Cummins will have to recall and repair around 630,000 Ram pickup trucks after reaching a settlement with the US government for violating the Clean Air Act. Authorities discovered that the engine maker was using illegal software to circumvent diesel emissions tests, and the company will have to pay more than $2 billion in penalties and pollution remediation.
The recall program requires Cummins to remove all defeat devices installed in the trucks and replace the vehicles’ software, which the company has already demonstrated works to the US Environmental Protection Agency.
The recall involves 2013 through 2019 Ram 2500 and 3500 diesel pickup trucks with an engine from Cummins, but the scope is sporadic. It affects 2013-2015 trucks with the two-sensor selective catalytic reduction controller, all 2016-2019 Cummins-equipped Ram pickups, and all 2019 Ram 2500s and 3500s built before October 1.
Vehicle owners have received or should soon be receiving a recall notice. Ram dealers will update the software, and Cummins will provide an extended warranty for the parts and software for the affected vehicles.
Cummins is just the latest in the auto industry to face punishment for its emissions software. The Volkswagen Dieselgate scandal that broke in 2015 brought intense, worldwide scrutiny to vehicles with diesel engines. The fiasco cost VW $4.3 billion. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Daimler also faced penalties for having vehicles with bad software.
