State of California
AIR RESOURCES BOARD
Resources Building
Auditorium
1416 Ninth Street
Sacramento, CA
September 30, 1975
9:00 a.m.
AGENDA
Page
75-18-1 Approval of Minutes of August 27, 1975 Meeting.
75-18-2 Emergency Action to Amend the New Vehicle Approval 1
Regulations Regarding Catalyst Change.
75-18-3 Emergency Action to Amend Assembly-Line Test 23
Procedure for the 1976 Model Year.
75-18-4 Policy Discussion on a Regulated Adjustment 50
Procedure for Heavy-Duty Diesel Vehicles.
75-18-5 Summary of Manufacturers' Assembly-Line Reports 57
for the 1975 and 1976 Model-Year Calendar Quarter--
April-June 1975.
75-18-6 Other Business -
a. Executive Session - Personnel & Litigation
b. Board Member Reports and Assignments
c. Research Proposals
75-18-7 Remarks from Audience.
ITEM NO.: 75-18-2
Emergency Action to Amend the New-Vehicle Approval Regulations
Regarding Catalyst Change.
RECOMMENDATION
Adopt Resolution 75-52.
SUMMARY
ARB and EPA new-vehicle approval regulations for 1975 and 1976
model-year light-duty vehicles allow a manufacturer to include a
catalyst change at 25,000 or 30,000 mi in order to comply with
the 50,000 mi durability requirement. This change was construed
by EPA to be an expendable maintenance item along with spark
plugs, etc. A number of manufacturers require the cost of
replacement to be borne by the vehicle owner. Because
replacement is costly ($80-300 plus labor) and inconvenient,
there is a substantial disincentive to actual accomplishment of a
catalyst change recommended prior to 50,000 miles.
In the attached report, the staff takes issue with the
classification of catalyst replacement as an expendable
maintenance item, and asserts that this policy contravenes the
new vehicle 50,000 mile emissions warranty required by California
law. The consequences of allowing a catalyst replacement within
the 50,000 mi interval at the owner's expense are discussed. The
staff proposes temporary emergency amendments for 1976 model-year
vehicles to:
(1) Specify that a scheduled early catalyst replacement must be
made free of charge to vehicle owners, establish
requirements to assure that owners are advised of their
right to free early catalyst replacement, and assure that
dealers and manufacturers carry out any such replacement;
and
(2) Specify that early replacement at owner's expense violates
the California new vehicle emissions warranty.
The staff also proposes further hearings to confirm this action
for the 1976 and 1977 model-years, and to consider deletion of
the catalyst change from its approval test procedures for 1978
and later model years.
ITEM NO.: 75-18-3
Emergency Action to Amend the Assembly-Line Test Procedure for
the 1976 Model Year.
RECOMMENDATION
Adopt Resolution No. 75-51.
SUMMARY
Recent experience with 1975 production vehicles has prompted a
reevaluation of the assembly-line test procedure.
According to the present procedure, quality audit test results
are obtained on 2% of vehicles sold by manufacturers and results
are reported on a quarterly basis. In some cases the ARB was
unable to detect and take prompt and effective action against
excessive failures on the assembly-line due to the limited number
of vehicles tested and the lag time built into the reporting
period. The proposed revisions deal with these deficiencies.
ITEM NO.: 75-18-4
Policy Discussion on a Regulated Adjustment Procedure for Heavy-Duty
Diesel Vehicles.
RECOMMENDATION
The Board should direct the staff to assist the Bureau of
Automotive Repair in preparing diesel adjustment regulations for
adoption prior to January 1, 1976.
SUMMARY
In order to ensure that emission control components are adjusted
and operating properly, all motor vehicles in California are
required to be inspected and issued Certificates of Compliance
upon transfer of ownership, unless specifically exempted by the
Air Resources Board. For each of the last three years the Board
has exempted heavy-duty diesel vehicles from this requirement.
The staff believes that the Board should extend the Certificate
of Compliance exemption indefinitely while a program is
implemented requiring heavy-duty diesel engines to be adjusted to
manufacturer's specifications at all commercial tuneups. The
staff believes, however, that if the Board decides not to extend
the exemption there would be sufficient time to establish the
necessary network of trained mechanics for a Certificate of
Compliance program in 1976.
The staff believes that regulation of diesel adjustment
procedures would be more effective than a Certificate of
Compliance procedure, and would be less expensive as well.
Proposed studies regarding the incidence of diesel maladjustments
could be used to determine the appropriate level of enforcement
for the procedure that is adopted.
ITEM NO.: 75-18-5
Summary of Manufacturer's Assembly-Line Reports for the 1975 and
1976 Model-Year Calendar Quarter--April-June 1975.
RECOMMENDATION
None. Informational item.
SUMMARY
The staff has reviewed the reports covering 98 engine families
submitted by 25 vehicle manufacturers concerning their 1975 model
year production for the period April 1 through June 30, 1975.
Table III shows those engine families for which emission
standards were exceeded by more than 10% of the quality audit
vehicles tested. This table shows that only Chrysler Corporation
reported failures in excess of 10% of the quality audit vehicles
tested. Corrective action has been initiated.
Steady-state inspection control limits of the passenger cars and
light-duty trucks are given in Table V and VI respectively for
hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide. The average exhaust emissions
for the quality audit tests (CVS-1975) are tabulated in Tables
VII and VIII by engine family. Manufacturers whose reports were
discrepant or inadequate have been directly informed, and they
are taking action to amend their reports.