German Regulator Says It Discovered New Illegal Software On Daimler Diesels (arstechnica.com) 73
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Over the weekend, Germany's auto regulator told Daimler that it would have to recall 42,000 Mercedes-Benz diesel vehicles after the group discovered illegal software on the cars that would reduce the effectiveness of the emissions-control system. Daimler said Sunday night that it would take a one-time charge of hundreds of millions of euros against the upcoming quarter's earnings to deal with the new accusations, but it disputed the government regulator's determination that the software in question was illegal. According to the Wall Street Journal, Daimler plans to formally object to the claims.
Today, the Daimler vehicles in question are Mercedes-Benz-brand vehicles that are only sold in the EU. According to a WSJ source, the issue relates to a coolant thermostat in the cars that protects parts of the engine. The related software is found on vehicles made between 2012 and 2015. The WSJ says the type of coolant thermostat used on the diesel vehicles in question is generally found on cars with catalytic converters that don't use selective catalytic reduction, an emissions-reduction technique that uses urea to reduce nitrogen oxides to less-harmful forms. But the GLK 220 CDI 4MATIC Mercedes-Benz models that must be recalled do appear to use selective catalytic reduction. The latest regulatory action is reminiscent of the accusations lobbed against VW Group in 2015, where the U.S. EPA accused the automaker of including illegal software on its diesel vehicles to ensure that the diesels would pass emissions limits imposed by the U.S.
Today, the Daimler vehicles in question are Mercedes-Benz-brand vehicles that are only sold in the EU. According to a WSJ source, the issue relates to a coolant thermostat in the cars that protects parts of the engine. The related software is found on vehicles made between 2012 and 2015. The WSJ says the type of coolant thermostat used on the diesel vehicles in question is generally found on cars with catalytic converters that don't use selective catalytic reduction, an emissions-reduction technique that uses urea to reduce nitrogen oxides to less-harmful forms. But the GLK 220 CDI 4MATIC Mercedes-Benz models that must be recalled do appear to use selective catalytic reduction. The latest regulatory action is reminiscent of the accusations lobbed against VW Group in 2015, where the U.S. EPA accused the automaker of including illegal software on its diesel vehicles to ensure that the diesels would pass emissions limits imposed by the U.S.
Don't worry. (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Don't worry. (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm glad that didn't work in the United States and that VW was forced to buy-back. If the vehicle can't meet the standards it had when the buyer was marketed-to and sold the vehicle then that should be the manufacturer's and dealer's problem, not the customer's problem.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
Interestingly with Daimler it's quite the opposite: they recently announced to no longer donate to political parties. Shortly after that the government (who was very critical of that announcement) suddenly discovers allegedly illegal software.
This sounds more like government extortion than corporate bribery.
Re: (Score:2)
The EU did nothing. Individual member states did things and they all did them differently. Some got compensation, done got buybacks and it seems the only people who really got screwed ironically was the Germans.
Re: (Score:2)
Err the "other countries'" "German" car manufacturers? I read your comment 3 times and still don't understand it.
Re: Meanwhile in Kentuky... (Score:1)
Most mining is becoming automated. So fewer jobs for trump fans. But safer. Also coal plants in Kentucky have been adding better emissions controls and improving air quality.
So basically you are a bigoted piece of shit probably from some dump in California which will have blackouts this summer. And the air quality is worse because Californians live in a self deluded bubble of narcissism.
selective catalytic reduction (Score:1)
That Rube Goldberg, he is one harsh dude! The things we go through to keep these primitive jalopies running is just astounding. Can't even run a steam engine without a damn computer that should be out there rendering Pixar movies for us.
Re: Are they fucking SERIOUS LOL? (Score:2)
But (Score:2)
It doesn't matter because Elon Musk is delusional. The big automakers including MerBenz is going to eat his lunch. Any day now.
Or so I hear.
Clean air, energy independence (Score:2, Informative)
Let's talk how small nations, like those in Europe, can be free from energy imports and the threat of CO2 and pollutants from petroleum.
How much land do you need for a number of low carbon energy sources, in watts per square meter.
Geo thermal: 50 mW/m2 (That's a world average, there will be hot and cold spots, but every addition to geothermal will approach this average.)
