WHITE PAPER APRIL 2017 A HISTORICAL REVIEW OF THE U.S. VEHICLE EMISSION COMPLIANCE PROGRAM AND EMISSION RECALL CASES Hui He, Lingzhi Jin www.theicct.org [email protected] BEIJING | BERLIN | BRUSSELS | SAN FRANCISCO | WASHINGTON ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors thank the internal and external reviewers of this paper for their guidance and constructive comments, with special thanks to Steve Albu, Charles Freed, Robert Maxwell, Margo Oge, Karl Simon, John Urkov, and Michael P. Walsh for the input they gave through interviews in the early stages of this paper. In addition, we also thank Tom Cackette, Robert Maxwell, Margo Oge, John Urkov, Michael P. Walsh, Yan Ding, Dagang Tang, John German, Fanta Kamakate, Rachel Muncrief, and Zifei Yang for their thoughtful reviews. Funding for this work was generously provided by the ClimateWorks Foundation, the Energy Foundation, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. © 2017 International Council on Clean Transportation 1225 I Street NW, Suite 900, Washington DC 20005 [email protected] | www.theicct.org | @TheICCT TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary .................................................................................................................. iv 1. Introduction ...........................................................................................................................1 2. Legal authority under the U.S. compliance program ......................................................4 3. Evolution of the U.S. compliance program .....................................................................6 4. Historical trends of U.S. vehicle emission recalls ..........................................................17 5. Recall and enforcement cases ......................................................................................... 20 5.1 Chrysler 1978 recall ...................................................................................................................... 20 5.2 General Motors 1995 recall .........................................................................................................24 5.3 Heavy-duty diesel engine 1998 defeat device recall .......................................................26 5.4 Toyota 2003 OBD settlement ...................................................................................................28 5.5 Mercedes-Daimler 2006 defect report settlement ......................................................... 30 5.6 Volkswagen 2015 diesel defeat device recall ..................................................................... 30 6. Data sources for identifying in-use noncompliance .....................................................34 6.1 In-use compliance testing program run by regulatory agency ...................................34 6.2 Certification test data ..................................................................................................................37 6.3 I/M and OBD data..........................................................................................................................38 6.4 Manufacturer-run in-use testing program .......................................................................... 40 6.5 Warranty data and defect report ............................................................................................42 6.6 Other sources ................................................................................................................................. 46 7. Post-recall and other related actions ..............................................................................47 8. Findings and recommendations ...................................................................................... 50 8.1 Findings ............................................................................................................................................ 50 8.2 Recommendations ........................................................................................................................52 9. References ..........................................................................................................................54 i ICCT WHITE PAPER LIST OF FIGURES Figure ES-1. Evolution of U.S. vehicle emission compliance and control program ............... v Figure 1. EPA compliance program for light-duty vehicles (LDVs) .............................................6 Figure 2. EPA compliance program for heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs) and off-road engines ........................................................................................................................................6 Figure 3. Evolution of U.S. vehicle emission compliance and control program ....................16 Figure 4. Percent of light-duty vehicles (LDVs) recalled by model year .................................18 Figure 5. Historic light-duty vehicle (LDV) recall volumes by recall type and calendar year ....................................................................................................................................19 Figure 6. Data sources leading to recalls ........................................................................................... 34 Figure 7. NOX emission compliance margin at new vehicle certification, CY2012-2013...... 38 Figure 8. EPA compliance procedures leading to recalls .............................................................42 Figure 9. Number of advisory circulars (all years) ......................................................................... 48 Figure 10. Number of guidance letters from 1979–2016 ............................................................... 49 LIST OF TABLES Table ES-1. Summary of recall and enforcement cases reviewed ...............................................vi Table 1. Summary of recall and enforcement cases reviewed .................................................... 33 Table 2. Number of test classes selected in surveillance testing for LDV, CY2007-CY2013 ..................................................................................................................................... 35 Table 3. LDV in-use verification program test volumes (number of vehicles) ...................... 41 Table 4. Warranty claim levels triggering recall ..............................................................................43 Table 5. CY2013 Light-duty vehicle defect reports by manufacturer .....................................44 Table 6. CY2013 Light-duty vehicle defect reports by problem category ............................45 ii A HISTORICAL REVIEW OF THE U.S. VEHICLE EMISSION COMPLIANCE PROGRAM LIST OF ACRONYMS A/C Advisory circular AECD auxiliary emission control device CAA Clean Air Act CAP 2000 Compliance Assurance Program CARB California Air Resources Board CFR Code of Federal Regulations CO carbon monoxide COC certificate of conformity CY Calendar year DEF diesel exhaust fluid DOJ Department of Justice ECM electronic control module EPA U.S. Environmental Protection Agency FTP Federal Test Procedure GVWR Gross vehicle weight rating HDDE heavy-duty diesel engine HDV heavy-duty vehicle I/M inspection and maintenance program IUCP in-use confirmatory program IUVP in-use verification program LDV light-duty vehicle MIL malfunction indicator lamp MY model year NAAQS National Ambient Air Quality Standards NOX nitrogen oxides NTE not-to-exceed (NTE standard) OBD on-board diagnostics OECA Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance OEM original equipment manufacturer OTAQ EPA Office of Transportation and Air Quality OTL OBD threshold limit PEMS portable emissions measurement system SEA selective enforcement audit SEP Supplemental Environmental Projects SFTP Supplemental Federal Test Procedure iii ICCT WHITE PAPER EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Emission recalls are a critical aspect of vehicle emission compliance and enforcement programs. An emission recall is a repair, adjustment, or modification program conducted by a manufacturer to remedy an emissions-related problem. An emission recall is quite costly to a manufacturer. A typical recall can cost millions of dollars plus reputational damage to the automakers; therefore, recalls act as a major deterrent against manufacturer emission violations. To avoid recalls, manufacturers are motivated to produce emission controls that not only pass emission certification testing, but also remain functional when vehicles are in real-world use. Over the decades since the Clean Air Act (CAA) was initially enacted in 1963, regulators from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and California Air Resources Board (CARB) have developed comprehensive and rigorous compliance and recall programs, including a number of subprograms to detect and verify emission issues. Compliance is important for achieving the public health benefits and air-quality improvements required by the standards, as well as ensuring that all manufacturers are abiding by the same rules and guidelines. However, many emerging markets still do not have any robust emission compliance programs, even though the corresponding standards have been in place for years. In many countries, adequate legal authority is also lacking. Some markets have a partial program (i.e., a program composed of certain elements of the U.S. compliance program) but have limited resources to pursue a more comprehensive program. Most of these governments may not have adequate data sources to identify emission compliance issues. This paper aims to provide useful information for governments that are in the early stages