Nearly There: Feds Green-light Emission Fix for More Audi Diesels

The Environmental Protection Agency and California Air Resources Board have approved emissions repairs for another 24,000 Audi vehicles equipped with the 3.0-liter diesel V6.

Back in May, a U.S. District Judge ruled that if Volkswagen Group failed to obtain government approval for fixes on its emissions-cheating diesels, it would be forced to offer owners buy-backs. Keen not to spend even more money as a result of dieselgate, the company went to work on a solution — resulting in an initial 38,000 Audi and Porsche vehicles spared from the wrecking yard.

The new approval covers 2014-2016 Audi A6 Quattro, A7 Quattro, A8, A8L and Q5 diesel models. The vehicles are to have their defeat device software removed and various hardware components replaced to ensure emissions compliance. VW says it has now has a remedy for about 75 percent of its tainted 3.0-liters, and hopes to have a solution for the remaining 20,000 soon.

According to Reuters, the automaker faced up to $4.04 billion in costs without the repairs. In addition to a settlement of $1.22 billion, Volkswagen also agreed to pay owners of fixed cars between $8,500 and $17,000. However, it no longer has to worry about repurchasing every single model sold in the U.S. that skirted regulatory testing.

Of course, the company is still in pretty deep. Before Judge Charles Breyer’s May ruling on the 3.0-liter motors, he previously green-lit a settlement (worth up to $14.7 billion) requiring VW to buy back 475,000 polluting vehicles with 2.0-liter diesel engines. The automaker received fix approvals for those cars in July.

[Image: Volkswagen Group]