Volkswagen Is Ordered to Recall Nearly 500k Vehicles Over Emissions Software

Post by Shivetya » Sat, Sep 19, 2015, 12:06 AM UTC

McGlockenshire wrote: post #177

zardo wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I expect at the least they are going to get hit with the maximum administrative fine, 37,500 per vehicle.

That maths out to somewhere in the ballpark of eighteen billion dollars. In 2012, the EPA issued $252 million in fines, total. Kia & Hyundai were fined $300 million total in 2014. I don't see them hitting VW with eighteen billion. e: Eh, that might not be so unreasonable after all. In 2012, VW made about $28 billion in profit on $250 billion of sales.

Post by thrownaway2424 » Sat, Sep 19, 2015, 12:34 AM UTC

durin42 wrote: post #218

thrownaway2424 wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the newer ones the high pressure fuel pump disintegrates and poops metal bits into the engine, requiring the engine to be replaced. That's why VW recently extended the warranty against the HPFP to, if I recall correctly, 100k miles. Here's the 400-page-long forum thread on that defect: http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=308323

Note that the pump in question has been redesigned multiple times by Bosch. Hardware bugs are a thing, even in cars.

Post by jonknee » Sat, Sep 19, 2015, 1:15 AM UTC

ryandrake wrote: post #188

alexqgb wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The reason California is so strict is because LA used to be synonymous with lethal levels of smog. Used to be.

I find it difficult to understand how failing a car with clean emissions levels, thereby forcing it out of the state, contributes to cleaning up smog.

Post by developer1 » Sat, Sep 19, 2015, 1:19 AM UTC

Evolved wrote: post #140

dayjah wrote: post #26

When I last bought a VW (2008) I was concerned due to a clunking noise after first starting it up and driving a few miles; I called the VW service dept and they explained that there was a compressor which captured exhaust fumes and released them at a lower rate for the first few miles of each journey -- to help them meet EPA emissions standards. I was assured there was nothing to worry about. While this is a differen…

Just because they used various tools to attempt to meet EPA standards doesn't mean any or all of those tools are illegal. What you're describing sounds like either a smog pump and/or a charcoal canister. Both are legal and widely used means of controlling emissions. The emissions guidelines, in your case, likely weren't being "gamed" so much as the manufacturers were just coming up with innovative and cheap ways of r…

Post by sokoloff » Sat, Sep 19, 2015, 1:30 AM UTC

durin42 wrote: post #215

toomuchtodo wrote: post #204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Wow, judging by the down-votes, people don't seem to realize how expensive CARB deliberately makes it to own an older car, regardless of how clean its emissions are. I upvoted you even though I disagree with you for what its worth. You're an edge case. Most people with older cars no longer maintain their emissions controls. The older the car, the more likely it is that its polluting. Is it fair? Not at all. You're…

Cars built since MY 1996 are self-diagnosing for most emissions problems. Mandating factory-original parts simply means the auto manufacturers won a major political battle, not that anything effective is being done.