MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Mercedes-Benz USA and parent company Daimer AG have agreed to pay $149.6 million to settle allegations that the automaker secretly installed devices in hundreds of thousands of vehicles to pass emission tests, a coalition of attorneys general announced Monday.
According to the coalition, between 2008 and 2016 the German automaker equipped more than 211,000 diesel passenger cars and vans with software devices that optimized emission controls during tests but reduced the controls during normal operations. The devices enabled vehicles to far exceed legal limits for nitrogen oxides, a pollutant that can cause respiratory illnesses and contributes to smog.
The states alleged that Mercedes installed the devices because it couldn’t reach design and performance goals such as fuel efficiency while complying with emissions standards. The automaker allegedly concealed the devices from state and federal regulators and the public while marketing the vehicles as “environmentally friendly” and compliant with emissions standards.
The agreement is still subject to court approval.
Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz USA already agreed in 2020 to pay $1.5 billion to the U.S. government and California state regulators to resolve the emissions cheating allegations.
Mercedes-Benz issued a statement saying the deal announced Monday will resolve all remaining legal proceedings tied to diesel emissions in the United States, but the company still considers the accusations unfounded and denies any liability. The automaker has made “sufficient provisions” for the cost of the settlement, the statement said.
Fifty attorneys general, including the attorneys general of the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, made up the coalition announced Monday. California was not part of the group.
The settlement calls for the automaker to pay the attorneys general $120 million with another $29 million payment suspended and potentially waived pending completion of a consumer relief program.
That effort will extend to the roughly 40,000 vehicles with the devices that hadn't been repaired or permanently removed from the road by Aug. 1, 2023. The owners of those vehicles would get $2,000 per vehicle if they install approved emissions modification software and an extended warranty.
The settlement also calls for Mercedes to comply with reporting requirements and refrain from any further unfair or deceptive marketing or sale of diesel vehicles.
Volkswagen also ended up paying $2.8 billion to settle a criminal case due to emissions cheating.
FILE - The company logo is shown on the grille of an unsold 2026 AMG S63 Performance model on the lot of a Mercedes Benz dealership Nov. 2, 2025, in Littleton, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)
REDDING, Calif. (AP) — Heavy rain and flash flooding soaked roads in northern California, leading to water rescues from vehicles and homes and at least one confirmed death, authorities said Monday.
In Redding, a city at the northern end of California's Central Valley, one motorist died after calling 911 while trapped in their vehicle as it filled up with water, Mayor Mike Littau posted online Monday. Police said they received numerous calls for drivers stranded in flooded areas.
“Redding police officer swam out into the water, broke the windows and pulled victim to shore. CPR was done but the person did not live,” Littau wrote.
The Redding area saw between 3 and 6 inches (7.6 centimeters and 15.2 centimeters) of rain from Saturday through Sunday night, the National Weather Service said.
As scattered showers lingered into Monday, some local roads remained flooded as street crews worked to clear debris and tow abandoned cars.
Dekoda Cruz waded in knee-deep muddy water to check on a friend’s flooded tire business, where the office was littered with a jumble of furniture and bobbing tires.
Redding's mayor warned of even more dangerous weather in the coming days, and the city distributed free sand bags to residents in preparation for the next storm.
The National Weather Service expects rain through the Christmas week as a series of atmospheric rivers was forecast to make its way through Northern California. A large swath of the Sacramento Valley and surrounding areas were under a flood watch through Friday.
An atmospheric river is a long, narrow band of water vapor that forms over an ocean and flows through the sky, transporting moisture from the tropics to northern latitudes.
The weather pattern was expected to intensify by midweek, which could lead to potential mudslides, rockslides and flooding of creeks and streams, forecasters warned. Up to 6 feet (1.83 meters) of snow was predicted for parts of the Sierra Nevada and winds could reach 55 mph (90 kph) in high elevations by Wednesday.
Travel in the mountain passes on Christmas day would be “difficult to near impossible,” the weather service said.
Southern California can also expect a soggy Christmas, with some areas in Ventura County are forecast to get up to 11 inches (28 centimeters) of rain by Saturday. Parts of Los Angeles, including areas with burn scars from the deadly Palisades fire, will be under evacuation warnings beginning Tuesday.
The weather service urged people to make backup plans for holiday travel.
Earlier this month, stubborn atmospheric rivers drenched Washington state with nearly 5 trillion gallons (19 trillion liters) of rain in a week, threatening record flood levels, meteorologists said. That rainfall was supercharged by warm weather and air, plus unusual weather conditions tracing back as far as a tropical cyclone in Indonesia.
Associated Press writer Jessica Hill in Las Vegas contributed to this report.
Dekoda Cruz walks through the flooded office of Northstate Tire & Wheel following heavy rains on Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, in Redding, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Dekoda Cruz works to clear a drain following heavy rains on Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, in Redding, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Dekoda Cruz walks through flood water while helping a friend who's tire shop flooded during heavy rains on Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, in Redding, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
A man rides in a pick-up truck bed while salvaging belongings from a flooded storage unit following heavy rains on Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, in Redding, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Dekoda Cruz walks through the flooded office of Northstate Tire & Wheel following heavy rains on Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, in Redding, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Dekoda Cruz walks through flood water while helping a friend who's tire shop flooded during heavy rains on Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, in Redding, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
