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02/12/07 Onboard Diagnostics for Large Trucks Beginning in 2010
For the first time the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) is proposing a requirement for large diesel and gasoline powered trucks to be equipped with onboard diagnostic (OBD) systems to insure that the vehicle’s emission control systems are working properly. The EPA proposal would impose the requirements on trucks of 14,000 pounds or more beginning in 2010, when one engine family from each manufacturer will need to be certified as meeting the OBD standards. Beginning in 2013 all heavy-duty highway truck engines, from all manufacturers, will be required to meet the OBD standards.
Onboard diagnostic systems monitor the individual elements of emission control systems and alert drivers and service departments of the need for service. They provide diagnostic codes to help technicians diagnose and repair problem components. The EPA proposal requires that the OBD systems monitor the sensors and actuators of the emission control system for proper operation. Additionally the OBD system must be able to detect malfunctions prior to the emissions exceeding the EPA emission threshold.
The EPA plan is outlined in a proposed rule published in the Federal Register on Jan 24th. 2007, entitled, “Control of Air Pollution From New Motor Vehicles and New Motor Vehicle Engines--Heavy-Duty Vehicle and Engine Standards; Onboard Diagnostic Requirements.” In that filing the EPA noted: “We believe that monitoring the emission control system for proper operation is critical to ensure that new vehicles and engines certified to the very low emission standards set in recent years continue to meet those standards throughout their useful life.”
The requirement is the latest in a series of EPA initiatives aimed at reducing diesel and large truck emissions. In 2002 EPA began tightening emissions regulations by issuing new requirements that resulted in major changes in new truck engines beginning in the 2003 model year. That transition did not go particularly smoothly, as the cost of the new engines was higher, and their performance lower, than expected.
This year, 2007, saw the second round of EPA requirements go into effect, again resulting in newly designed engines, and the introduction (in October 2006) of ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel required for those engines. Truck prices have increased by $7000 to $10,000 or more, but the new engines seem to be performing as designed, making the 2007 transition smoother than that of 2003.
There will be a final round of emission reduction requirements in 2010 that will require yet another redesign of engines and emissions control technology. The proposal requiring onboard diagnostic capability beginning in 2010 is intended to insure that over their service lifetimes the 2010 and later engines will continue meeting emissions requirements.
Onboard diagnostic systems for emission controls have been standard equipment for passenger vehicles since the mid-1990s. Since that time passenger vehicle OBDs have proven to be a relatively cost effective and efficient method of insuring that these vehicles stay compliant with EPA and State emissions standards. The EPA estimates that the new requirement will add approximately $50 to the cost of diesel engines and $60 to the cost of gasoline engines for new trucks over 14,000 pounds.
The proposed new requirement is part of the EPA’s “Clean Diesel Truck and Bus Program” which is intended to significantly reduce air pollutants such as nitrogen oxides, particulates, non-methane hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and sulfur dioxide, all of which are major components of diesel exhaust. As part of the campaign the agency is also seeking comments on possible future regulations that would require OBD systems on heavy-duty diesel engines used in non-road equipment (e.g., construction, industrial, agricultural).
Trucking industry representatives, speaking at the recent American Trucking Associations’ (ATA) Management Conference and Exhibition in Dallas, said that they would lobby for federal incentives to help motor carriers purchase the new 2010 vehicles when they became available. Tim Lynch the senior vice president of federal relations and strategic planning for ATA said that the group “would certainly” be seeking some type of incentives, though as yet, “the exact parameters have…to be worked out.”
Industry representatives noted that for both the 2003 and 2007 introduction of new engines, there was a substantial pre-buy of trucks in the year before the engines became mandatory. That surge in sales was followed on both occasions by a major slowdown in sales and heavy-truck manufacturing. Incentives for the purchase of 2010 model year trucks, such as tax credits or a rollback in federal excise taxes were suggested as ways of minimizing the surge-slump cycle of previous years.
EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson who also attended the Dallas convention, said that the EPA was “actively working with engine manufacturers” to make the 2010 transition to the tougher emission standards as easy as possible. He also noted that while promoting incentives for the purchase of the new 2010 vehicles by motor carriers was not part of EPA’s mandate, he didn’t rule out the idea in order to encourage the purchase of the new equipment.
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