California Air Resources Board Delays Review of Volkswagen's Diesel Fix

by Aaron Cole

Updated: December 9th, 2020 Published: December 19th, 2015

The California Air Resources Board told Volkswagen on Friday that it would take three more weeks to review the automaker’s proposed fix for its 2-liter diesel engines after the automaker added “significant” information to its plan, according to a letter sent by regulators.

The letter indicated that Volkswagen had submitted “additional significant information” to the board Dec. 14-16 regarding its proposed fixes for its illegally polluting cars and that the board would take until Jan. 14 to review that additional data. On Nov. 20, Volkswagen submitted its plan to CARB to fix more than 482,000 cars in the U.S., which could have been approved as early as Dec. 22.

It’s unclear from the letter what the additional information from Volkswagen may be. The automaker didn’t immediately comment on the letter.

According to the letter, Volkswagen submitted a request Dec. 15 to extend submission of its recall plan to the board. CARB officials said they would take until Jan. 14 to review that plan as well.

This month, German transportation officials approved a plan by Volkswagen to fix its European diesel cars. That plan, which affected 1.2-, 1.6- and 2-liter diesel cars, will begin in January. All of those cars will receive a software update, while some will need an additional mesh pipe added to the cars’ intakes.

Volkswagen officials said fixes for North American cars would be significantly different, although some of the cars would only need a software update. The vast majority of its diesel cars in the U.S. will need additional hardware along with software to comply with emissions standards.

CARB’s letter to Volkswagen only addressed the 2-liter diesel engines. Volkswagen has until February to detail its fix for 85,000 3-liter diesel engines that cheated emissions tests.

#Audi #CaliforniaAirResourcesBoard #Diesel #DieselFix #Ea189 #Recall #Volkswagen #VwDieselScandal

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5 of 21 comments

Robert.Walter on Dec 20, 2015

The delay is due to the fact that the coffee strainer for the us market takes longer to brew than the espresso strainer for Europe did. Geez. Why do I always have to explain these things.

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Commissioner Rothschild on Dec 20, 2015

Bad news for the Feds... Most TDI owners simply do not care about this emissions hoopla. First and foremost, TDIs help conserve the earth's fossil fuel resources by saving billions of gallons of fuel; Second, when the entire supply chain is viewed holistically, and we factor in the environmental savings from NOT needing to drill, pump, refine, and transport the billions of gallons saved, TDI is still more environmentally friendly than the alternatives, including electric vehicles that depend on fossil plants for charging, and require environmentally problematic battery technology. The most amusing aspect of the government's flailing and finger pointing is this.... It is extremely unlikely the government will be able to force any TDI owner to install undesirable retrofits. The 5th and 14th Amendments of the Constitution will prevent the Federal and State governments from depriving owners of use of their vehicles... It would amount to a "taking". Think of it this way.... If they can make TDI owners retrofit their cars, why not simply make all owners of all old vehicles retrofit their cars? They won't because they can't. The EPA should simply levy an appropriate fine, require future compliance, and move on. - Commissioner Richard Rothschild

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- Mik101 on Dec 20, 2015
  
  Wow I expected a better thought out response from someone with a red user name on here. I can check if recalls are done on my car with just the VIN, without getting up. What makes you think the DMV can't do the same when you go to reregister your vehicle? One little bill attached to anything going through Congress will fix that. Look at how your lovely internet spying act was just pushed through with the budget. Even for states without emissions testing this is easily handled. Cash for clunkers did exactly what you said they can't do but in a roundabout way to keep those cars out of poorer people's hands. Next up, particulate emissions from direct injected gasoline vehicles all for a theoretical 3% BSFC maximum, increased operating costs (intake valve buildup) and more expensive repairs when HP fuel pumps and injectors fail. Eventually you'll see particulate filters on those too.
  
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- NickS on Dec 21, 2015
  
  Mik101 is giving you plenty, but I'll pile on here. It would be easy to force a fix. What you say makes no sense. And wow, yeah, if they fix those TDIs that's really going to make a huge dent on oil production. Never mind that to everyone else it's pretty clear that we have already jumped the shark and there are no easy solutions. As in, its not a choice between co2 and NOX. Calling this a simple choice is seriously lacking in facts. Pro tip: when the constitution gets brought in to support a viewpoint in any random matter, that's a dead giveaway of a very weak argument.
  
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- ExPatBrit on Dec 21, 2015
  
  @NickS Vehicles need to meet the emission requirements for the model year they were sold in, there is no way to force manufacturers to retroactively add newer specs and features to older cars. The DMV could prevent licensing and title transfer of the vehicles, just like if I don't pass my emissions test I can't renew my tabs.. The Constitution argument is very weak as owners can probably continue to use these vehicles on private property, so they are not completely deprived of their use. A bigger issue is the loss of value of these vehicles if the fixes are not ideal.
  
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