Daimler is under pressure again in the diesel scandal. According to a media report, confidential documents reveal that the company's engineers have doubted the legality of US exhaust emissions tests for a long time.
In the diesel exhaust scandal US investigation files incriminate the car company Daimler again. According to confidential documents of the investigators, Daimler employees doubted that they would be able to comply with US road test laws (PEMS) even before the VW diesel affair. Internal measurements revealed devastating results some time later. For example, Mercedes models exceeded the nitrogen oxide limit values by more than ten times in road traffic.
According to documents, several software functions existed at Daimler, which were developed primarily to meet the current US emissions tests on the test bench. For example, the function "Bit 15" was programmed so that the exhaust aftertreatment leaves the clean mode after 26 kilometers. In addition, the US investigators encountered another suspicious feature that is in the vehicle control system. This so-called "Slipguard" detects whether the vehicle is on a test bench or on the road on based on speed or acceleration values.
Daimler has been under pressure in the diesel exhaust scandal for some time. The Stuttgart prosecutor investigates since spring 2017 because of possible exhaust gas fraud as well as the US Department of Justice.
Only last year, the company recalled more than three million vehicles across Europe to reduce pollutant emissions through a software update. Like other manufacturers, Daimler had agreed with the KBA to voluntarily order certain vehicles into the garages in order to reduce the emission of harmful nitrogen oxides.
Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche had always denied that Daimler uses exhaust gas tricks the same as Volkswagen.
The documents of the US investigators claim otherwise. Thus, in various mails even Daimler engineers doubt that the implemented functions are legal. The company did not want to comment on the allegations. "We will not comment on further details of the ongoing investigation as we have agreed absolute confidentiality with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)," a spokesperson said. "We have been fully cooperating for more than two years and provide comprehensive transparency." With regard to limit violations in internal measurements, it said: "The authorities are aware of the documents and we have not been charged so far."
Source: Bild
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