Diesel tuner in Idaho fined $1 million by the EPA for selling emissions defeat devices

A few days ago, the EPA announced that diesel emissions defeat devices were no longer its top priority, moving instead toward harsher regulation on PFAS (“forever chemicals”) and other environmental issues. However, as it shifts its focus, there will be a few cases that trickle through under the administration’s preceding efforts. An Idaho tuning shop is finding out that the long arm of the law extends beyond the EPA’s defined priorities, as it was recently fined $1 million for selling diesel emissions defeat devices.

GDP Tuning LLC, also known as Gorilla Performance, bellied up to the bar with a $1 million fine for selling “tens of thousands of tuning devices,” which allowed diesel truck owners to bypass emissions control components. Despite announcing its shift in focus, the EPA has fined other tuners this year to the same degree, including Sinister Diesel, which earned its $1 million fine earlier this month.

The EPA alleges that Gorilla Performance and its owner, Barry Pierce, sold devices and “accompanying software which, when used together, tampered with vehicles’ onboard diagnostic systems.” In the industry, such a tune is known as a “delete,” and the feds are none too happy about it.

Despite this action and many others, the EPA is facing an uphill battle. The agency estimates that 15 percent of diesel trucks in the U.S. have had some sort of illegal emissions bypass installed, and some in the industry will undoubtedly continue their efforts to evade the regulations. It’s ultimately a case of whack-a-mole, as the EPA has seen hundreds of similar cases since early 2022.

As these things tend to go, Gorilla Performance and related entities will likely be banned from selling diesel defeat devices and related components. The shop will also probably be prohibited from sharing any of its intellectual property or processes behind the devices or their installation.