United States Revised
Environmental Protection April 1980
Agency
Enforcement
OPA76/0
&EPA Mechanics...
A New Law
Affects You
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Are You If so, a new law concerning tampering with
Engaged in the a car's emission controls applies to you.
Business of As of August 8, 1977, all persons engaged
Repairing, in these businesses are prohibited by
Servicing, Federal law from knowingly removing or
Leasing, rendering inoperative any emission
Selling, or control device or element of design that is
Trading Motor installed on a motor vehicle or motor
Vehicles, or vehicle engine.
Motor Vehicle This tampering prohibition is contained
Engines or in the 1977 Amendments to the United
Operating a States Clean Air Act. If an employer (or his
Motor Vehicle employee) engaged in any of these
Fleet? businesses violates this law, the employer
will be subject to a civil penalty of up
to $2,500 for each motor vehicle or
motor vehicle engine tampered with.
This leaflet has been prepared by the
United States Environmental Protection
Agency to answer questions you are likely
to ask concerning the law. Please read it
carefully. Your compliance with the law
will help ensure that cars in use will
continue to meet Federal emission
standards. Noncompliance will result in
dirtier air for America, a loss in fuel
economy, and possibly fines.
What Is the The tampering prohibition was passed by
Purpose of the Congress to make sure that cars in use
Anti-Tampering retain the emission control designs and
Law?
functions that were built into them by
their manufacturers. The law is necessary
for reasons of public health. Motor
vehicles contribute more than one-half
of the total amount of man-made air
pollution in this country. They emit
nearly three-quarters of the total amount
of the poisonous gas, carbon monoxide.
They also emit over one-third of the
hydrocarbons and one-third of the oxides
of nitrogen, two major causes of the
unhealthy smog that hangs over a great
many of our cities and suburbs.
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To protect the health of the American
public, Congress established light-duty
motor vehicle emission standards that
have to be met by every new car sold in
this country. Each manufacturer is
required to certify that his design
will enable the car to meet these
standards for the length of its useful life.
Tampering, however, changes the
car's certified design and causes the car
to exceed emissions standards. Several
surveys have shown tampering to be
widespread. Some service and repair
facilities have even advertised as one of
their services the removal of emission
controls to improve gas mileage. To stop
practices like these and to make sure
that cars in use continue to comply with
emission standards throughout their
useful life, Congress broadened the
anti-tampering provision to cover all
repair facilities and motor vehicle fleet
operations.
What Is The prohibition against tampering
New About the contained in the Clean Air Act
Anti-tarnpering Amendments of 1970 applied to any
Law? person with respect to a new car before
it is sold and delivered to the purchaser
and only to manufacturers and car dealers
with respect to sold cars. This law
applies to some 25,000 to 30,000 new
car dealers, and violators are subject to
civil penalties of up to $10,000 for
each car tampered with.
Now, the new amendment broadens
the tampering prohibition to cover
300,000 to 350,000 motor vehicle repair
facilities and several hundred thousand
fleet operators. All repair facility owners,
commercial mechanics, and fleet
operators are now prohibited from
tampering. Violators of this provision
of the law are subject to a civil penalty
of up to $2,500 for each motor vehicle
or motor vehicle engine tampered with.
What Exactly Is Tampering is removing, disconnecting,
Tampering? damaging, or in any way rendering
ineffective any emission control device or
element of design installed on a motor
vehicle or motor vehicle engine.
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Tampering may include:
• removing or rendering inoperative
such devices as the catalytic converter, air
pump, and EGR valve.
• disconnecting vacuum lines and
electrical or mechanical portions of the
pollution control system such as electrical
solenoids or vacuum-activated valves.
• adjusting an element of a car's
emission control design out of line with
manufacturer's specifications.
• knowingly installing a replacement
part that is not equivalent in design and
function to the part that was originally
on the car. Example: incorrect EGR valve.
(This, however, does not mean that you
have to use replacement parts sold by
the motor vehicle manufacturer or its
franchised dealers.)
• adding on a part that was not
orginally certified on the car. Example:
installation of dual carburetors to replace
a single carburetor.
• enlarging the fuel filler restriction
inlet to allow the use of regular leaded
gas in cars that require unleaded gas.
How Can Maladjustments will be avoided when
Unintentional adjustments are made according to
Maladjustments manufacturer's specifications.
Be Avoided?
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Can't
Tampering
Improve
Gas Mileage
and
Driveability?
