday, November 16 in Munich. The demo brings together key functional safety technologies from Altia and Cypress which provide a complete, ISO 26262-compliant development ...
Harley Davidson Roma Is Proud To Announce The Opening Of Our Site (Popularity: ): 09-02-2018 - press.abc-directory.com -- Harley Davidson is one of the most recognizable motorcycle brands in the world. It is a brand that is associated with speed, quality, precision, and fine appearance. Harley Davidson Roma and Harley Davidson Usato Garantito offer the people of these areas the latest models to hit the market.Harley Davidson is the first name in style and high performance when it comes to motorcycles. You may intend ...


Related Business 
Durr Environmental (Popularity: ): Manufacturer of hazardous air emission (HAP) and VOC control systems, including oxidizers, concentrators, and particulate control devices.
Bender Corporation, Inc. (Popularity: ): Specializes in efficient meltshop design, EAF emission control, steel mill emission control, scrap preheating Midshaft EAF developed by Manfred Bender.
Todayautonews.com - Autos Blog (Popularity: ): Blog dedicated to provide latest autos news, car reviews, shows and relevant articles. Discover the latest autos trends, autos industry updates, auto insurance as well as plenty of autos reviews and top autos picks at Todayautonews.com.
Emission Control Scrubbers for Labs & Small Applications (Popularity: ): Manufacturer of specialty emission control scrubbers which remove hazardous substances in the air. These are small scale units for use in laboratories, sampling stations, and other small volume vapor streams.
Nett Technologies (Popularity: ): Manufacture catalytic emission control products for construction and mining machinery, industrial forklifts, gen-sets, urban buses and trucks. Includes product overviews, emission FAQs and a listing of distributors.
Measurement and Control Devices (Popularity: ): Ronexprim sells the entire range of measurement and control devices. Call us and you will be advised by our choice of desired products. Measurement and control equipment, measurement equipment, measurement devices, measurement tools, electrical measurements.
Renta de Autos en Cancun (Popularity: ): America Car Rental, es una empresa con más de 20 años de experiencia en el arrendamiento de autos, empezando sus operaciones en la ciudad de Cancún, con el paso del tiempo hemos aprendido a conocer a nuestros clientes y es por ello que nos hemos dado a la tarea de ofrecer la mejor experiencia de renta de autos en Cancún, renta de autos en Playa del Carmen, renta de autos ...
Autos Craze - Autos Blog (Popularity: ): A blog dedicated to autos reviewing and providing information of the latest happenings in automotive industry.
Anguil Environmental Systems (Popularity: ): Air pollution control resource. Includes helpful introduction to pollution control, advanced emission control technologies, technology descriptions and compliance assistance links.
Sofi Associates (Popularity: ): Security extends to all types of Plastic Cards including Optical, Smart Card, synthetic National ID Cards, through to materials and devices for Brand Protection for goods , documents of value, vouchers, with OVD, holograms, inks and security chemicals to defeat copying and but also " sleeping devices" for machine verification.