Featured Car & Driver editor on diesel scandal (easy to fix) Autoline VW volkswagen

Here what I thinks vw will do ! REMAP the ecu there will be reduction in emissions, power and mpg! Offer a sweet composation package according to the year and mileage on vehicle ! I would be interest in a tdi tiguan which is not available in the U.S. European seem to get all the good stuff!

 

The EPA test isn't a simple one that can be achieved by removing code and then passing a test. It involves long term (100k+ miles) durability testing, long term emissions testing and then running through a cycle on the test bed. So unless they have already done the first two (which could be used as further evidence that they knew of this all along depending on when they did it) the fix could be a long time coming.

The private US lawsuits will take many years to resolve because there are so many involved already. They have to solidify, be consolidated, and then go through what could be a multi-year process unless VW wants to get this behind them in which case I can't see it being resolved in less than 2 years because the results of the fix have to be widely known and well documented before most claims can be made.

 

audi survived the u/a issue, i'm sure they'll figure this out. diesel sales will be slow until they come out with a new proven technology.

 

If it were possible to fix through ECU programming, then we have to believe at the time they essentially had two choices:

1. As you suggest, TRY to fix it without leaving the customer unhappy.. but surely, they knew that this didnt actually work(they must have had test results). And since this didnt work, as we see now, they are subject to fines from the EPA (as well as other countries) and countless lawsuits from unhappy customers, destroying your brand in the process.

2. Actually fix it, but face countless lawsuits from unhappy customers and destroying your brand in the process.

Your customers are going to be unhappy either way.. but its much cheaper to just deal with unhappy customer lawsuits and not make the EPA mad.

Which is why I dont believe they could fix it by reprogramming the ECU.

Although, I guess it IS possible that who ever was involved in the December 2014 recall knew they were going to get fired anyway and just rolled with it.. told the boss, "yeah, its fixed.. lets go grab a beer.. on me"..

 

Well as I stated remap ecu offer a clause $$ package agreeing that that owner / vin# will settle! Better owners pockets the $$ instead of the lawyers, they will come out winners on any class action suits! Then the company can more forward cleaning up the tarnished image! the longer this drags on! drags the vw image with it! Think long term if vw folds up! it would affect thousands of suppliers manufactors then you have millions of unemployed workers what effect the have on the world's economy ?

 

Well this is good news:

FRANKFURT— Volkswagen AG has put together a plan to refit vehicles in an emission-rigging scandal, the company’s new chief executive said, ahead of what is expected to be a massive recall.


Matthias Müller told managers at Volkswagen headquarters in Wolfsburg that a project team put together “a comprehensive action plan” over the weekend and would inform customers shortly about refitting their vehicles.


On Tuesday, Volkswagen said it will submit its technical solutions to the relevant authorities for approval in October, and set up websites to inform affected customers about their vehicles.
. . . ​

Source: Volkswagen Has Refit Plan For Emissions-Rigged Vehicles, Says CEO - WSJ

Bob Wilson

 

VW's Promised Fix for Diesels Doesn't Apply to U.S. Vehicles: Source - NBC News

As I understand it the defeat device is simply software that turns down the emissions control hardware and allows different injection strategies after the car realizes it is not on a test. Leaving th emissions control hardware running at test levels may hurt reliability, power, and efficiency so it likely won't simply be possible in the tougher US levels to just leave everything on.

 

in massachusetts, when you go for emissions testing, they plug into the obd port and read history. it has nothing to do with running the vehicle while being tested. so the software would have to be supplying false data to the emissions testing computer.

 

That just checks if the emissions work the way the manufacturer intended. I believe with the prius they put it in test mode. If you fake it for the real test, much easier to report yes I'm still good.

 

That overlooks the duration requirement. EPA requires the equipment to deliver that minimal level of cleansing for 100,000 miles. (For SULEV certification by CARB, it's 120,000 miles. For PZEV by CARB, it's 150,000 miles.)

It's entirely possible the existing system isn't capable of that. After all, everyone was under the impression the engine was cleaner than it actually was... hence not needing SCR in the first place.

 

think PiP ..... Poor seller? well yea! It's just sold in a handful of states. Cost more to build? Well yea, it's deliberately sold in low volume, AND its fuel efficiency build is more costly to manyfacture - but can eventuality pay for itself ... if a commitment is made to sell it nation wide.

3rd choice: REFUND

 

Why would an automaker push a mid-cycle upgrade package after learning the market was weak and knowing the next-gen offered more?

Instead, they focused on spreading the base system. Now, upon the rollout of that next-gen, there are 3 well-established varieties to choose from to build upon. That choice also helped reinforce the expanded system across other vehicle types.

The goal is to penetrate deeper into the market, not just sell more.

 

CARB has a warranty requirement. It simply says the manufacturer needs to replace the parts. The existing parts passed CARBs test. Where it is likely to fail is the real world. The defeat software changes real world behavior not test behavior. It does this illegally, and I doubt as I said the fix for the US is as simple as disabling the defeat software.

 

I hope to agree with you - just as soon as the nationwide pip roll out takes place .... if or when it doesn't - we can revisit this
.

 

Yes, and we should point out the long list of issues they must deal with to deliver a solution.

It's a complex situation with many factors easy to forget to include.

 

The LNT models will be tough to fix. The SCR ones might work with ECU reprograming to use more DEF. Then it becomes a question of whether the SCR catalyst itself wasn't undersized itself.

It is looking for history of things not working right, i.e. if the engine check light ever came on. If the ECU is saying everything is fine, then the test will say the same.
It might also look for aftermarket tunes, but many of these can be turned off.
Plus, many states don't do more than a visual inspection for obvious things like cat converter deletes.

 

The US can fine VW as much as $38,000 per car that is not fixed.

That should be incentive enough for VW to find every one of the 500,000 cars in the US that are defective and fix them.
Otherwise, it faces an up to $18 BILLION fine in the US Alone.

This would be in addition to the lawsuits that are currently being filed for consumer fraud and loss of value to people's cars.

What VW did is criminal.
So I'm sure VW won't get away lightly with its actions.