Evidence suggests that tampering can
do little to improve gas mileage and
driveability, and in some cases will worsen
them. One reason for this is that the
catalytic converter—the primary means
of pollution control on most cars made
after 1974—has no negative effect on gas
mileage and driveability. In fact, the
catalyst has helped make it possible for
cars with emission controls to achieve the
same or even better gas mileage than cars
had in 1967 before emission controls
were installed on cars. Thus, damaging
or disconnecting a catalyst can only result
in increased emissions and the waste
of an expensive piece of equipment.
Studies also show that tampering with
pre-catalyst equipped cars will not
improve gas mileage. In 1974, the
Environmental Protection Agency
delivered a number of 1973 and 1974
cars to a representative sample of
non-dealer service garages advertising
that they could improve fuel economy and
asked them to do what they could to
increase the gas mileage of these cars.
The most frequent result was that both
emissions and fuel economy were made
worse. About two-thirds of the cars lost
fuel economy and increased in emissions.
There are several reasons for these
results. One is that emission controls are
not simply stuck on a car in such a way
that they can be harmlessly removed or
maladjusted. Emission control is part
of the total design and function of many
components of a car's engine, including
the carburetor, distributor, intake
manifold, and EGR valve. When you
change the emission control design of
one of these components, you are also
likely to affect their other functions,
often adversely. Maladjustments of such
parts, therefore, often result in fuel
inefficiency and poorer performance, as
well as increased emissions. In addition,
carburetor setting, ignition timing,
compression ratio, and EGR all affect
an engine's durability. Tampering can
shorten an engine's life and cause
performance problems at the same time.
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Can Tampering Yes. A car manufacturer may not be
Void Warranty obliged to honor warranty rights covering
Rights? emission control devices and elements
of design when those devices and designs
have been tampered with or when leaded
gas is used in cars requiring unleaded.
It should also be noted that when car
owners whose cars have been tampered
with find that their dealers will not honor
their warranties, they sometimes complain
to Federal authorities. This is one way
in which automobile repair shops that
tamper come to be exposed and then
prosecuted.
Can Replace- Yes. A repair facility is not required to
ment Parts use parts sold by the car's manufacturer
Other Than or dealers. Under the Clean Air Act,
Those Pro- a repair facility is free to use rebuilt
duced by the parts or equipment made by independent
Manufacturer aftermarket parts manufacturers.
Be Used in In using such parts, however, a repair
Repair and facility must meet an important
Maintenance? requirement. The mechanic must have a
reasonable basis for knowing that the
replacement part will not adversely affect
emissions. The replacement part must, to
his best knowledge, be equivalent in design
and function to the part that was originally
on the car when it was certified. Another
way this can be established is by a written
statement from the parts manufacturer
that the replacement part conforms in
design and function with the part that was
originally on the car.
Is the Public Yes. Many car owners erroneously believe
Being Informed that gas mileage and driveability can
About the New be improved by having their car's
Anti-Tampering emission controls removed or
Law? disconnected. Some car owners try
to make these changes themselves, but
others ask their professional automobile
mechanic to perform this questionable,
and now illegal, service.
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To prevent this practice, the
Environmental Protection Agency has
undertaken a program to inform the public
of the law and the civil penalty a repair
facility may incur by violating it. The
consumer is also being told that tampering
is not likely to improve the car's fuel
economy and performance, and may
instead worsen them. Further, it is being
pointed out that tampering is an
expensive waste, nullifying pollution
controls that on new cars may cost the
car owner betwen $200 and $300.
Occasionally when a mechanic refuses
to tamper with a consumer's car, the
consumer will ask for advice on how he
might disconnect his car's emission
controls. In most States, tampering by a
car owner is prohibited by State law, and
you would be contributing to your
customer's liability under State law if he
tampers with his car.
What Can I The emission controls installed on motor
Do To Help? vehicles and motor vehicle engines are
there to reduce the pollution from these
sources to help meet national ambient air
quality standards which were established
to protect public health. By removing or
rendering inoperative these devices, a
vital portion of the nation's program to
clean up the air has been defeated. You
can help clean the air by refusing to
tamper with emission controls when asked
by customers and by obtaining the
appropriate knowledge to properly service
and maintain emission control systems.
Set cars up using the specifications
suggested by the manufacturers, which
are intended for best performance and
emission control. Should you have any
further questions concerning the anti-
tampering law, contact the Regional
Office of the Environmental Protection
Agency for your State, or the Field Opera-
tions and Support Division (EN-397),
Washinton, D.C. 20460 (phone 202-
472-9363). EPA Regional Offices are
located in Boston, New York City, Phila-
delphia, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Kansas
City, Denver, San Francisco, and Seattle.
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Postage and
Fees paid
Environmental
Protection
Agency
EPA 335
First Class
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Washington DC 20460
A 107
Official Business
Penalty for Private Use $300
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