VW in trouble

[bobkatkat]

Re: VW in trouble

Looks like Winterkorn and others are under criminal investigation for fraud by German and US authorities.

"Under German law, fraudsters can be sentenced to a maximum of five years in prison, rising to 10 years in "especially serious cases." Those cases include fraud committed for commercial reasons. If prosecutors prove Volkswagen employees installed the software for the financial benefit of the company, or that more than three people were working together on the scam, they could prosecute under those harsher terms." quoting the inter web.

US criminal fraud has much stiffer sentences, up to to 5000 years!! Seems like a bit of overkill but they have handed out a 30,000 year sentence (6 consecutive 5000 year). Still better than criminal fraud in Thailand 141,078 years!! Such stupid number.

[MechEngg]

Re: VW in trouble

Eeek



Bosch warned VW about illegal software use in diesel cars, report says


Staff report
Automotive News | September 27, 2015 - 10:00 am EST


MUNICH -- Robert Bosch warned Volkswagen in 2007 that it would be illegal to use engine management software at the heart of the diesels emissions scandal in production cars, German newspaper Bild am Sonntag said.


VW was also warned by one of its own engineers in 2011 about illegal emissions testing practices, a report in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung's Sunday edition said, citing initial results of a VW internal investigation.


Bild am Sonntag said Bosch supplied diesel software to VW for test purposes but it ended up in vehicles on the road. Bosch wrote to VW saying that such use was unlawful, according to the paper's report, which did not cite sources.


Bosch, the world's biggest supplier, is adding up the cost to its business and reputation of the VW emissions scandal.


A Bosch spokesman today told Reuters that the company's dealings with VW were confidential. VW declined to comment on the details of either newspaper report.


Last week, Bosch said it had delivered components to VW that are now at the center of a probe into rigged emissions tests. The components included delivery and metering modules for exhaust gas treatment and common-rail injection systems.


Responsibility for configuring handling characteristics of these components "lies with Volkswagen," a Bosch spokesman told Automotive News Europe last week.


Cost-cutting at heart of crisis


Bild am Sonntag said the roots of the crisis were planted in 2005 when then-VW brand chief Wolfgang Bernhard wanted VW to develop a new diesel engine for the U.S. market. Bernhard recruited Audi engineer Rudolf Krebs who developed a prototype that performed well in tests in South Africa in 2006, the paper said.


Bernhard and Krebs argued that the only way to make the engine meet U.S. emission standards was to employ in the engine system an AdBlue urea solution used on larger diesel models such as the Passat and Touareg, according to the report.


This would have added a cost of 300 euros ($335 in today's U.S. dollars) per vehicle -- a sum that VW finance officials said was too much at a time when a companywide cost-cutting exercise was under way.


Bernhard left VW in January 2007 before the diesel engine went into production. Krebs was moved to another role when Martin Winterkorn became VW Group and brand CEO in 2007.


Winterkorn, Audi's former CEO, asked Audi development boss Ulrich Hackenberg and Audi engine boss Wolfgang Hatz to move to VW's Wolfsburg headquarters and continue development work on the engine,Bild am Sonntag said.


The engine then ended up in VW Group diesels with its engine software manipulated to fool diesel emissions tests in the U.S.


VW has admitted that 11 million diesel engines sold globally have software "irregularities," though media reports have said the software manipulation tweaks are not activated in the bulk of them.


Bild am Sonntag said Hackenberg and Hatz, who deny they knew about any illegal activities, have been relieved of their responsibilities.


The U.S. Environment Protection Agency said in a statement issued Sept. 18 that the software detects when a car is undergoing EPA emissions testing and turns on the vehicle’s full emissions controls. The software then switched off the full emissions controls during real-world driving.

http://www.autonews.com/article/2015...rs-report-says

[stefan]

Re: VW in trouble

300 euro for adblue is probably looking pretty cheap now!

[Canadian Turbo]

Re: VW in trouble

Audi has revealed today they have installed the controversial defeat device on a total of 2.1 million diesel cars sold worldwide.

About a week ago, the Volkswagen Group admitted they sold around 11 million cars featuring software developed specifically to enable the cars pass the emissions tests. A few days later, Volkswagen Passenger Cars CEO Dr. Herbert Diess revealed there are 5 million VW-badged cars with the defeat device and now an Audi spokesman says they did the same illegal thing to 2.1 million cars.

Approximately 1.45 million Audi-badged vehicles with Euro 5-compliant diesel engines are affected in Western Europe, 577,000 cars in Germany and almost 13,000 in United States. The models in question belong to the A1, A3, A4, A5, A6, TT, Q3 and Q5 lineups. There's no word just yet about the 3.0-liter V6 turbodiesel powering the bigger models, but we do know this larger motor is currently being investigated as well.

Chances are Skoda, SEAT and Porsche will make similar announcements very soon.



VAG-owned Czech marque Skoda has announced today there are 1.2 million cars equipped with the illegal "defeat device."

It was only a few hours ago when premium brand Audi said there are 2.1 million cars with the four ring logo equipped with the special software developed to cheat during emissions tests and now the more humble Volkswagen Group member Skoda has admitted they have 1.2 million cars in the same predicament. As a reminder, the Volkswagen core brand made a similar announcement last week by revealing there are 5 million vehicles with the defeat device.

We can only assume that in the coming hours or days Spain's SEAT brand will also disclose the number of diesel cars fitted with the software developed by Bosch for solely testing purposes, but ultimately used by the Volkswagen Group on a large number of TDI-powered cars.

