Keith Browning Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 There was this little notice posted on FMC Dealer today. It's not anything really new but I always think something is up when I see such things. In particular the last part of the communication is interesting in and of itself. What do you make of this? Why was it posted? Full message attached. REFRAIN FROM TAMPERING WITH MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY OR EMISSIONS CONTROL SYSTEMS AND EQUIPMENT The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, and certain state government agencies prohibit dealerships or motor vehicle repair businesses from making inoperative or removing any device, part or element of design installed on or in a motor vehicle in compliance with an applicable motor vehicle safety standard or emissions standards. These prohibitions apply both prior to and after the initial sale and delivery of a vehicle to the customer. Violation of this requirement by a dealer could result in a civil penalty of up to $37,500 per vehicle. QUESTIONS If you have further questions, please consult your dealership’s legal counsel, NHTSA, or EPA. Note: This field communication does not constitute legal advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DieselD Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 I beleive change is coming and what hasnt been enforced much in the past is going to become a big deal. Thanks to the internet Emissions tampering is a very public affair and those guys that run around promoting it are going to have a rude awaking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mchan68 Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 Why is the topic of this title "EFC08312"? Does that happen to be the last eight of the VIN in question by any chance? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Browning Posted April 20, 2015 Author Share Posted April 20, 2015 Why is the topic of this title "EFC08312"? Does that happen to be the last eight of the VIN in question by any chance? Mike, its an EFC or "Electronic Field Communications" bulletin. The numerical part is the bulletin number... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmorris Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 We don't get those. Never heard of an Electronic field communication. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Browning Posted April 20, 2015 Author Share Posted April 20, 2015 These are posted on the landing page for FMC Dealer and I suspect on INFORD however I am not in Canada sooooo.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad_Kelsoe Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 One of our techs came back from the new Diesel Performance Class last month. He had a classmate that got busted by the EPA for doing EGR deletes. The tech's fine was $10,000 and the dealer's fines were $30,000 according to him. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Bruene Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 They are getting pretty tough up here. I know of one person who was busted, he was fined $5000 for having the dpf off of his truck, and was forced to reinstall the components and take the vehicle in for an inspection. We've had a few customers come in to have their stuff reinstalled after being fined. One local shop that was installing deletes was forced to stop selling/installing deletes or risk being fined $25000 per vehicle. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff_E Posted April 24, 2015 Share Posted April 24, 2015 At work I have the actual federal statute and fee schedule that I printed off. This way whenever a customer with an emissions tampered truck rolls in and I don't want to work on it (which is always), I simply ask him to pre-pay the dealership's fine of $37,500.00 before I begin any diag. If they give me any grief, I simply inform them that the EPA has an anonymous tip line... And I'm feeling awfully anonymous today! I've gotten out of sooooo much crap work that way 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Bruene Posted April 24, 2015 Share Posted April 24, 2015 There was an officer from our provincial "Smog Patrol" in here a little while ago gathering some "information". He left me an e-mail address to send off VINs from vehicles with removed pollution control devices... if I felt so inclined. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forddieseldoctor Posted April 25, 2015 Share Posted April 25, 2015 At work I have the actual federal statute and fee schedule that I printed off. This way whenever a customer with an emissions tampered truck rolls in and I don't want to work on it (which is always), I simply ask him to pre-pay the dealership's fine of $37,500.00 before I begin any diag. If they give me any grief, I simply inform them that the EPA has an anonymous tip line... And I'm feeling awfully anonymous today! I've gotten out of sooooo much crap work that way Care to share where you found it? I suck at finding stuff like this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff_E Posted April 25, 2015 Share Posted April 25, 2015 The manufacture and sale, or the importation, of vehicles or engines without an appropriate emissions warranty, in violation of Section 203(a)(4)(D) of the Act, 42 U.S.C. 9 7522(a)(4)(D); • Violations of the emission control tampering prohibition under Section 203(a)(3)(A) of the Act, 42 U.S.C. 5 7522(a)(3)(A); and Violations of the emission control defeat device prohibition under Section 203(a)(3)B of the Act, 42 U.S.C. 5 7522(a)(3)B. Under Section 205(a) of the Act, 42 U.S.C. 8 7524(a), the maximum penalty for violations of the vehicle and engine requirements under Title I1 of the Act is $25,000 per vehicle or engine, with two exceptions. The maximum penalty for violations of the tampering prohibition when committed by any person other than a manufacturer is $2,500 per vehicle, and the maximum penalty for violations of the defeat device prohibition is $2,500 per device. These maximum penalty amounts were increased from $25,000 to $32,500 and from $2,500 to $2,750 for violations occurring after March 15,2004, through January 12,2009, and to $37,500 and $3,750 for violations occurring thereafter (see Civil Monetarv Penalty Inflation Ad-iustment m, 69 Fed. Reg. 7 12 1 (Feb. 13,2004) and Civil Monetarv Penalty Inflation Adiustment Rule, 73 Fed. Reg. 75340 (Dec. 11,2008)). Section 205B of the Act, 42 U.S.C. 9 7524B provides the factors that a court should take into account when determining the amount of any penalty in a judicial action under Title 2 ^^^^ That snippet lists the actual statutes in Federal law and is found on the 6th page (numbered #2) of this link: http://www2.epa.gov/sites/production/files/documents/vehicleengine-penalty-policy_0.pdf A good write up that explains it in laymans terms can be found here: http://blogsdir.cms.rrcdn.com/11/files/2014/04/Successful-Dealer-Special-Report_Tampering.pdf?__hstc=160148450.4e5614fb6fe3bf1cc5e5e93ca6363858.1429937805487.1429937805487.1429937805487.1&__hssc=160148450.1.1429937805488&__hsfp=168832207 An important thing to realize is the fine is only a few grand to the customer, but $37,500 to the repair shop. Furthermore, the shop doesn't even need to perform the tampering to be liable. The language of the law is such that a shop need only notice the tampering and fail to bring the vehicle into compiance if they are performing any engine / drivability repair or maintenance. Yes, I have years of experience in getting out of shit work in case you were starting to wonder 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forddieseldoctor Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 Thank you. That sucks that you can get fined for even working on one that's been deleted. But the big question I got is can the tech working on said vehicle get fined? And how much? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Clayton Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 "It had all the correct stuff on it when it left here, sir" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff_E Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 "Tell it to the judge, sir" ^^^ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Clayton Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 "your honor, it had all the stuff on it when it left here" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forddieseldoctor Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 Ha ha. Except you gotta start out with "To the best of my knowledge" first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Browning Posted April 27, 2015 Author Share Posted April 27, 2015 Ignorance is no excuse in the eyes of the law. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Clayton Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 What's a DPF? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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