Audi Says It Has a Software Fix for Its V6 Diesels

The defeat device software would activate full emissions controls only when it was being tested, and would deactivate when the auto was being driven normally.

All 3.0 liter V6 diesel engines developed by Audi for models including the A6, A7, A8, Q5 and Q7 starting in 2009 will be able to become compliant with USA emissions regulations using only a software update, according to Audi via Automotive News.

While the European fix won’t apply in the U.S., it does show a path forward for most of the cars that had cheating software worldwide. The devices further violate the air-quality laws of US.

Late last week, the automaker finally admitted that the Environmental Protection Agency was correct when it said that Volkswagen had installed illegal emissions control software on its 3.0-liter diesel engines.

Volkswagen has submitted its draft recall proposal to federal and California officials as a first step toward retrofitting diesel cars with software intentionally created to bypass standards for air pollution. But on November 2 the Volkswagen Group denied the EPA’s claims that those models – including VW, Audi and Porsche – were fitted with cheating software.

“So we agreed to take all of the 3-liter disel engines, look at the software, recalibrate it, and then we’ll resubmit it to the agencies so they’re comfortable with how it’s performing and what it’s doing”, Stertz said. The Audi 3.0-liter engines were developed by Audi and are used in certain Audi and Porsche vehicles, as well as the VW Toureg. One of those programs could be considered to be a “defeat device” under United States law.

In total, there are more than 85,000 cars from the model year 2009 through 2016 equipped with the rigged diesel engine installed on large Audi, Porsche, and Volkswagen models. One is said to relate to temperature conditioning of the exhaust-gas cleaning system, while the others involve avoidance of deposits on the AdBlue metering valve and injection of unburnt hydrocarbons into the selective catalytic reduction system.

“The most unfortunate aspect of this news, in addition to the environmental harm, is that it slows VW’s ability to move beyond the negative headlines and start the rebuilding process”, said Karl Brauer, senior analyst at Kelley Blue Book, a car-buying website.