- A Ford dealer in Nebraska has been hit with a $40k fine for deleting emissions equipment from diesel trucks.
- Moody Motor Co from Niobrara bought delete kits from Diesel Performance of Texas and fitted them to up to 20 trucks between 2019 and 2022, the EPA says.
- The delete kits removed legally-required emissions tech from the trucks, violating the Clean Air Act.
The EPA has been cracking down on tuning companies selling diesel delete equipment over the last few years, but this month a Ford dealer was caught up in the scandal. Moody Motor Co from Niobrara, Nebraska, was hit with a $40k fine for violating the Clean Air Act by deleting up to 20 diesel trucks using parts obtained from an aftermarket company.
A judge handed out a $39,741 fine and $125 special assessment fee to the 69-year-old Ford dealership after hearing that Moody had purchased delete kits on 14 separate occasions between 2019-22. The transactions came to light during an investigation into the activities of tuning firm Diesel Performance of Texas.
Related: Californian Tuner Fined $1M For Selling Diesel Emissions Cheat Devices For Pickups
Moody’s mechanics admitted to modifying 10-20 individual trucks using the kits to delete legally-required emissions equipment. One of the deleted trucks belonged to a relative of a Moody employee, who said he performed the mod because the truck was a trade-in and needed multiple sensors replaced.
Though a delete can increase a diesel engine’s performance and economy, some owners chose to do it to get rid of endless sensor warnings that older trucks can throw up. The judge didn’t see any of those as a valid justifications for violating the Clean Air Act and handed the dealer one year’s probation on top of the $40k fine.
While $40k is not small change for a tiny dealership to find, it looks like the stuff they might find down the side of a seat on a trade-in compared with the $10 million fine applied to Diesel Ops LLC and Orion Diesel LLC, in 2022, two companies owned by Nicholas Piccolo engaged in selling delete kits.
Emissions defeat devices were one of the EPA’s six National Compliance Initiatives until 2023, meaning they received plenty of attention and funding, but as of this year they’ve been bumped down the priority list.
H/T to The Drive