Audi readying software fix for emissions-cheating 3-liter diesel engines

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board are now probing Volkswagen, Audi, and Porsche models with 3.0-liter diesel engines as far back as the 2009 model year, after initially focusing on newer versions.

As Automotive News reports, the company says it has a software update for its V6 diesels that should bring the emissions into spec. The fix is said to work for 85,000 vehicles.

The confession marks the conclusion of a slow, 180-degree pivot by Volkswagen.

Volkswagen set aside 6.7 billion euros in the third quarter for fixing diesel cars with engine software that allowed them to pass emission tests by illegally restricting pollution during testing.

“The remedy proposed in the recall must not only fix the violation in question, it must also address the safety, drivability, vehicle durability and fuel efficiency of the cars involved”, CARB said in a statement on Friday.

The updated software will be installed as soon as it is approved by the authorities.

German auto giant Volkswagen, mired in a massive emissions cheating scandal, has said it has found technical solutions for more than 90% of the vehicles affected in Europe.

The company acknowledges that so-called “auxiliary emissions control devices” – the software used to help the cars pass the tests – were “not sufficiently described and declared” for USA approval, and that one “is regarded as a defeat device according to applicable US law”.

The probe extends the reach of the scandal from VW’s headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany, to Audi, the Bavarian luxury-car unit that also builds engines for Porsche.

“Thanks to advances in engine development and improved simulation of currents inside complex air intake systems, in combination with software optimization geared towards this, it has been possible to produce a relatively simple and customer-friendly measure”, Volkswagen said in a statement yesterday. VW used the engine in the Touareg and Porsche used it in the Cayenne since the 2013 model year.

“We are not going to make the mistake of economizing on our future”, he said, noting that the automaker will still direct money towards developing new technologies and will continue with joint-venture plans in China.