California rejects Volkswagen recall plan

The California agency said VW’s recall plan “fell short in several areas” including insufficient detail about proposed repairs for authorities to make a technical evaluation. Third, the proposed plans do not sufficiently address impacts on the engine, the vehicle’s overall operation, and all related emission control technologies, including the OBD (On-Board Diagnostics) system.

For starters, Nichols and her team were careful to note that their rejection of Volkswagen’s proposal applies only to 2.0-liter diesels from Volkswagen and Audi.

Calling the German automaker’s proposed fix “unacceptable”, the California Air Resources Board said the plan does not meet its standards.

California regulators on Tuesday rejected Volkswagen’s recall plan for some of the German automaker’s most popular diesel models that used software to intentionally deceive government emissions tests, including the Beetle, Jetta, Golf and Passat. “EPA has conveyed this to the company previously”. “They continued and compounded the lie, and when they were caught they tried to deny it”. “However, it’s unfortunate because it continues to delay getting consumers the answers and solutions they want, need, and deserve”.

This cheating made it possible for Volkswagen Group of America to obtain Executive Orders from CARB and Certificates of Conformity from EPA for these diesel vehicles so they could sell in California.

NPR: Because Volkswagen, in the United States, intentionally lied to EPA regulators when they asked them about the problem before it came to light.

CARB did not assess any immediate penalties, but it issued a new notice that VW had violated California air quality regulations.

Volkswagen may buy back tens of thousands of cars with diesel engines that can’t be easily fixed to comply with USA emissions standards as part of its efforts to satisfy the demands of regulators, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The EPA said Wednesday after Mueller left that it “appreciated the conversation with Volkswagen”, but gave no details on his discussion with McCarthy.

Mueller, in an interview Sunday with National Public Radio ahead of the Detroit auto show, called the illegal software “a technical problem” and said: “We had not the right interpretation of the American law”.

A recall plan for 85,000 3.0-litre engines is due next month.

“CARB received VW’s December 15, 2015, letter requesting substantial additional time to submit complete recall plans”.

Volkswagen is also in ongoing talks with the US Environmental Protection Agency to find a fix for the almost 600,000 cars affected around the country, and is expected to present a plan on Wednesday.