Statute
42 U.S.C. § 7522 — Prohibited acts (tampering)
United States Code
Overview
Federal law prohibits removing or rendering inoperative any emission control device installed on or in a motor vehicle or engine, and prohibits manufacturing, selling or installing defeat devices.
Connected evidence
Cases
Enforced under · CaseVerified primary
U.S. v. Kory Willis / PPEI — federal criminal prosecutionConvicted upon guilty plea. Sentenced December 2024. Not pardoned.Anti-tampering / defeat-device prohibition.
Enforced under · CaseVerified reporting
U.S. v. Troy Lake / Elite Diesel — federal criminal prosecutionReported federal criminal prosecution and conviction. Date not yet documented.Anti-tampering / defeat-device prohibition.
Enforced under · CaseVerified reporting
U.S. v. Diesel Freak LLC / LaLone — federal criminal prosecutionReported federal criminal prosecution of Diesel Freak LLC and its principals. Date not yet documented.Anti-tampering / defeat-device prohibition.
Articles
Discussed in · ArticleAnalysis
The EPA's War on Diesel 101Talking Wreckless · 2026-07-10Discusses the ongoing force of the tampering prohibition.
Policy actions
Proposes to amend · Policy actionAnalysis
Review the tampering prohibitionCongress should re-examine 42 U.S.C. § 7522 to clarify the boundary between prohibited defeat conduct and legitimate diaProposes statutory review of the tampering prohibition.
Operative language
Short paraphrases of the operative text. Read the full section at the source.
42 U.S.C. § 7522(a)(3) · Open source
It is prohibited for any person to remove or render inoperative any device or element of design installed on or in a motor vehicle or engine in compliance with regulations, and to manufacture, sell, offer to sell, or install any part or component whose principal effect is to bypass, defeat, or render inoperative such a device.
Establishes: The federal anti-tampering and defeat-device prohibition — the statutory hook for both criminal (§ 7413(c)) and civil (§ 7524) enforcement against tuners.
Plain English: This is the law that makes deleting or defeating a factory emissions system illegal at the federal level. It is what PPEI, Elite Diesel and Diesel Freak were prosecuted under.
Related people
Related cases