Audi has started the long and expensive process of undoing the damage caused by parent company Volkswagen’s massive emissions cheating scandal. VW Group of America CEO Michael Horn has said these cars will need a software update, as well as possible hardware modifications. Specifically, this is the software for the temperature conditioning of the exhaust-gas cleaning system.
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The good news, also delivered Monday by Mueller, is that the company can retool most of the more than 11 million vehicles that had been programmed to cheat on emissions tests. The investigation is still in its early stages, but thus far, there is no evidence of any wrongdoing on Bosch’s part.
Audi, which made the 3-liter engines for its vehicles as well as for Porsche and VW, will be discussing this with CARB over the next 45 days, he said. USA emissions standards are more strict than the EU’s, says John Voelcker at Green Car Reports. Cars with 2-liter diesel motors can be repaired by simply updating the engine-control software, the company said.
The fixes will range from simple software update for two-litre diesel engines, to more complex solutions for 1.6-litre models.
VW had initially denied the cars have software which alters nitrogen oxide emissions readings during official tests. To draw in customers, Volkswagen is responding with incentives, including zero-down payment and zero-percent financing deals in the U.S.
Volkswagen initially denied any cheating when first confronted about a smaller number of 3.0-liter Audi-engineered motors this month.
The local unit of the German carmaker said that it will fully cooperate with the government in implementing a recall and other measures along with any future investigations. The affected models include the A6, A7, A8, A8L, Q5 and Q7 models from the 2009 through the 2016 model year, along with the Porsche Cayenne Diesel and the Volkswagen Touareg TDI.
In addition, VW Group announced that the EPA and the California Air Resources Board have allowed the company to revise the software in 85,000 larger 3.0-liter, TDI-engined cars.
The automaker said it is “cooperating with the authorities” and is in contact with them to resolve the issue.
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According to Reuters, Renault has firmly denied all allegations, stating that “the Espace complies with the applicable regulations”.
