VW emissions issue in larger vehicles dates back to 2009 -US EPA

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

Now, Volkswagen has admitted that their 3.0 litre V6 diesel engines are also affected. The carmaker had until the close of business Friday under a deadline imposed by the California agency on the more than 50,000 affected cars in the state, although federal officials will review Volkswagen’s plan as well. Volkswagen denied that accusation at the time, but now a statement from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) says VW has now admitted that the engine does use cheats.

The software on those engines detected when emissions testing was taking place and turned on emissions controls only when the vehicles were being operated in a test laboratory.

Audi spokesman Brad Stertz on Friday conceded that VW never told regulators about the software, in violation of US law.

Not to get too technical, but the EPA takes issue with three auxiliary emission control devices (AECDs) improperly declared in Audi’s original submission of the engine’s emissions performance when it was originally approved for sale in North America. The 2.0-liter engines were fitted to models from the VW and Audi brands while the 3.0-liter engines were fitted to several Audis plus the VW Touareg and Porsche Cayenne SUVs.

Volkswagen setup a VIN lookup tool on its diesel recall information website that allows owners to check if their cars possess the emissions-cheating software and will require a fix, the details of which have yet to be announced.

News of the plans comes amid rumors that a new global automaker could be pulled into an emissions cheating scandal, possibly as soon as tomorrow, as reported by Daily Kanban.

“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 Volkswagen emissions scandal deepened today after the auto manufacturer told US regulators it involves models from 2009 – widening the scope of the probe by five years.

Audi, VW and Porsche halted sales of new models powered by the 3.0-liter diesels earlier this month in response to the EPA allegations.