On how new technology locks down Diesel tampering and cuts pollution

In the latest cars, interfering with the engine management software and exhaust gas cleaning systems is becoming increasingly difficult. Some controllers are already locked. An infrastructure has also been created that enables reporting incidents related to interference and data transmission to the relevant authorities.

Chiptuning was never fully legal because it affects the values obtained in the homologation process. However, many people associate chiptuning exclusively with increased power and performance, while an important client of so-called tuners is vehicle owners who want to get rid of exhaust gas cleaning systems. It's a huge market.

Professor Zissis Samaras, the DIAS project coordinator, summarized the study by saying: "It is estimated that there are at least 100 companies worldwide that offer devices limiting the effectiveness of exhaust gas cleaning systems, such as kits that disable the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) process in diesel vehicles. Their prices range from £9 to £435."

As part of the DIAS project (the programme concluded in 2022), the European Commission studied the phenomenon of disabling exhaust gas cleaning systems, and the project's goal is to secure these systems against tampering. Until now, this phenomenon was widespread, and it was practically impunity to get rid of individual systems. The only ones who were punished were truck drivers.

According to those working on the project, even if just 1% of vehicles have disarmed SCR or DPF systems, it has a massive impact on air pollution. Estimates suggest that eliminating all such tampering could reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by about 4.1 million tonnes and an additional 45,000 tonnes of particulate matter emissions by 2050.

One of the major partners of the DIAS project was Bosch, which declared its readiness to provide maximum protection for its controllers. I asked the German company’s press office about their involvement in the project.

Aiming to prevent unwanted and illegal practices, one example of Bosch's engagement in this area was the EU-funded DIAS project, in which the company was actively involved. The initiative was carried out from 2019 to 2022, seeking to develop hardware and software to detect unauthorized interference with exhaust systems. Bosch makes every effort to improve the security of control units and software continually.

According to unconfirmed reports, Bosch's controllers produced as early as 2020 have locked access to maps and other functions. Unfortunately, Bosch did not respond to the question of whether this was indeed the case but did not deny it either. Nevertheless, this is the goal of the DIAS project, and impunity of interference with software is becoming history.

The mocking slogan "diesel must smoke," seen on often worn-out or chip-tuned cars, will slowly become less relevant. The latest engines have dozens of sensors controlling exhaust gas quality and several devices that clean these gases. The sensors monitor the exhaust gases, the mentioned devices, and even themselves. Such an extensive system significantly complicates tampering with the software to disable it.

Moreover, the inability to interfere with the software will result in only one repair scenario: replacement. Whether sensors or catalysts/filters, it will always be a replacement. Until recently, intensifying problems with exhaust gas filtration led to a challenging but often economically justified decision, namely deactivating the SCR or DPF. This will no longer be possible for the latest diesel engines. The controller will first report the problem and then notify about the need to visit a service centre.

But that's not all. Such faults will also be communicated to the service, which will receive information that the car has a fault, for example, with the SCR catalyst. The European Commission is also working on a system for "reporting incidents related to tampering and transmitting data to relevant authorities."

It is not yet clear how this will work. It may be that, just as the eCall system automatically notifies services and provides the location in case of an accident, the controller might send information about an unauthorised connection attempt to the appropriate place.

Even now, in some trucks and agricultural tractors, the manufacturer (service) has insight into the vehicle's faults. When the vehicle is functioning correctly, nothing happens. However, the authorised service is notified when the controller generates an error. In the case of a fault that should end with a technician’s visit, the vehicle is locked and can only be unlocked using the appropriate software.

First and foremost, it's worth reasonably approaching the enthusiasm that some manufacturers still offer diesel engines that can be repaired (unlike electric ones, which cannot be repaired). In practice, they can be repaired at an authorised service centre, and the exhaust gas cleaning system, extended to the limits, is one of the most expensive components in the car. There are no longer a few, but tens of thousands of pounds may be spent on what is located between the engine and the end of the exhaust system.

Due to the total lack of interference with the engine controller, there will no longer be cheap "repairs" to disabling individual devices. Moreover, with such an expanded architecture and the multitude of sensors controlling each other, even access to controller codes would be difficult.

A "functional exhaust gas cleaning system" in a several-year-old diesel may be of greater value in used car ads than statements like "accident-free" or "low mileage." It is also possible that the widespread catalyst thefts in recent years are just a prelude to what is coming. Under the latest car models, especially diesel engines, are components worth a fortune.