| Read this part first if nothing else
Completing Recall 67A costs you nothing, takes under an hour, pays $500 through September 30, 2026, and adds years of free coverage on the most expensive parts of a modern diesel. It does not waive your legal claims. |
The Dodge Ram emissions lawsuit is a group of related cases over software that made Ram 2500 and 3500 diesel trucks behave one way on an emissions test and another way on the highway. On January 10, 2024, EPA, the Department of Justice, and California announced a settlement requiring Cummins to pay a $1.675 billion civil penalty, the largest ever under the Clean Air Act (EPA, 2024).
Here is the mechanic-shop version. Every diesel sold in the United States has to prove it meets nitrogen oxide limits before it can be sold. Cummins wrote software for the truck’s engine control module that turned the selective catalytic reduction system up to full strength when the truck sensed test conditions, then eased off during normal driving (EPA, 2024). The truck passed like a student who memorized the answer key, then forgot the subject on the drive home.
EPA found it the way you would expect after Volkswagen. Following the 2015 diesel scandal, the agency started running vehicles through driving cycles that mimic real roads instead of only the standard lab test. In 2018, that testing flagged odd emissions behavior in model year 2019 Ram trucks, and the investigation grew from there (EPA, 2024).
Two separate problems came out of it. About 630,000 model year 2013 to 2019 trucks carried software EPA classifies as a defeat device. Another 330,000 model year 2019 to 2023 trucks carried auxiliary emission control devices that Cummins never disclosed during certification. The second group broke the disclosure rules but did not produce excess emissions, which is why those trucks are not being recalled (EPA, 2024).
Separately, private owners filed their own consumer lawsuits. Those cases are still live and are covered further down.
Recall eligibility is narrower than the headlines suggest. Most articles say “2013 to 2019,” but EPA’s own recall program page breaks it down by hardware and by build date, and thousands of trucks in those model years are not eligible at all (EPA, 2026).
| Model years | Eligible for the recall | Not eligible |
| 2013 to 2015 | Trucks with a two-sensor selective catalytic reduction controller |
Trucks without a two-sensor SCR controller
|
| 2016 to 2018 | All Cummins-powered Ram 2500 and 3500 diesels | None |
| 2019 | Trucks with a production date on or before October 1, 2019 |
Trucks built after October 1, 2019
|
| 2020 to 2023 | None |
All Cummins-powered Ram 2500 and 3500 diesels
|
Source: EPA Cummins Settlement Nationwide Recall Program Overview, updated July 2026.
Two points that trip owners up. First, the campaign known as Recall 67A applies to model year 2013 to 2018 trucks. Model year 2019 trucks built on or before that October cutoff were handled under a separate campaign, and 2019 trucks that left the factory already running the corrected software still qualify for the warranty extension without needing any repair (EPA, 2026).
Second, the Ram 1500 with the 3.0L EcoDiesel V6 is not in this settlement at all. EPA lists it as excluded because it runs a Ram-certified engine rather than a Cummins-certified one (EPA, 2026). EcoDiesel owners have their own cases, covered in a section below.
Our Ram lemon law hub and Dodge page track defect and warranty issues across the rest of the lineup.
The fastest way to settle the question for your specific truck is to run your 17-digit VIN through the Mopar recall lookup or the Cummins VIN checker. Do not rely on model year alone.
If you are still comparing Ram trucks or researching a used purchase, our breakdowns of 2022 Ram 1500 problems and common problems with the 2023 Ram 1500 cover the defect history buyers ask about most.
No part of the $1.675 billion penalty is set aside for Ram owners. It is a government penalty, not a consumer fund. Of that total, $1.478 billion went to the U.S. Treasury, $164 million went to the California Air Resources Board, and $33 million resolved California state law claims (EPA, 2024).
This is the single biggest misunderstanding we hear from Ram owners, and it is easy to see why. Search results are full of pages built to collect your phone number, all leading with a billion-dollar number. The number is real. The implication that a check is coming is not.
Cummins also has to spend an estimated $326 million more on the recall program and on mitigation projects, which include repowering 27 locomotive engines and adding idle reduction technology to 50 yard switch engines (EPA, 2024). Cleaner switchyards are a genuine public benefit. They are not a payment to you.
