Ford Settlement
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Ford Emissions Label Case Settles with a $150,000 Penalty and Corrective Actions
Based on inspections over the course of four years, 1997-2000, it was discovered that Ford was installing incorrect emissions labels on California certified vehicles. The emissions labels stated that the vehicles were 49-state certified when, in fact, they were California certified and legal for sale in the State of California. Installing incorrect emissions labels is a violation of California law and leads to serious inspection problems during "Smog Check." Thomas DeZure, Ford's Assistant Secretary, signed the Settlement and Release on September 10, 2001, covering an estimated 3000 affected vehicles.
In settlement of this matter, Ford has agreed to pay the sum of One Hundred and Fifty Thousand dollars ($150,000.00) to the California Air Pollution Control Fund (APCF). This penalty covers all Ford vehicles model year 1997 through 2000. Any violations involving 2001 model year or subsequent vehicles are not covered by the Agreement. Ford also agreed to disseminate information to California Ford dealers regarding California's emissions regulations and vehicle labeling requirements including how to check vehicles for proper California labeling at the time of delivery. Ford will also implement a labeling system to ensure that proper labels are installed on Ford vehicles at the time of manufacture. Ford will provide to the Air Resources Board quarterly reports for one year summarizing the results of in-house inspections of emissions labels conducted at Ford's centralized end-of-line emissions test facility to verify correct labeling. And finally, Ford has taken steps to tighten their relabel ordering process to ensure only the proper labels can be ordered for relabeling an individual vehicle. Enforcement staff will continue to monitor the situation and review the quarterly reports provided by Ford.