John Deere has alerted equipment owners that they could seek repair services of their own choosing after EPA said the company was potentially violating the Clean Air Act by restricting repair of its products’ emissions systems.
“EPA informed John Deere that EPA believed that a number of their products did not conform to EPA regulations with regard to their emissions warranty statement,” EPA spokesperson Remmington Belford confirmed in an email. EPA Administrator Michael Regan previously said that the CAA does not prohibit who can repair emissions systems, despite some manufacturers blaming the environmental rules for restricting equipment owners from seeking repair services outside of authorized manufacturer repair shops.
EPA declined to say when it alerted Deere to the potential violation or how many products were involved. The company appears to have mailed letters to equipment owners earlier this year.
In one letter shared with POLITICO, dated Feb. 12, Deere Director of Product Support Chris Davison wrote, “John Deere recently discovered that the Operator’s Manual for one or more of your products may be missing the following statement, which clarifies aftermarket support requirements to maintain emissions compliance.”