California regulators put the buyback question to rest in one line. Asked directly whether owners can get their truck repurchased under the settlement, CARB answered that vehicle buyback is not part of the settlement in this case (CARB, 2024).
So the money available to an individual Ram owner comes from three places instead. The $500 recall incentive. The free Special Warranty Extension. And, if your truck keeps failing, a lemon law or warranty claim against the manufacturer. Each of those is covered below.
Recall 67A is a software reflash of the engine control module that increases the diesel exhaust fluid dosing rate to the aftertreatment catalyst under certain conditions, which lowers tailpipe nitrogen oxide output. No hardware is replaced, and Cummins states the update takes under an hour (Cummins, 2026).
Cummins says the update does not change torque, horsepower, or throttle response, and CARB says the repairs are not expected to affect fuel economy, durability, or operation (CARB, 2024). Owner reports on Ram and Cummins forums are more mixed, with some drivers reporting higher DEF consumption after the update and a smaller number reporting check engine lights afterward. Cummins publishes owner testimonials on its own recall site describing no change in performance.
Both things can be true. A calibration that doses more DEF will use more DEF. Whether it does anything else to your truck is a question your repair orders will answer better than any forum thread.
Before you book the appointment, three practical notes that most coverage leaves out.
One warning for the modified crowd. If a dealer identifies your truck as running aftermarket emissions hardware or software, it can be turned away, and a modified truck is not eligible for the $500 card or the warranty extension (Cummins, 2026). You can still get the recall done if you pay to return the truck to compliant equipment first. Our guide to
Cummins is paying $500 by prepaid Mastercard to owners and lessees of model year 2013 to 2018 Ram 2500 and 3500 trucks who complete Recall 67A during the program window. The company announced the program on February 17, 2026 and has extended it in stages (Cummins, 2026).
The current window is the one that matters, and it is closing.
| What | Deadline |
| Complete Recall 67A at a Ram dealer | September 30, 2026 |
| Submit the claim at CumminsRecall.com |
October 22, 2026, 11:59 p.m. ET
|
| Maximum VINs per person | 20 |
| Card delivery, digital |
Within 2 business days of verification
|
| Card delivery, physical |
4 to 6 weeks after verification
|
Source: Cummins Emissions Recall 67A Rewards Program terms, 2026.
A few conditions worth reading before you assume you qualify. The offer is open to residents of the 50 states and D.C. who are 18 or older and own or lease an eligible truck. Recalls completed before February 17, 2026 are not eligible for the card, which frustrates the owners who were prompt about it. Cummins also notes the program runs while supplies last, so the September 30 date is a ceiling, not a promise (Cummins, 2026).
If you run a small fleet, read that VIN limit again. Twenty eligible trucks is $10,000, and the work is roughly an hour per truck. Scheduling those appointments is close to the highest hourly rate available to a diesel fleet operator this month.
The Special Warranty Extension is worth far more than the $500 card, and it is the part of this settlement almost nobody explains properly. Complete Recall 67A and Cummins covers all parts and labor on a specific list of emissions components, automatically, at no cost (Cummins, 2026).
Here is what is covered on model years 2013 to 2018 Ram 2500 and 3500 trucks with the Cummins 6.7L Turbo Diesel.
| Category | Components covered |
| Catalysts | SCR catalyst assembly, ammonia oxidation catalyst |
| Sensors | NOx sensors, both engine out and system out |
| DEF system | DEF injector, DEF injector controller, DEF storage tank, DEF delivery lines, DEF quality sensor, DEF supply module, pump, and temperature sensor unit |
| Diagnostics | Any OBD scan for a malfunction that triggers the check engine light, whether or not the fault relates to a covered part |
| Controller | SCR controller replacement plus a 2-year parts warranty if the software update damages the hardware |
Source: Cummins Emissions Recall 67A Warranty Extension Coverage document, 2026.
Look closely at the diagnostics row. Cummins agreed to pay for any OBD scan triggered by a check engine light, regardless of whether the underlying fault has anything to do with the emissions system. Dealer diagnostic fees on a heavy-duty diesel commonly run $150 to $250 per visit. That line alone pays for itself.
The coverage period is the greater of two calculations, which means the math favors whichever is longer for your truck.
Coverage cannot run past December 31, 2033 for any truck that receives Recall 67A after April 9, 2027 (Cummins, 2026).