It remains to be seen whether the larger 3.0-liter V6 TDI also has the software and if that's the case, it means Porsche is also in a lot of trouble.

[Red90]

Re: VW in trouble

Germany's Federal Motor Transport Authority, KBA, has lost patience with scandal-plagued Volkswagen and has given it a deadline.

By October 7, the regulator says, Volkswagen has to submit its plan for bringing its cars into line with European emissions regulation – and this time, no cheating.

That's going to be a tough ask for VW: while the software that cheated on emissions tests will be easily patched, it can only be done with a big hit to the performance of cars on the road.

German tabloid Bild am Sonntag says the KBA says it's obliged “to call for the necessary measures to ensure that the manufactured vehicles are brought into line” with what's been approved for sale.

If KBA withdraws approval for the affected cars, they can neither be sold nor driven in Germany.

VW's brand chief Herbert Diess is cited in a company media release as saying the company is “working at full speed” on a technical solution.

During the weekend, allegations emerged that VW had been warned in 2007 and 2011 about its emissions practices.

The scandal, in which management software detected when cars using the EA 189 motor were undergoing an emission test and put the engines into a low-emission mode, has already cost VW boss Martin Winterkorn his job, leaving him struggling with a €3.2 million severance payment and a €1 million annual pension

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/09...s_vw_deadline/

[Canadian Turbo]

Re: VW in trouble

Industry experts are saying Volkswagen's diesel fix could require two distinct solutions, depending on the car’s pollution control system.

Yesterday we heard VW saying a diesel fix is in the works for almost 11 million cars equipped with the Euro 5-compliant EA189 engine and all of them will have to go through a "service procedure." Now we get to find out more about what that actually means and it seems it's more than just a software update as industry experts and U.S. regulators are saying hardware changes will be required as well for some of the engines.

There will be two solutions and choosing between one and the other will be done based on the vehicle's pollution control system. According to EPA, fixing the cars from the 2009-2014 model years will require more time because these have devices known as "lean NOx traps" which were created to reduce nitrogen oxides in engine exhaust. Back in 2012, Volkswagen started offering the same 2.0 TDI engine with a more complex emissions control system known as Selective Catalytic Reduction which injects a liquid urea solution in the exhaust to diminish nitrogen oxides.

The software implemented in these two types of emissions control systems will have to be revised and in some cases a hardware change will also be necessary. According to some analysts, these modifications could have a negative impact on the car's performances and could also increase fuel consumption.

Volkswagen will reveal next month their plan to fix almost 11 million cars not just from the core brand, but also from Audi, Skoda, SEAT and their Commercial Vehicles division.

[witchcraftz]

Re: VW in trouble

I wonder how this affects the older models and other brands.

I just finished a week of driving a Peugeot 508 wagon HDi 2L and it was a blast to drive. How can they have a diesel with so much power and fuel economy which passes the emissions tests if the VW TDI engine doesn't?

My Mk4 has the 1.9L engine which is almost the same size as the new 2.0L and with a Malone tune my HP and torque ratings are on par or better than the new 2.0L, it still passed emissions testing in BC without any special software or NOX system.

I can't believe that the software fix will be such a drastic drop to power.

The beutiful Peugot 508 HDi


Also an interesting article on Diesel pollution, particularly interesting is the mention that on diesels certain cylinder pressures and temperatures produce high levels of soot or NOx, but some temperature and pressure regimes get efficient fuel combustion without producing either pollutant.

http://www.livescience.com/52284-vol...hallenges.html

[stefan]

Re: VW in trouble

it still passed emissions testing in BC without any special software or NOX system.

Regarding this, I assume a lot of these cars will pass in Canada - just not in California. Your MK4 could not be registered in California, to the best of my knowledge. Also, I am not familiar with the testing, but do you have to meet today's standards with an old car, or just meet the OEM spec of that car, from its time? There must be a line somewhere. The old old classic cars would have no catalytics at all.

[bobkatkat]

Re: VW in trouble

I wonder how this affects the older models and other brands.

My Mk4 has the 1.9L engine which is almost the same size as the new 2.0L and with a Malone tune my HP and torque ratings are on par or better than the new 2.0L, it still passed emissions testing in BC without any special software or NOX system.

]

I think passing the BC emissions test is quite a bit easier than the test that will be put on VWs going forward. Just for reference my big turbo, Gutted Cats 1.8 A4 passed AirCare Twice. Its the Jiffy Lube of emissions tests.

[ryukin2000]

Re: VW in trouble

http://www.news.com.au/world/north-a...-1227551488780

[witchcraftz]

Re: VW in trouble

Well at least it's just stupid notes, would be worse if they were keying the cars.

[stefan]

Re: VW in trouble

http://www.news.com.au/world/north-a...-1227551488780

Portland hipsters...

[Red90]

Re: VW in trouble

Regarding this, I assume a lot of these cars will pass in Canada - just not in California. Your MK4 could not be registered in California, to the best of my knowledge. Also, I am not familiar with the testing, but do you have to meet today's standards with an old car, or just meet the OEM spec of that car, from its time? There must be a line somewhere. The old old classic cars would have no catalytics at all.

California emissions testing for diesels is visual smoke only. No gas testing is performed.

[Canadian Turbo]

Re: VW in trouble

http://www.news.com.au/world/north-a...-1227551488780

This is funny and sad at the same time I am sure all these people are a model of environmental perfection, like those notes must be veggie ink on recycled waste paper of course...

[bart]

Re: VW in trouble

so many whiners on the internet, i am glad they did it, too bad they got caught haha, actually picking up a new tdi winter beater in a couple of weeks... biturbo, dsg, awd