Fiat Chrysler said Friday that it would modify around 100,000 diesel vehicles to try to reach a settlement with U.S. regulators, as separate academic studies provided mounting evidence that the carmaker had installed software meant to evade emissions standards.

The move came a day after the company said it was in talks to resolve a Justice Department investigation. The case bears striking similarities to a Volkswagen scandal in which several executives have been investigated or charged, with the German carmaker paying tens of billions of dollars in fines, penalties and settlements.

Although Fiat Chrysler is unlikely to have to pay as much as Volkswagen, the emissions cheating, if proved, could still be expensive and badly damage the company’s reputation at a time when it is grappling with low profitability.