Hundreds of thousands of diesel-powered Ram trucks on the road today don’t comply with federal pollution laws. The company that built their engines can fix the problem with a software update. It needs to fix it to avoid a major financial penalty. So, it’s trying to entice owners by offering a free warranty extension for those who bring the trucks in for the patch.
An Emissions Scandal
Automakers build their own engines for most cars and trucks. But heavy-duty truck builders sometimes use engines from diesel engine builder Cummins rather than building their own.
About a year ago, Cummins agreed to the largest penalty in Clean Air Act history for installing illegal emissions defeat devices on more than half a million truck engines built between 2013 and 2019.
The company agreed to pay a $1.675 billion civil penalty and force a recall of the trucks – Ram 2500 and 3500 heavy-duty models – to update their emissions control. All of the recalled trucks use a 6.7-liter Cummins diesel engine.
Company, Not Buyers, Have an Incentive
If the company fails to update at least 85% of the trucks by 2027, the already-historic penalty will increase. That motivates Cummins to get the job done.
Buyers, however, have worries. The recall isn’t likely cost-free for them. The trucks require diesel exhaust fluid that must be replenished regularly. Some worry that an update to the exhaust system means they’ll use it faster and have to buy it more often.
So Cummins Will Offer One
So Cummins is offering them their own incentive — an extended warranty. Owners who get the update can choose between a warranty covering 10 years or 120,000 miles from purchase or a warranty covering 4 years or 48,000 miles from the date of the call. The company says owners who have paid out-of-pocket for emissions repairs may even be able to submit a claim for reimbursement for old repairs.
The company will also throw in a duffle bag full of Cummins-branded merchandise while supplies last.
Cummins explains it all in a YouTube video. The company says the recall “takes no more than an hour,” is free, and “will not impact torque responsiveness or the horsepower of the engine.”
Cummins acknowledges that owners will need to use more diesel emission fluid but promises the change “may be less than one-and-a-half percent” with an empty bed and no more than 2.5% under “heavily loaded conditions.”
Will it get Cummins to 85%? It’s hard to say. For our money, taking a 4-year warranty on some parts of a long-out-of-warranty truck is a smart financial move.
