Prominent performance brand Cobb Tuning has agreed to settle with the United States Department of Justice and Environmental Protection Agency after being accused of violating the Clean Air Act. The company is the latest in a string of tuners to be targeted over production of “defeat devices,” the sale of which has forced the closure of multiple major parts manufacturers and retailers. By the sounds of things, though, Cobb will be okay, as it continues to sell tuning equipment.
The EPA announced the settlement on Monday and Cobb expanded upon it Tuesday. Cobb, which sells performance tunes for a wide variety of makes and models alongside the popular Accessport ECU tool, was accused of selling more than 90,000 “defeat devices” that circumvented or disabled emissions controls dating back to January 2015. The feds dealt Cobb $2.9 million in civil penalties “based on the company’s limited ability to pay,” and the EPA ordered the firm “to stop the manufacture and sale of defeat devices.”
The settlement states that Cobb must abandon its dealings in products that violate or facilitate violation of the CAA, though Cobb insists it’s already done that. It must cease sales of and support for products that deactivate or circumvent emissions controls, and destroy its existing inventory of products that do so according to the court documents. Cobb will also have to notify customers and retrain employees and affiliates.
Cobb itself says the announcement is a “formality,” adding that “changes that we’ve been required to make have been made for some time.” (Cobb has been altering its tuning software to remain legal since at least April 2022.) It will continue selling tuning modules, stating that it “has provided documentation to the EPA verifying that it has successfully secured California Air Resources Board (CARB) Executive Orders (EO’s) or other third-party emissions certifications demonstrating that its entire product line, including all of the products included in the EPA Complaint, are compliant with emissions standards/regulations and the Clean Air Act.”
Cobb isn’t going anywhere, and independent tuners will continue using its products to make cars go faster. Obtaining CARB certifications is no easy feat but Cobb is doing what’s necessary like the other companies who have survived their federal penalties. The government isn’t coming for your manual boost controller, but it may come knocking if you sell cat deletes by the thousands.
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