The mortician tape-measuring VW for a casket

[Dave W]

If this article is accurate, VW's situation is a lot worse than I thought.

The VW "Fix" Just Got a Lot More Expensive

[uwe]

"Holes will need to be drilled, cuts made in the car's sheetmetal, to accommodate the urea tank, the filler neck and so on."

Sounds like my urologist. 

[Highlander]

AdBlu... someone's taking the...

[Pilgrim]

Here's a suggestion....

Evidently their software does enable the cars to meet emissions standards when it kicks into "test" mode. My guess is that this reduces power and fuel mileage a bit, so they didn't enable it all the time. But I'll bet VW could flash the ECU and set it in test mode permanently.

And the urea tank installation will be expensive.

So: why not offer owners a choice?

Option A: urea tank installation.

Option B: VW sets the software to permanent test mode, the owner accepts the reduction in mileage and power, and VW will give them a $2000(?) check. No physical modifications performed.

[Dave W]

I doubt many owners would accept option B. They'll either demand repurchase plus cash, or get involved in extended legal action.

[uwe]

Lawyers are a pest.

[Granny Gremlin]

What I don't understand is why folks think that lower emissions (test mode) = lower milage.  Lower power certainly, but the mileage should actually improve.  The reason they did this was not for fuel economy, but to make the diesels more sporty vs the typical leviathon work vehicles of yesteryear.

I mean think about it, more power = burning more gas per mile.  There is a fixed amount of carbon in the fuel, so if emissions are lower you must be burning less of it (though this can also be affected by the quality of combustion; fuel air mix etc, i.e. the Turbo in TDI).

That article also has some strong biases that the author wears proudly on his sleeve.  I don't know enough about emissions standards to either agree or disagree.

#stilllovemygolf though I am confused about whether any of this applies to me at all; mine might be older than the issue from some things I've read (2004). ... and it just passed it's regularly required emissions test a few weeks ago.  I was surprised at the complete lack of comment about this when I took it in.

[uwe]

I cannot for a moment believe that all this was not common knowledge in the auto industry for years and that there was not one great omertà about it.



When my dad was still with Opel, he told me that whenever a new Golf generation came out, VW would ship a handful of new Golfs to Opel in Rüsselsheim (German GM headquarters) - for free (Opel would return the favor with their new models) - and they would be tested and taken apart screw by screw.



You can't tell me that emission testing did not take place, especially with VW's widely flaunted (former) cutting edge image on it which anybody would be prone to probe for the beef to it.

Audi has just had its coming out that their 3 liter diesel - by sheer coincidence - has a "test-friendly" software too.

[Pilgrim]

Well, VWs and Audis might as well be assembled on opposite sides of the same building.  They're almost as similar as Chevy and GMC pickups.

[uwe]

The respective plants are actually pretty far apart. VW is in the North-West of Germany, Ingolstadt (home of Audi) in the South-East of Germany. But of course they share platforms and technology.

[gearHed289]

Also, Audi has "Truth in Engineering". 

[Pilgrim]

Yes, but we all know that many of the same parts come out of the factory and are shipped to two different destinations.

When I sold Chevrolets, occasionally we'd get a Chevy pickup with a GMC emblem stuck on the side of the cab. VW and Audi (both of which I like) are pretty close to that.

[Dave W]

VW explains how it will fix its European diesel engines

This sounds much simpler than the original article I posted.

Unfortunately there's no mention of how it will affect performance. Could be a lot. If I owned one, I'd wait until enough other owners have found out.

[uwe]

Alas!, Dave inciting class actions to bring about the downfall of German industry ...

[nofi]

isn't class action where the lawyers get rich and the complaintents gets a free cheeseburger at mickie d's.