EXCLUSIVE: Volkswagen Diesel Emissions Fixes to Begin in US in February

by Mark Stevenson

Published: November 5th, 2015

exclusive volkswagen diesel emissions fixes to begin in us in february

According to the same source who revealed to TTAC that Volkswagen will announce next week its “TDI Goodwill Program”, the automaker will also begin to roll out fixes for affected diesel emissions cars in the U.S. in February.

The fix, which was mentioned to dealers and communicated to dealer staff, will comprise of an ECU flash. The details of the ECU flash itself and the specific vehicles to which it will apply were not provided.

It was reported previously that different generations of the affected EA189 diesel engine could receive varying levels of correction, from ECU flashes to the installation of full urea-fed SCR systems. This ECU flash could be just one of two or three fixes for Volkswagen’s dirty diesels.

Volkswagen has supposedly earmarked $4 billion to fix their diesel cars and public reputation in the U.S., which includes money the automaker will use to fund the “TDI Goodwill Program”, said the source.

“We were informed that … customers will be notified in batches according to the vehicle’s VIN,” said the source.

Some 482,000 vehicles were sold in the U.S. with the EA189 2-liter turbodiesel four-cylinder engine.

On Monday, the Environmental Protection Agency revealed they had found what they believed to be a “defeat device” on vehicles equipped with the larger 3-liter six-cylinder diesel engine found in the 2014 Touareg, 2015 Porsche Cayenne Diesel and 2016 models of the Audi A6 Quattro, A7 Quattro, A8, A8L and Q5. Early estimates put the count of affected vehicles at 10,000, but it’s likely much higher.

Volkswagen has stopped the sale of those models, but disagrees with the EPA’s findings, stating “no software has been installed in the 3-liter V6 diesel power units to alter emissions characteristics in a forbidden manner.”

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Mark Stevenson

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4 of 35 comments

Dr_outback on Nov 07, 2015

I can't believe that it's 2015 and I'm actually about to say this, but, I trust a well serviced DSG over a Honda automatic transmission. The 23O6 update did not blow your transmission. Yes, there are some serious issues with the AdBlue heater, but most fail well into the vehicle's life cycle. VW helps on a case by case basis. But components on cars don't last forever, so get over it. You drive, you used the component, it broke, replace it, move on. I have never met a customer base that is as entitled as VW customers that expect something that they used, heavily, to not break.

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- HopeSt on Nov 07, 2015
  
  Neighbor you are sadly beginning to sound like a VW employee even if you are not! The parts[all maintained by VW on time or a bit early if we were going on a trip] failed one barely out of warranty and the other 30000 before, so quite sounding like a fanboy who isnt the one dealing with the lie, the premium paid for the lie, the failed parts and the cost! We in general like german cars: the way they drive and diesel engines; as for dealing with any failed parts that should not fail before or just out of warranty in any make, this is unacceptable and we as a consumer do not deserve such when we work hard for our income!
  
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Dr_outback on Nov 08, 2015

I have yet to see a properly serviced DSG transmission fail at 93,000 miles. The powertrain warranty is 5 years or 60,000 miles. 33,000 miles is not "just outside of warranty." No automaker can achieve a 0% failure rate on complex components. It's a shame that the a DSG replacement costs so much, but I have seen properly serviced DSG's exceed 160k miles without a problem. Once VW solved the mechatronics issue, the transmission doesn't have many issues. If people want buy diesels, and clean diesels at that, then putting up with emissions system failures is part and parcel of driving a diesel. I tell customers interested in a TDI to buy it because they like how it drives, but to keep in mind the emissions systems are more complex than a gas powered version.

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- HopeSt on Nov 08, 2015
  
  I hear you loud and clear; its sad that we and others have failing ones because my wife could have died when all power was lost on the highway! This same incident went horribly wrong for one lady and her family in Australia[millions recalled] while driving a DSG some years ago[and our car has the same DSG 2012] and many still are complaining hence the stealth move from it to the the regular transmission here[USA] in VW's but not Audi's[thought they too fail prematurely as one neighbor pointed out to me when he was shopping for a S7 and chose a Lexus instead because of this very point] which people mostly lease so they may never experience it! Yes we hope they fix their house and products[2.0 TDI, DSG's etc] by time the Tiguan comes stateside, pay their fines and compensate us their customers[10yrs with them leasing and purchase 2012]. We will see what takes place the Lord wills and we live!
  
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