Ford Super Duty diesels ‘super dirty,’ suit alleges

DETROIT Ford Motor Co. rigged at least 500,000 heavy-duty trucks to beat emissions tests, drivers claim in a lawsuit filed in the U.S., adding to the tally of automakers 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 $8,400 more than their gasoline-fuelled counterparts, the filing shows.

“All Ford vehicles, including those with diesel engines, comply with all U.S. EPA and CARB emissions regulations,” Daniel Barbosa, a spokesman for Ford, said in an emailed statement. “Ford vehicles do not have defeat devices. We will defend ourselves against these baseless claims.”

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 (the) 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.

The company 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 F-Series, 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. The automaker has said it expects the powertrain will boost fuel economy to 30 miles per gallon (12.8 km/L) on the highway, conferring significant bragging rights for Ford.