Opel Likely To Be Cleared Of Any Emissions Cheating
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General Motors’ Opel subsidiary has recently come under fire for “illegal defeat devices” in its vehicles. While it has issued what seems like dozens of statements over the matter, Forbes decided to pick apart the latest, helping to digest what’s really going on with the brand’s diesel emissions.
Long story short, there is some cheating going on, but Opel has done a better job at bending the European Union’s rules and regulations in its favor. Speaking to experts and insiders, each accusation brought before Opel has a valid explanation, but each could also be used for some very serious cheating, too.
For example: Opel was accused of switching off exhaust treatment at temperatures below 20C, and above 30C.
Opel: “It aims to protect the engine and meets legal requirements.”
Experts say: “True. However, coincidentally, exhaust tests are performed between 20C and 30C. That temperature window is being exploited by some in the industry.”
Experts agreed Opel has adhered to the EU’s rules and regulations while taking advantage of the flexibility of EU laws, with some insiders saying they were “impressed” by the technical sophistication Opel has gone through to clean itself up from this scandal.
So, it’s likely Opel will walk away unscathed (unlike rival Volkswagen). Perhaps it will be shaking in its boots, but it will be unscathed nonetheless.
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I read the Opel statement and found the explanations reasonable. http://media.opel.com/media/intl/en/opel/news.detail.html/content/Pages/news/intl/en/2016/opel/05-20-statement-adam-opel-ag.html
Of the instances where certain emission features were bypassed or adjusted outside the range used during emissions testing, much surrounded the EGR adjustments based on the following:
◾Engine speed and load (how much oxygen for combustion enters the engine) EGR is NOT switched off, only adjusted.
◾Ambient temperature (which affects combustion and the chemical reactions in the gas cleaning process)
◾Intake manifold temperature (to protect overheating of the intake manifold)
◾Engine coolant temperature (combustion stability)
◾Air pressure (which affects combustion and the chemical reactions in the gas cleaning process)
Additionally, Ammonia injection was turned off above 145km/h because the heat in the Catalytic converter would not absorb the Ammonia and result in releasing ammonia gas into the environment.
It would also be nice if the article pointed out that Opel’s emissions still work outside of the 20 – 30ºC temperature band, only at differing rates. Opel has also informed the regulatory agencies of this upfront years ago. The coincidence with the testing set-up is not causation.
NOW..
Look at what VW did, based on unrelated variables like steering angle and you can see what is a blatant skirting of the law. Or look at Fiat’s system that turns the emissions off after a certain number of miles driven – also irrelevant to emission controls. Opel’s system still provides emission controls – only with adjustments to maintain power, reduce sooting, protect the turbo, and prevent ammonia gas emissions.
I don’t see where Opel is shaking in their boots. If anything, their transparency is setting the bar for how the competition needs to communicate with the EU agencies. This transparency and willingness to disclose information to the regulators allows for potential influence with making future emission requirements both comprehensive yet realistic.
late edit: Fiat’s defeat device doesn’t turn off after a mileage limit – it’s even simpler than that. It works off of a timer – 22 minutes from start-up.