VW has also promised to provide a courtesy vehicle to anyone who requires one while the work is being carried out, however it shouldn’t take more than an hour to fit the part.
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If so, Voelcker estimates such a fix would cost Volkswagen several thousand dollars per vehicle, possibly even leading the automaker to buy some of its cars back.
The global emissons scandal could potentially cos Volkswagen tens of billions of euros in fines and litigation, in addition to the expense of installing new software and hardware.
The California Air Resources Board yesterday said it had notified Volkswagen Group of America to recall all VW, Audi and Porsche vehicles equipped with 3.0-liter diesel engines in the model years 2009-2015 that were sold in California.
Representatives of Volkswagen and its Audi division have been in talks with the Environmental Protection Agency about how to make cars in the United States compliant. Once these changes are made the engines then pass all required emissions in EU28 markets.
Volkswagen has already filed a recall plan covering an estimated 480,000 of its less-powerful, 2.0-liter diesel engine vehicles, including more than 50,000 sold in California. The smallest, 1.2-liter motor’s remedy is still being worked out, but VW said it expects the fix to be a software update as well.
The carmaker has admitted to fitting 11 million diesel engines worldwide with sophisticated software fitted to skew the results of tests for nitrogen oxide emissions.
Audi is submitting a fix that will hopefully resolve issues with the 3.0-liter V6 diesel engine.
The vehicles affected by the inconsistencies in carbon dioxide emissions include the diesel variants of Volkswagen’s Polo, Golf and Passat models, as well as the subcompact A1 and the A3 hatchbacks of the Audi premium brand, Skoda Octavia, Seat Ibiza and Seat Leon. CEO Matthias Mueller said on Monday that the steps needed to fix the affected vehicles are “technically and financially manageable”.
Whatever solutions VW has proposed, the EPA and CARB will review the provisions and decide if any elements must be revised before the company can move forward with its recall program.
The German Federal Motor Transport Authority gave VW until the end of this month to come up with a fix.
Slowly, Volkswagen’s (NASDAQOTH:VLKAY) plans for fixing millions of cars with illegal emissions-control “defeat devices” are coming to light.
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Volkswagen also uses the engine in the Touraeg and Porsche has used it in the Cayenne since 2013.
