Truck owners sue Ford over diesel-cheating allegations
Ford Motor Co. SAN FRANCISCO rigged at least 500,000 heavyduty trucks to beat emissions tests, drivers claimed in a lawsuit, adding to the tally of carmakers linked to diesel-cheating allegations worldwide that started in 2015 with Volkswagen AG.
Ford’s F-250 and F-350 Super Duty diesel pickups, a slice of the top-selling F-Series, are spewing emissions as much as 50 times the legal limit for nitrogen oxide pollutants, according to the complaint. The trucks sold from 2011 to 2017 cost US$8,400 more than their gasoline-fuelled counterparts, the filing shows.
Ford marketed the trucks as “the cleanest super diesel ever,” while the lawyer behind the suit said they should have been called “Super Dirty.”
“The vehicle’s own on-board diagnostic software indicates emission control system to be operating as Ford intended, even though its real world performance grossly exceeds the standard,” attorney Steve Berman, a managing partner at Hagens Berman, said in the complaint.
Ford worked with German automotive supplier Robert Bosch GmbH to mask the vehicles’ inefficiencies in order to maintain overall performance, according to the complaint filed Wednesday in Detroit federal court. Bosch is named as a defendant in the proposed class action.
Representatives of Ford and Bosch didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Ford is at least the fifth carmaker accused of diesel cheating in the U.S., once again raising questions about the effectiveness of diesel technology. The dispute also casts a shadow on Ford’s “precious” FSeries, the top selling line of vehicles in the U.S. every year since 1981.
The lawsuit could pose a risk to Ford’s plans to introduce a diesel engine in its smaller F-150 pickup. It has said it expects the powertrain will boost fuel economy to 48 kilometres per gallon on the highway. That would confer significant bragging rights for Ford and potentially help its trucks outperform new models from General Motors Co. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV coming out this year.
Diesel engines, while more fuel efficient, produce greater volumes of nitrogen oxide pollutants, or NOx. During on-road testing the diesel trucks polluted at levels beyond legal limits and higher than their gasoline counterparts, according to the complaint. The suit includes 58 alleged violations of state consumer law, false advertising and racketeering claims.
Bosch is accused of developing software that enabled Ford to adjust fuel levels, exhaust gas recirculation, air pressure and urea injection rates while being tested for emissions by regulators.