Run that math on a 2014 Ram 3500 with 190,000 miles. The 10-year and 120,000-mile branch expired long ago. The second branch is what saves you, giving four years or 48,000 miles of fresh coverage starting the day the dealer flashes the truck. On a high-mileage work truck, an SCR catalyst assembly and a DEF pump can total more than the truck is worth in a rough year.
| The line that costs owners the most money
Cummins states that issues existing before the vehicle receives the software update likely will not be covered (Cummins, 2026). Standard FCA exclusions for accident, abuse, neglect, and tampering also apply. Read that as a deadline, not a footnote. Every week you delay is another week your DEF pump can fail on the wrong side of that line. If your truck is already throwing SCR or DEF codes, book the recall now and talk to a warranty attorney before you accept a repair estimate rather than after. |
One more provision that almost never appears in coverage of this settlement. If a repair under the Special Extended Warranty is going to take more than three hours, CARB directs owners to contact Cummins or Stellantis about a loaner vehicle (CARB, 2024). The settlement does not guarantee one, but nobody offers what you do not ask for.
If you paid out of pocket for a repair that the Special Warranty Extension now covers, Cummins says affected U.S. owners and lessees will be reimbursed for eligible repairs (Cummins, 2026). Reimbursement runs through FCA’s own request form rather than a court settlement administrator.
Owner forums are full of people who tried this and got nowhere on the first attempt. One 2016 Ram 3500 owner described paying roughly $3,000 for a DEF pump failure in May 2024, completing Recall 67A, submitting every receipt, and being refused. Whether that outcome was correct depends on facts nobody in a forum thread can verify, including whether the failure predated the software update.
What we can say is that reimbursement claims are won on paperwork. Before you file, collect the following.
If a dealer or the manufacturer refuses to honor the regular warranty or the Special Warranty Extension, CARB set up a reporting address for exactly this: (CARB, 2024). A regulator email is not a lawsuit, but a documented refusal is useful evidence in one. FCA customer care handles reimbursement requests at 1-866-726-4636.
Completing Recall 67A does not release any legal claim you have against Cummins or Stellantis. CARB states it plainly: owners and lessees do not have to release any right, including their right to sue the company, in order to get the repair (CARB, 2024).
This matters because the fear of signing something away is the most common reason we hear for owners skipping the recall. There is no release, no arbitration clause, and no waiver bundled into the dealer visit. You are getting a software update, a warranty extension, and, for now, $500.
The reverse is also worth knowing. Refusing the recall does not strengthen a legal claim. It costs you the extended warranty, the $500, and the documented paper trail a dealer visit creates. Skipping it out of protest is the expensive version of being right.
Consumer class actions over the Ram diesel emissions software are active, unresolved, and paying nothing to owners at this time. No consumer settlement fund exists. Anyone telling you to file a claim for a payout from the Cummins settlement is describing something that does not exist.
| Case | Court and number | Trucks | Where it stands |
| United States v. Cummins Inc. | D.D.C., 1:24-cv-00088 | 2013 to 2023 Ram 2500 and 3500 |
Consent decree, penalty and recall program. Resolved
|
| California v. Cummins Inc. | D.D.C., 1:24-cv-00090 | Same |
Companion consent decree. Resolved
|
| Biederman v. FCA US LLC and Cummins Inc. | N.D. Cal., 3:23-cv-06640 | 2013 to 2023 Ram 2500 and 3500 |
Filed December 2023. Consumer protection claims survived dismissal in February 2025. Ongoing
|
| Bledsoe v. FCA US LLC and Cummins Inc. | E.D. Mich., appeal No. 24-1094 | 2007 to 2012 Ram 2500 and 3500 |
Sixth Circuit revived part of the case on August 8, 2025, and remanded. Ongoing
|
In Biederman, Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley let roughly half of the eleven claims proceed in February 2025, including common law fraud and claims under California’s Consumers Legal Remedies Act, False Advertising Law, and Unfair Competition Law. She dismissed the civil racketeering claims and several warranty claims (N.D. Cal. docket, 2025). In May 2025, the court certified the racketeering question for interlocutory appeal to the Ninth Circuit, which affects whether a nationwide class is viable at all (N.D. Cal. docket, 2025).
