As early as last week, Audi was accused of using an emissions defeat device in their A7 and A8 model, prompting a quick recall of nearly 25,000 TDI models, equipped with the 3.0L turbodiesel V6 and 4.2L V8, in Europe. This comes as the latest in a long line of similar issues facing the US-spec A7 and A8 models, that have been affected by the VW Dieselgate scandal. The new recall from Audi only affects 2010-2013 model in Europe.
Today, German KBA transportation authority announced it is looking into Porsche, for using a similar defeat device in their vehicles. The Porsche version, similar to the Audi version, is claimed to work by having software in the ECU detect specific steering movement input, that would trigger when the vehicle is undergoing an emissions test. Porsche has denied the claim thus far.
As someone who was personally affected by this scandal, I am not surprised by the news. Our family owned a 2010 VW Jetta TDI, purchased new from the dealer in late 2010. The Jetta was a great car, and got wonderful gas mileage, for the time was owned it, however once the news of the scandal broke, and what the settlement details were going to be, we decided to sell the car back to the dealer. As we were the sole owner of the Jetta, VW offered a hefty sum to sell the car back to the dealer, in essence giving us a nearly free car for 5 years, plus the cost of fuel. We currently own a new model, BMW 3 Series diesel, which so far, has not incurred any rumblings of a defeat device. Only time will tell if the same issue plagues the BMW cars as well.
