A maker of aftermarket vehicle products called “delete devices,” which are used to disable a vehicle’s emissions control equipment, will pay $1 million for violations of the Clean Air Act (CAA).
Deleting a vehicle means overriding or disabling a vehicle’s emissions control equipment, which is installed by the vehicle’s manufacturer to meet emissions limits required under the CAA, the plea agreement says. For diesel engines, this equipment often includes a diesel particulate filter, a selective catalytic reduction system, an exhaust gas recirculation system, and a diesel oxidation catalyst.
Many of those emissions controls are found in the exhaust pipe, so the first step of deleting a vehicle is often to remove the exhaust pipe.
Removing emissions controls increases horsepower and vehicle performance. However, vehicles are designed not to run properly with the emissions controls removed, the plea agreement says. When the components are removed, the vehicle’s onboard diagnostic system will detect and flag a malfunction, then activate the check engine light or some other malfunction indicator, and may put the vehicle into “limp mode,” which prevents the vehicle from running normally.
“After removing a vehicle’s emissions systems, three broad categories of products are necessary to make the vehicle run, all of which are referred to as delete devices or defeat devices,” the plea agreement says.
Thousands of Noncompliant Vehicles
The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Air Enforcement Division released a report in November 2020, finding more than a half-million diesel pickup trucks in the United States that were originally certified with emissions controls have been illegally deleted. Stopping the manufacture, sale, and installation of illegal delete devices is a priority for the agency.Under the plea agreement, Sinister will pay a $500,000 criminal fine and another $500,000 under the civil consent decree, which the United States filed simultaneously with its civil complaint against Sinister. The civil consent decree prohibits the company from making, selling, or offering to sell defeat products, including delete tuners, and prevents the company from transferring intellectual property that would allow others to make such products.
To ensure compliance with these requirements, Sinister Diesel will implement a robust internal training program and notify its distributors and former customers about the settlement, the DOJ said.
“Sinister Diesel sold products that allowed drivers to strip the emissions controls from their trucks, causing a dramatic increase in the release of pollutants that worsen air quality and harm the quality of life,” U.S. Attorney Phillip Talbert for the Eastern District of California said in the statement. “Environmental laws that control diesel pollution are especially important to protect sensitive populations such as the young, the elderly and people who suffer from respiratory conditions.
“My Office will continue to vigorously prosecute those who place profit above the public’s health and the environment.”
Larry Starfield, principal deputy assistant administrator for the EPA Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, said Sinister Diesel was selling delete devices for close to 10 years.
“EPA testing has shown that a vehicle altered with these parts can emit more than 100 times the amount of certain harmful air pollutants, compared to a vehicle with an intact emissions control system,“ he said. ”This case shows that we will aggressively prosecute those who manufacture and sell devices designed to defeat vehicle emissions controls.”
Between 2010 and 2020, Sinister manufactured and sold parts intended to be installed on motor vehicles, particularly diesel trucks, to enable deleting the trucks by removing or disabling the trucks’ emissions control systems, according to court documents.
Sinister made more than $20 million a year in gross sales, with roughly 25 percent from the sale of delete products, court records indicate.