Bledsoe covers older trucks and turned on a different question: whether the Clean Air Act blocks state law fraud claims. On August 8, 2025, the Sixth Circuit held that claims resting on what the companies advertised to the public, rather than on what they told EPA, are not preempted, and sent the case back for further analysis (6th Cir., 2025). That reasoning is the reason these cases are still alive.
Two practical takeaways. Class actions move in years, not weeks, and a class member’s eventual share of a consumer settlement is typically a few hundred to a few thousand dollars. An individual lemon law or warranty claim on a truck that actually keeps breaking is usually worth more and resolves faster. If you want the mechanics of joining a class action generally, our walkthrough of how to join a class action lawsuit explains the steps and the tradeoffs.
The Ram 1500 with the 3.0L EcoDiesel V6 is excluded from the Cummins settlement and has its own separate history. Two settlements apply, and one of them still has benefits available.
The emissions settlement: In 2017 EPA and CARB issued notices of violation over eight undisclosed auxiliary emission control devices on 2014 to 2016 Ram 1500 and Jeep Grand Cherokee EcoDiesel vehicles. That produced In re Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep EcoDiesel Litigation, MDL No. 2777 in the Northern District of California, with final approval on May 3, 2019. Cash payments ran $3,075 for eligible owners, $2,460 in some shared-claim situations, and $990 for lessees and former owners. The claims portal is closed (EcoDiesel Settlement, 2026).
The part still worth acting on: the Approved Emissions Modification and its Extended Warranty are available to all current owners and lessees of 2014 to 2016 EcoDiesel vehicles regardless of whether they were class members, subject to the vehicle being registered, operable, and not modified in a way that blocks the update. The warranty term uses the same greater-of structure, 10 years or 120,000 miles from initial sale, or 4 years or 48,000 miles from the modification date (EcoDiesel Settlement, 2026). Check your VIN through the Mopar AEM lookup before assuming you missed it.
The EGR cooler fire settlement: Crawford v. FCA US LLC, No. 2:20-cv-12341 in the Eastern District of Michigan, resolved claims that exhaust gas recirculation coolers on 2014 to 2019 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel and 1500 Classic trucks crack, leak coolant, and can cause engine fires. The claim deadline was May 16, 2026 and has passed. Reimbursement and fire compensation are gone.
The settlement website’s own summary of options includes one line that saves people money anyway. Class members who did nothing still receive the benefit of the warranty extension covering parts and labor to repair a failed EGR cooler (Crawford settlement administrator, 2026). If your EcoDiesel throws an EGR cooler failure, do not pay for it without asking the dealer to check that coverage first.
State lemon law is the only path in this entire story that produces a refund or a replacement truck. The settlement has no buyback. Class actions produce fractional cash years later. Lemon law produces the outcome most owners actually want.
The general test, which varies by state, asks whether a defect that substantially impairs the vehicle’s use, value, or safety has survived a reasonable number of repair attempts, or whether the vehicle has been out of service for repairs for roughly 30 cumulative days, all within a defined coverage period. California’s Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act, Texas’s lemon law, and Florida’s Chapter 681 all run on that basic structure with different numbers.
Emissions defects fit this test more cleanly than owners expect. A truck that repeatedly derates, refuses to complete a regeneration cycle, throws recurring SCR or DEF faults, or spends weeks at the dealer waiting on backordered aftertreatment parts is impairing use and value in a way that documents itself.
Three fact patterns that come up constantly with Ram diesels.
For the state-specific numbers, start with how lemon law works, then check how a car qualifies for lemon law in California or our California, Texas, and Florida pages. If you bought the truck used, does lemon law apply to used cars covers where the line falls. The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act guide explains the federal backstop.
Diesel owners comparing platforms often land on our Ford 6.7 diesel problems and GM CP4 fuel pump lawsuit breakdowns, which show the same pattern playing out at other manufacturers.
These are the questions people type into AI assistants and search bars, phrased the way they actually phrase them, with direct answers.
Your truck is in the recall population, and all 2016 to 2018 Cummins-powered Ram 2500 and 3500 diesels are eligible. You do not get a share of the $1.675 billion penalty. You can get $500 for completing Recall 67A by September 30, 2026, plus the Special Warranty Extension. You may also be a member of the pending consumer class action, which has not produced any payment.
