The technical debt of petrol engines is becoming apparent.
Volkswagen Is Ordered to Recall Nearly 500k Vehicles Over Emissions Software
41–50 of 341 posts
Re: Volkswagen Is Ordered to Recall Nearly 500k Vehicles Over Emissions Software
#42I don't understand how California detected this. The one time I had to take my 2010 Jetta turbo diesel for a smog check, the inspection was ENTIRELY visual. The inspector did not insert a probe into the tailpipe. He did plug the test rig into the OBD-II port under the steering column and turn the key to the accessory position (presumably to electronically capture the VIN), but that's it. I even asked him at the end i…
i had to do a smog test for my 1 year anniversary of owning a new car. it is a 2015 model from a different manufacturer, acura, in my case, and it was visual inspection only. i asked the guy, because i'm used to having actual measurements performed each time. if a car is new enough then they only do a visual inspection. i don't know the details of how "new enough" is determined, though.
i've seen this also when having fire extinguishers inspected; ones that are only a year or so old are also only visually inspected only.
Re: Volkswagen Is Ordered to Recall Nearly 500k Vehicles Over Emissions Software
#43I don't quite understand how the car can known it's getting an emissions test. I thought you just pulled up and revved the engine. Or do they plug the computer in nowadays?
Yeah, plug in OBD-II reader, get result back.
Some emissions places also do the tube-up-tailpipe check, but the car could adjust exhaust output if it has an active OBD-II connection.
Re: Volkswagen Is Ordered to Recall Nearly 500k Vehicles Over Emissions Software
#44I don't understand how California detected this. The one time I had to take my 2010 Jetta turbo diesel for a smog check, the inspection was ENTIRELY visual. The inspector did not insert a probe into the tailpipe. He did plug the test rig into the OBD-II port under the steering column and turn the key to the accessory position (presumably to electronically capture the VIN), but that's it. I even asked him at the end i…
Newer cars tend to have more relaxed testing requirements... in many places cars don't even require smog checks for the first five years.
Re: Volkswagen Is Ordered to Recall Nearly 500k Vehicles Over Emissions Software
#45I don't quite understand how the car can known it's getting an emissions test. I thought you just pulled up and revved the engine. Or do they plug the computer in nowadays?
Tests have fixed usage patterns. You detect those while total mileage is low, and you assume it's a test. After X thousand miles, you stop detecting. Job done.
Re: Volkswagen Is Ordered to Recall Nearly 500k Vehicles Over Emissions Software
#46I can't believe such a large company would cheat like that. I think there must be more to this. Maybe a rogue employee?
I can't believe such a large company would cheat like that.
Companies, at the time when "company" was still being defined, used to do anything to exploit people and kill the environment just so their owners got a return on investment.
Only through the past 100 years of laws, regulations, and cultural refinement have corporations overtly stopped so many abuses of power. Some of the refinement is purely psychological manipulation as well ("Clean Coal!") and companies are still doing awful things to individuals, societies, and the world at large.
Our current generation is blind to many of these abuses because we grew up inside the bubble of "friendly companies." Friendly companies know they have to maintain their image. Friendly companies know they must hide their evil deeds from law/regulation because public relations now matters more than beating people with sticks to increase their productive output (because companies are immortal after all, you can't have the public turning on you).
Re: Volkswagen Is Ordered to Recall Nearly 500k Vehicles Over Emissions Software
#47How would this benefit Volkswagen? The article says the device activates emissions control systems when it detects the car is being tested... so it's not as if they're saving money by emulating a system they're not manufacturing.
It's possible that the engine power / automatic transmission shift profile / maximum RPM / etc. is being manipulated to output less emissions at the cost of acceleration, top speed, ride comfort, etc. The most fuel-efficient / eco ride is rather "boring" by the standards of car enthusiasts and reviewers and I guess the cars wouldn't be configured for that mode by default. (Just a guess though.)
Or, you just pay more for a car that has those performance characteristics both in taxes/registration fees and in fuel.
That said, cheating like this is really bad on a very large scale, and should probably face fines and maybe criminal charges, unfortunately discovery is likely to fall outside U.S. juristiction so it would be hard to prove enough to bring criminal charges against the appropriate managers and executives.
Re: Volkswagen Is Ordered to Recall Nearly 500k Vehicles Over Emissions Software
#48I can't believe such a large company would cheat like that. I think there must be more to this. Maybe a rogue employee?
You would think that they would be smart enough to only cheat when they won't get caught.
Here, they got caught, so they were being stupid.
You don't expect big, successful companies to be stupid (after all, they spend a ton of money to get the best CEOs they can).
Re: Volkswagen Is Ordered to Recall Nearly 500k Vehicles Over Emissions Software
#49I don't quite understand how the car can known it's getting an emissions test. I thought you just pulled up and revved the engine. Or do they plug the computer in nowadays?
Where I live, they just plug a thing into the OBD-II port and go with whatever the car tells them. (I drive a '96 Honda Civic.) They don't test the exhaust directly.
Re: Volkswagen Is Ordered to Recall Nearly 500k Vehicles Over Emissions Software
#50I don't understand how California detected this. The one time I had to take my 2010 Jetta turbo diesel for a smog check, the inspection was ENTIRELY visual. The inspector did not insert a probe into the tailpipe. He did plug the test rig into the OBD-II port under the steering column and turn the key to the accessory position (presumably to electronically capture the VIN), but that's it. I even asked him at the end i…
I'm not sure about CA specifically, but some states only do full inspections on newer vehicles every other year. e.g. In a particular year the odd year models get the full inspection and the even year models just get a quick inspection and then vice versa in the next year.
Georgia doesn't even test diesel cars, others only if over three or four years old.