On December 18, 2000, EPA entered into a settlement agreement with Jaguar Cars (Jaguar), resolving allegations that the lack of continuous misfire monitoring on certain model year 1995, 1996 and 1997 vehicles creates material differences between the vehicles as built and the ones described in Jaguar's emission certification applications, and that, in consequence, the vehicles as built were not covered by a certificate of conformity and Jaguar's subsequent sale of these vehicles was in violation of section 203(a)(1) of the Act. Jaguar denies these allegations but is willing to resolve the matter amicably, and has already implemented or initiated many of the actions required by this Administrative Settlement Agreement.

Jaguar reported to EPA that "it appears that the misfire monitoring strategy fails to comply with the OBD II regulation requirement that monitoring for misfire during positive torque engine operation be continuous." The On-Board Diagnostic System (OBDII) on these vehicles is important because auto mechanics rely on the diagnostic system to find and correct engine problems. If vehicle manufacturers do not fully comply with the OBD rules, problems may be overlooked and the results could be harmful to the environment and costly to the consumer. State emission regulators also rely on the data stored on this diagnostic tool to indentify emission problems.

For additional information, contact:

Angela Fitzgerald
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2242A)
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
Washington, DC 20460-0001
(202) 564-1018
Fitzgerald.angela@epa.gov