Fiat-Abgasskandal: Immer mehr Wohnmobile betroffen

The Regional Court (LG) Dessau-Roßlau sentenced FCA Italy SpA (Fiat Chrysler Automobiles) to pay damages in the amount of € 42,964 and to take back a Fiat Ducato camper van (judgment of 14 April 2022, case number 4 O 315/21). The base vehicle was a Fiat Ducato with an engine Fi1 of the EU emission standard 6. The plaintiff had purchased the vehicle for a purchase price of € 50,199 on 19 June 2018 with a mileage of 0 km.

The LG sees compensation for intentional immoral damage according to § 826 BGB combined with § 31 BGB as given. The installed device – the timer – is to be regarded as an inadmissible shutdown device within the meaning of Article 3 No. 10 and Article 5 Paragraph 2 of Regulation (EC) No. 715/2007.

Timer not compliant with law

The engine control software from Robert Bosch GmbH was designed so that after approximately 22 minutes, the exhaust gas recirculation rate is reduced to almost zero and the regeneration of the NOx storage catalyst is deactivated. This includes a component that determines a parameter—time—to modify the emissions control system's exhaust gas recirculation. This also reduces the effectiveness of the emissions control system in real-world driving conditions. A trip, especially in a motorhome, typically lasts more than 22 minutes.

The built-in timer cannot be legally compliant, as it cannot be intended to purify the exhaust gases for only approximately 22 minutes. The fact that the exhaust gas purification ends exactly after the test bench has finished suggests that the timer is merely intended to circumvent the legal regulations regarding exhaust gas limits.

Fiat Ducato drivers should act now!

If you drive a Fiat motorhome, then you should act now. We at Rogert & Ulbrich recommend that you to receive free and non-binding adviceThe Fiat emissions scandal is very current, and more and more judgments are in favor of consumers.