Late last year the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency cleared BMW's diesel X5 Sports Activity Vehicle as not possessing any emissions-testing defeat devices like what Volkswagen was caught using. After the production delay that resulted from the EPA's investigation, BMW's Spartanburg plant has been cranking out the oil-burners to meet the healthy demand.
We thought that with the EPA’s blessing, BMW and other German carmakers that manufacture diesel-powered vehicles could continue to rebuild the powerplant’s image that took a big hit last year when Volkswagen was discovered to be using software that would turn on the vehicle’s emissions control system when it was being tested, but turn it off when it was on the road.
That’s why we experienced a brief panic attack after reading this Automotive News headline today: “German automakers to recall 630,000 diesel cars to fix emissions.”
What?
After reading the list of affected German automakers, we calmed down a bit. The companies involved were Volkswagen (big surprise), Opel, Audi, Mercedes-Benz, and Porsche. The story cited comments from a German government official that indicated increased attention to emissions following the Volkswagen debacle.
Reading further was even more calming, as it turned out that the German government determined that only VW was guilty of employing defeat devices. However, the other named carmakers were found to be using a legal loophole that allowed them to reduce emission treatments when it was supposedly necessary to protect engines; for example, in colder temperatures. It is apparently the German government’s position now that the loophole may not necessarily be necessary. Hence, the recall is to “tighten the loophole” so as to reduce future pollution.
We can’t remember ever seeing technical specifications for loophole tightening, so we’re assuming there must be some fuel-management or emission-control programming that will be altered on these vehicles to keep their emission-control systems more active more of the time.
What about BMW? The unnamed government source said BMW was not included in the recall.
BMW, as you may remember, began using Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) when it decided to bring diesels back into the U.S. market. SCR controls emissions by injecting a liquid-reductant fluid through a catalyst into a diesel engine’s exhaust. The liquid BMW uses is known as diesel exhaust fluid (DEF), which is basically urea. The DEF starts a chemical reaction that converts nitrogen oxides into nitrogen, water, and miniscule amounts of carbon dioxide—all of which are normally contained in the air we breathe—and which is then shot out the vehicle’s tailpipe.
SCR technology can reduce nitrogen oxides up to 90 percent. The problem, for a company such as Volkswagen, is that the system is relatively expensive, or at least, more expensive than cheating, until the company is caught, anyway.
By taking the high road—and high-cost—solution, BMW has avoided the cheating scandal that engulfed the Volkswagen Group. That’s not to say that it hasn’t taken advantage of every possible allowance during emissions testing, as all carmakers presumably have, but that’s the responsibility of the testing agencies to tighten up their testing processes and control.
Emissions control can be a minefield for automakers and sooner or later, just about all of them will step on one. The important thing is how the companies handle the problems when they arise. BMW has discovered erratic emissions from some of its diesel models in the U.S. over the past few years, and recalled the affected models for inspection, testing, component replacement when necessary, and reprograming.
Diesel BMWs have proved popular, especially for customers who covet the massive torque available when towing, carrying loads, or just plain tromping on the gas—or accelerator—pedal to be more exact. BMW has also indicated a willingness to discuss even more stringent diesel emissions standards. Our hope is that as diesel engines draw more attention from regulators, BMW will be in the lead of carmakers that build clean engines, properly test them, and report emissions accurately.—Scott Blazey
[Photo courtesy of BMW AG.]
