davidbod

Looks like more heads are already on the chopping block.

German newspaper Das Bild reported Thursday that two high ranking manager, Audi's R&D boss Ulrich Hackenberg, a long-time VW brand executive and Porsche's engine chief, Wolfgang Hatz, will be dismissed at a meeting of the supervisory board on Friday.

motoguy128

I also wonder if it opens any issues for gasoline engines in certain states with very tight standards. I wonder if anyone has done the same thing to create a leaner mixture for emissions tests, but richer, more powerful for on road driving. There'es 2-3% to be had just buy changing the fuel map in almost any car. Cars run lean in part to increase exhaust gas temps to get the catalytic converter hot enough to clean the emissions.

Redd

moto-
I realize VW were just talking about dealer inventory, that's all I was referring to.
However, in those states (most states, AFAIK) with an annual emissions test, if a car cannot legitimately pass the test, it quickly becomes illegal to keep the car on the road. Since this is an ongoing process and "no" VW diesels are honestly passing those tests right now...if state regulators or the EPA jump on this, the lawyers will be filing one hell of a class action suit unless VW finds, what is it? A half million loaner cars? As well as a fix.
Then again, I suppose that's peanuts compared to Takata air bags. (sigh.)

The code for emissions controls is usually in firmware, on a chip in the ECU which is usually wave soldered onto the ECU board. (Socketing is unreliable and expensive in comparison.) Sometimes that chip can be flashed, as some "tuners" do to modify the performance program. Heck, there's a company that claims to have reflashed something like 1/4 million taxis in the US, giving them a program that improves performance and mpg in city driving conditions. There's no magic to that, you can only optimize an engine for one operating point, and "city driving" isn't the one that most cars are programmed for.
So how deeply the code is buried and whether it can be fixed...I can only guess that IF it could be flashed, VW wouldn't be buying back all that inventory, they'd be reflashing it at the dealerships.
About the only technical facts the Nooze has released, are that "VW diesel" products are the problem. I figure another six weeks will pass before some real information comes out, and gets confirmed by various national agencies doing the testing.
Although if VW is smart, they'll speak up and make a full confession quickly. Between the stock price taking (30%+ drop already) and the value of the cars tanking (20% drop reported in asking prices for private used VW diesels) the longer they play silent, the worse it will be. One has to wonder, IF it really is just a matter of "turn on the spray", then what's so damned hard about making that happen? And if that isn't the answer, then of course, maybe the problem IS much bigger.

I have no diesel engine and no Takata air bags. The long-term hit on "all" Audi products, I can worry about once the dust settles. (Well, maybe I should buy a set of KIA badges and rebadge the car in the meantime?(G)

KipF

I was wondering the same thing. Although it's slight, it's not beyond the realm at this point. If VW/Audi did this to the TFSI engines in order to gain MPGs and reduce emissions when tested then we all have a huge problem. Even more-so for those of us in highly governed emission states like CA. My Q7 isn't exactly making headlines with its fuel economy now, but that's the trade off for better performance. If the "fix" will also apply to petrol engines, then we too may have worse fuel economy and less than bargained for performance.

The dealers are currently paying what's called "floorpan" in the business, meaning they are paying interest on the inventory of new cars in addition to having actual cash in their CPO and used cars. Audi may simply be fronting them the cost of their investment right now and crediting them for their new car inventory until this all gets cleared up. It would seem unfair to the dealers to have them tie their money up or make interest payments on inventory that they currently are unable to sell.
It may be a flash, but before that can be done on a large scale basis, I would think VW/Audi would need to prove to the EPA's satisfaction that this will indeed fix the problem and bring the vehicles back into compliance. It could very well be that it's a flash and also installing a urea system in those vehicles that don't have it. This will require more than a few weeks to sort out. I would think most likely months due to testing, tinker, testing, tinker, etc. Until there is a known fix that is acceptable to the EPA and also states such as CA, their stock will continue to decline, resale values will continue to drop and sales will stagnate so it's in VW's best interest to be proactive and rapid in getting this resolved.
We've now gone a week and all we still know if that they have a cheater device. No solution has been offered, at least one that has been made public. No doubt VW knows but my money is on the current fix not being acceptable and/or it greatly reduces performance and economy. If it were a simple flash and nothing more, VW would be all over it for damage control. The longer this festers, the worse it's going to be unless the fix is better than the status quo.

hitchens97

If it were a simple fix with no/few consequences they wouldn't have gone to the trouble of writing software to cheat emissions standards in the first place.

hitchens97

EPA Expanding VW Investigation to Include 3.0L V6 Engine

kreativecid

One of my employees was looking at the Q5 TDI and was about to buy until two days ago. He is part of the rumor monster but says "I heard the Audi TDI are under scrutiny....I bet I can get a new TDI cheap."

I was like "nah, it's just VW even though they own...." and BOOM. Now the VW group 3.0L V6 diesels are under scrutiny.

He is also a Dodge turbo diesel guy and says every one of his redneck buddies cheat the computer when it's emission testing day (we're in Idaho, periodic checks). You should see these 1000+ hp smoke belching monsters and wonder how they even pass. Now we know. They do it the VW way!

davidbod

They have already tried the simple flash fix. The issue has been going on behind the scenes between EPA CARB and VW where VW agreed to a voluntary recall for at least CA cars. They started notifying customers last December and began flashing cars. At the time they were telling EPA CARB it was a simple software error. When the flashed cars didn't fix the problem VW had to admit to the cheating. So flash has been tried and failed.

Here is the guy that discovered it talking about it. What he says at the end is a little encouraging (play the video at top).

Man who found VW errors weighs in on scandal

davidbod

Here is an article on the recall that has already been done and failed.

Exclusive: VW recall letters in April warned of an emissions glitch | Reuters

Hockeymonkey

The latest rumor at the Oregon DEQ (Dept. Env. Quality) states that the legislature is considering a 90 day - fix or remove from the road any of the VW/Audi/Porsche Diesels that do not meet the air quality standards. They would actually make you turn in plates, deregister and fine per day for owners if not turned in - all assuming that Audi can't fix the issue.
I just purchased my Q5 TDI - it better pass the EPA testing that they are doing right now or I will be left with a pile of steel in the driveway. I am sure Audi is looking at what happens if they have to buy the cars back from current owners; but I doubt they would do the right thing without being forced.