Cummins and CARB both state the update does not reduce power or fuel economy, though the calibration increases DEF dosing, so DEF consumption can rise. Weigh that against $500 plus years of free coverage on parts that cost thousands. The repair is optional, so the decision is yours, but the financial case is lopsided.
Possibly. The DEF supply module and pump are on the covered list, and Cummins says eligible owners will be reimbursed for covered repairs already paid out of pocket. Complete Recall 67A, then file through the FCA reimbursement form with your repair orders and proof of payment. Failures that predate the software update are the ones most likely to be denied.
That pattern is a lemon law and breach of warranty question, not a class action question. Gather every repair order showing dates, mileage, and your stated complaint, then have an attorney review whether your state’s repair-attempt or days-out-of-service threshold has been met.
No. CARB confirms owners do not release any right, including the right to sue, by accepting the repair.
Not for the $500 card or the Special Warranty Extension while the aftermarket emissions equipment is installed. Cummins says a modified truck that cannot receive the update is excluded from both. You can pay to return the truck to compliant hardware and software and then complete the recall.
No. EPA specifically excludes the Ram 1500 3.0L EcoDiesel because it uses a Ram-certified engine. EcoDiesel owners fall under MDL 2777 and, for EGR cooler failures, the Crawford settlement.
Nothing directly from the $1.675 billion penalty, which went to the U.S. Treasury and California (EPA, 2024). Owners receive a free software recall, a Special Warranty Extension on emissions components, and, through September 30, 2026, a $500 prepaid Mastercard for completing Recall 67A (Cummins, 2026).
Recall 67A is a free engine control module software update for model years 2013 to 2018 Ram 2500 and 3500 trucks with the Cummins 6.7L Turbo Diesel. It increases DEF dosing to the aftertreatment catalyst to lower nitrogen oxide emissions, requires no hardware, and takes under an hour (Cummins, 2026).
No. CARB confirms the repair is optional and is not required to register your vehicle or pass a smog check (CARB, 2024). Skipping it forfeits the $500 incentive and the Special Warranty Extension.
Parts and labor for the SCR catalyst assembly, ammonia oxidation catalyst, engine-out and system-out NOx sensors, and the full DEF system including the injector, controller, tank, lines, quality sensor, and supply module and pump. It also covers any OBD scan triggered by a check engine light, related or not (Cummins, 2026).
The greater of 10 years or 120,000 miles from initial sale, or 4 years or 48,000 miles from the date Recall 67A is completed. Coverage cannot extend past December 31, 2033 for trucks that receive the recall after April 9, 2027 (Cummins, 2026).
The Crawford settlement claim deadline was May 16, 2026, and has closed, so reimbursement and fire compensation are no longer available. The warranty extension covering parts and labor for a failed EGR cooler still applies to class members who took no action (Crawford settlement administrator, 2026).
Yes, in most situations. If your truck has a repeat defect, an individual lemon law or Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act claim usually resolves faster and pays more than a class member’s share. An attorney should review whether you are bound by any class settlement release before you file.
Cummins states the update does not affect torque, horsepower, or responsiveness, and CARB says no impact on fuel economy, durability, or operation is expected (CARB, 2024). Some owners report higher DEF usage, which is consistent with a calibration that doses more DEF.
Report it to CARB at , which the agency set up for exactly this situation, and contact FCA customer care at 1-866-726-4636 (CARB, 2024). Keep the written refusal. A documented denial supports a later breach of warranty claim.
Nearly one million model year 2013 to 2023 Ram 2500 and 3500 diesels in the United States. About 630,000 model year 2013 to 2019 trucks carried defeat device software and are recall eligible. Roughly 330,000 model year 2019 to 2023 trucks carried undisclosed software that did not create excess emissions and need no recall (EPA, 2024).
| Think your Ram is a lemon?
Consumer Protection Law Group helps diesel owners hold Stellantis and Cummins accountable for repeat defects. Bring your repair orders, and we will tell you where you stand, at no cost to start. Get a free case review or read our lemon law FAQs. |
This article is general information about vehicle warranty and lemon law claims and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Consumer Protection Law Group, Inc. is a California law firm licensed to practice in California and assists clients nationwide with federal warranty claims, engaging local counsel as needed. Deadlines and remedies depend on the facts of your vehicle and your state.