Wind: 2 W/m2 (Not definitive for all time and place but at least within an order of magnitude.)
Solar heating: 110 W/m2 (Just heat, not p
Re: (Score:2)
You really think that? I thought as an experiment I'd see what the news looks like on nuclear power. Follow along if you like. Go to Google's web site, search on "nuclear power", select news articles, then filter for the last month. On the first page I found numerous articles like this one.
https://www.usatoday.com/story... [usatoday.com]
But as important as it is to learn the lessons of Chernobyl, it is equally vital that we understand the relative risk of nuclear energy production in the modern era. As Mazinâ(TM)s series reveals, the accident at Chernobyl was the result of two things: a cheap and unsafe Soviet-era reactor, and an almost unbelievable confluence of human errors that occurred in precisely the order necessary to trigger the reactor explosion.
People aren't scared of Chernobyl any more. Fukushima might still hold some weight due to it being far more recent but there's been only one reported death from that. People are los
Re: (Score:2)
Nuclear is socialism.
What does that even mean?
renewables win on every front.
Using more land and natural resources to achieve the same economic output are not what one typically wants to "win" at doing.
Re: (Score:1)
The only organizations willing to 'insure' nuclear plants against catastrophe are governments.
There are no private insurance companies willing to do it. So yes, it is 'socialism' in that sense,
governments must be involved directly, providing that insurance for free. Otherwise no plants
could be built in any western country. The costs of nuclear power are so uncompetitive now,
that only government funding can support it. The Hinckley Point power station required the
Chinese State to put up a key part of the fun
Re: (Score:2)
You are going to need a better argument than "nuclear power is socialism" and "nuclear power costs too much" because I'm not so sure anyone much cares.
What they want is to reduce the global warming threat as much as possible, lower the levels of pollution, and do so before it's too late. They don't fear socialism or the cost because the alternative is everyone dies.
We can get to these goals of reducing the threat of global warming and lowering pollution far faster by including nuclear power. For nations li
Re: (Score:2)
free from energy imports
Why the hell would they want to be free of energy imports? Those imports, along with many other things, make their quality of life much better. Also, if their neighbours did turn hostile for some reason, they would have far bigger problems.
Nuclear
Is reliant on imported fuel and technology and engineering. And if they are only a small country, they probably can't afford it anyway.
Fake emissions-control software not illegal (Score:2)
What the f^H^Hk have these people been smoking?
How is this Software? (Score:2)
A vehicle thermostat isn't in any way electronic or software . It's literally a piece of metal that expands to change the direction of coolant flow from an engine bypass to the radiator.
This "action" is in no way like what happened to VW.
Re: It's 2019 grandpa (Score:2)
Thanks smart ass, but if you look closely at that picture, it's a 2 prong connector as in a positive and negative male end.
There's a heater in there that heats the housing and temp sensor up faster. Again, no ECU brain inside of that housing.
Re: (Score:2)
Doesn't something control the power to the heater? I'm no mechanic, but it doesn't make sense to connect a thermostat heater to unregulated 12v power.
I'd bet some ECU module is controlling the power to the thermostat heater to manipulate engine heat, which probably goes beyond just preheating the thermostat at engine startup to warm it more quickly.
What's Allowed and What's Not? (Score:1)
I'd be interested to know what the boundaries are for what is permitted and what isn't, particularly because my car - a Mercedes SL55 - has the biggest cheat I've ever heard of.
Ask anyone who's had a "55" AMG (SL55, E55, CLS55 etc.) and if they've owned it for some time, they'll almost certainly have had to replace the secondary air circulation pump, a part that commonly fails. The weird thing is, there appears to be little or no difference to the car when the part has failed, other than a yellow "check eng
Only a matter of time. (Score:2)
You think VW is the only player in the "tinker with the numbers" market?
Think again.
They were just the first to get caught.
Should have been a clarion call to the others to clean up their acts before the magnifying glass got turned on them. That is, if they weren't too confident in the pay-offs for looking the other way.
Looks like someone else got caught.
I think it's about time to look at All of the players in the game.
Just how wide-spread is this phenomenon, any way?