Thread by @jpr007

15% Of Diesel Pickups In The U.S. Have Emissions Defeat Devices

A study conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Air Enforcement Division has revealed the full scope of aftermarket emission defeat devices used by U.S. diesel vehicle owners
carscoops.com/2020/12/15-of-…

In the report the AED estimates that emissions controls have been removed from more than 550,000 diesel pickups in the last decade

The removal of these systems will produce more than 570,000 tons of excess oxides of nitrogen and 5,000 tons of excess particulate matter over the lifetime of these vehicles

The report relates specifically to class 2b and class 3 diesel pickups (those weighing between 8,501 lbs – 14,000 lbs) and not those that weigh less or more

All up, the AED says the 550,000 tampered trucks constitute approximately 15% of the national population of diesel trucks that were originally certified with emissions controls systems

The excess nitrogen oxide produced by these trucks is the equivalent of adding more than 9 million additional diesel pickups to the U.S.’s roads

While the Clean Air Act prohibits tampering with emissions controls, the EPA has found numerous companies and individuals manufacturing, selling, and installing hardware and software designed to defeat these controls

The most common way to defeat the controls are through simple software tunes that alter the engine’s software functions and calibrations

Many owners also fit straight-through exhaust systems, thereby removing the standard exhausts that contain the after-treatment systems

The AED report also reveals that states without regular vehicle inspections have a higher percentage of diesel trucks with defeat devices

For example, as many as 18.6% of North Dakota’s pickup truck fleet in 2016 is estimated to have defeat devices

Other states high up in the list include :

- Idaho with 15%

- Wyoming with 14.2%

- Maine with 13.5%

- Michigan with 13%

At the bottom of the list is California with 1.8%, hardly a surprise given its strict enforcement of emissions standards

VIEWED FROM THE MARTIAN OBSERVATORY

At the South Pole