Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche V6 all cheated with ‘dirty’ diesel cars

Diesel is a filthy dirty fuel

U.S. authorities have discovered three software programs in Volkswagen Automotive Group's 3.0-liter TDI diesel engines that permit the engines to shut down emissions control systems after 22 minutes of operation, the German weekly Welt am Sonntag reports. The turbodiesel engines in question are made by Audi for three models, including the Volkswagen Touareg, Porsche Cayenne and Audi Q7. The paper notes the usual emissions test cycle runs for 20 minutes, suggesting the 22 minute mark was chosen specifically to evade detection of higher emissions.

The 3.0-liter TDI engines have been under an EPA investigation since November of 2015, when the agency issued a Notice of Violation. The automaker quickly issued a stop-sale order for the affected models but insisted the problem was unrelated to the "defeat devices" found in a range of 2.0-liter Volkswagen and Audi models. In the months that followed VW has stated that the 3.0-liter diesels use a catalyst warmup strategy to preserve the engines during warmup — a technique allowed by German regulations that has since come under scrutiny — and that the problem could be addressed solely with a software update.

The problem that affects some 85,000 Audi, VW and Porsche diesels in the U.S. was not a part of the settlement negotiations or agreement that the automaker reached with U.S. authorities at the end of June, with lawyers for the company indicating that the 3.0-liter TDI issue was uncomplicated in nature and would be handled under a separate recall campaign.