Press Release

Attorney General Ellison announces settlements with Fiat Chrysler and Bosch for unlawful emissions-cheating scheme

Minnesota to collect $3.5 million from companies for their illegal practices

March 12, 2019 (SAINT PAUL) — Attorney General Keith Ellison announced today that Minnesota has obtained settlements from automaker Fiat Chrysler and auto supplier Bosch for engaging in an emissions-cheating scheme. In that scheme, unlawful “defeat device” software was installed in some of Fiat’s diesel vehicles so that they could be marketed and sold in Minnesota as “environmentally friendly” when in reality, they spewed harmful pollutants at levels 35 times higher than allowed by law. Fiat is required to pay Minnesota more than $1 million and Bosch is required to pay Minnesota more than $2.4 million as part of their settlements with 52 jurisdictions nationwide that require those companies to pay a total of over $170 million.

“One way to help Minnesotans afford their lives is to make sure they get the benefit of the bargain that they paid for,” said Attorney General Ellison. “Fiat Chrysler and Bosch falsely promised Minnesota consumers environmentally-friendly vehicles, when in reality they sold them heavy polluters that harmed them and Minnesota’s environment. These settlements hold Fiat Chrysler and Bosch accountable for their illegal scheme.”

Fiat Chrysler

Fiat Chrysler installed unlawful “defeat device” software in over 1,700 Model Year 2014-16 Jeep Grand Cherokee and Ram 1500 diesel vehicles that the automaker sold in Minnesota. Fiat used this illegal “defeat device” software to cheat on federal emissions tests and conceal the harmful levels of pollutants emitted by such vehicles. Fiat then further misled consumers by marketing these vehicles as environmentally friendly “Eco-Diesel” vehicles when in reality, they emitted pollutants at rates 35 times higher than the legal limits.

In addition to a payment of over $1 million to Minnesota, the settlement also prohibits Fiat Chrysler from engaging in future deceptive acts or practices with consumers, and requires Fiat Chrysler to carry out its obligations under a related multi-district settlement agreement (“MDL Consumer Settlement”) that settled claims brought by a nationwide class of harmed consumers. The MDL Consumer Settlement requires Fiat Chrysler to:  (1) eliminate all defeat device software from the affected vehicles; (2) provide owners and lessees extended warranties; and (3) pay eligible owners, lessees, and former owners restitution in a range (on average) of between $990 and $2,908.

For more information about the restitution process under the MDL Consumer Settlement for eligible owners, lessees, and former owners of certain Fiat Chrysler vehicles, please visit www.EcoDieselSettlement.com.

Bosch

Bosch is a multinational engineering company that is a major supplier to the global automotive industry. Among the products Bosch supplies to its auto manufacturing customers are the electronic control units that house the complex software that controls nearly all aspects of an engine’s performance, including emissions systems. When Volkswagen, a Bosch customer, was revealed to have systematically utilized defeat device software in its diesel vehicles, several states Attorneys General, including the Attorney General of Minnesota, commenced a separate investigation into the role played by Bosch in enabling its customers — which included Volkswagen and Fiat Chrysler — to potentially violate federal emissions regulations.

As a result of this investigation, the Attorney General concluded that Bosch helped Volkswagen and Fiat Chrysler install illegal defeat device software in more than 600,000 vehicles (including over 13,000 vehicles in Minnesota) over a period that spanned more than a decade. 

In addition to a payment of over $2.4 million to Minnesota, the settlement agreement also includes precedent-setting injunctive terms and requires Bosch to maintain robust processes to monitor compliance and to refuse to accommodate requests for software development and programming that could result in the installation of unlawful defeat device software.