Report on Daimler: Eight impermissible defeat devices?

According to Daimler, there are no inadmissible defeat devices in the Group’s diesel models. A new report could now put the group in distress.

25,000 owners of diesel vehicles have now sued Daimler for damages: In their opinion, an inadmissible defeat device is installed in the diesel cars. In 95 percent of the cases that have already been decided, the courts have dismissed the complaints – often on the grounds that the claim was made “out of the blue”. In such proceedings, the burden of proof rests with the plaintiffs.

Expert: Eight shutdown devices in software

A new report now comes to the conclusion that Daimler has installed a total of eight allegedly inadmissible cut-off devices in the engine control software of a diesel variant. BR research and “mirror” are the 30-page paper. For this, the software developer Felix Domke read out the control software of an E-Class, which is driven by a diesel engine type OM642. Domke was commissioned by the US law firm Milberg, which has filed numerous lawsuits against Daimler in several European countries.

Domke is no stranger to the automotive industry: When the VW diesel scandal was exposed in autumn 2015, the IT expert had demonstrated how the Wolfsburg-based company had proceeded with the manipulation of the engines.

In an extensive study, this time Domke analyzed the engine control software of an E350 diesel from Daimler in various driving situations. According to his own statements, he covered around 10,000 kilometers for this. He also compared the original software with an update that Daimler had to develop for this engine in the meantime.

Since 2019, the Federal Motor Transport Authority has recalled several Daimler diesel models due to impermissible defeat devices, including those with the engine being analyzed. The group has filed a complaint against the notices with the responsible Schleswig-Holstein administrative court in Schleswig. According to the court, there is still no decision.

Analysis: AdBlue consumption systematically reduced

The new software analysis by IT expert Domke shows that six of the eight shutdown devices found affect the cleaning of the exhaust gases by the SCR catalytic converter. The injection of the AdBlue urea is drastically reduced, which, according to the report, “results in significantly higher NOx emissions”.

It is particularly noticeable that the software switches to the much dirtier mode as soon as the average consumption of the urea AdBlue exceeds a certain amount: “This consumption limitation seems to me to be the most brazen switch-off device that I know of,” says emissions expert Prof. Kai Borgeest von of the Technical University of Aschaffenburg in conversation with BR and “mirror”. He does not know of any justification to make the AdBlue dosage dependent on an average consumption, he adds, this procedure is “particularly malicious”.

The EU imposed a fine of millions on auto companies

Like VW and Audi, Daimler also tried to reduce AdBlue consumption during normal driving. The aim behind this was to prevent the annoying refilling of AdBlue. At the same time, the company saved space because it was able to install smaller tanks for the urea. In July of this year, the EU Commission imposed a fine of around 875 million euros on the Volkswagen Group, BMW and Daimler for cartel agreements on the size of the AdBlue tanks. Since Daimler informed the commission afterwards about this arrangement, they waived this fine on the Stuttgarters.

Daimler: No prohibited facilities

Expert Domke has found another shutdown device. It ensures that the emission control system only runs correctly when the engine is started in a temperature range between 19 and 35 degrees Celsius. And: It only works as long as the engine temperature does not exceed 86 degrees Celsius. This function in particular seems to be tailored to test operation, Domke states in his analysis. “It is noticeable that the conditions in the NEFC test cycle seem to apply at all times, but in normal operation they are not met”.

Daimler shared BR and “Spiegel” on request that the “parameterizations” described in the report are “known”, from the Group’s point of view they are “not to be assessed as inadmissible shutdown devices in the interplay and overall context of the highly complex emissions control system”.

Much cleaner after an update

With the software update, Daimler has apparently removed the defeat devices. In the conclusion of his report, IT expert Domke writes: “All identified illegal disconnection devices have been removed in the updated software, which significantly increases the overall system performance.” Exhaust gas measurements have shown that the E350 emits up to ten times less nitrogen oxide after the update and complies with the limit of 80mg / km NOx emissions. “This proves that these strategies are not required to operate the engine,” says emissions expert Borgeest.

When asked, Daimler rated the fact that the vehicle was much cleaner on the road as a “positive”: “In this sense, many areas of the engine control software were revised that no longer corresponded to the current state of knowledge”.

According to expert Borgeest, the report could play a major role in ongoing legal proceedings: “Up until now, Daimler has hardly been sentenced to compensation for damages with the OM642. This could now change.”