EPA: VW Emissions Cheating Scandal Deepens

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The Volkswagen scandal deepened Friday with a report by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that emissions control defeat devices were installed in 3-liter diesel models dating back to 2009, not to 2014, as the German automaker had previously said.

The EPA said Volkswagen admitted Thursday that it violated standards on all larger 3-liter diesel engine Volkswagen and Audi vehicles sold in the U.S. from the 2009-2016 model years, USA Today is reporting.

It’s unclear how many vehicles are affected, or if the problem is limited to vehicles sold in the U.S.

In September, Volkswagen admitted that it had intentionally circumvented smog-reduction standards on more than 11 million diesel-engine vehicles sold in the United States — primarily some versions of the Jetta, Passat, Golf and Beetle.

The so-called “defeat device” software intentionally “detects when the car is undergoing official emissions testing, and turns full emissions controls on only during the test,” then turns off during normal driving conditions and emits nitrogen oxide pollutants that contribute to the creation of ozone and smog, the EPA previously said.

The pollutants are linked to a range of respiratory health problems.

Then, earlier this month, the EPA said Volkswagen also cheated on emissions software or some its larger diesel vehicles. As many as 10,000 SUVs and luxury cars from 2014-16 — including the 2015-16 Volkswagen Touareg, 2014-16 Porsche Cayenne and the 2015-16 Audi A6, A7, A8 and Q5 — were affected.

Volkswagen has stopped selling the vehicles with the illegal software, according to the report.

Related

• EPA: Volkswagen Intentionally Violated Emissions Rules
• Huge Volkswagen Scandal Just Got Even Bigger
• Suit Targets VW Over Cars Designed to Cheat Smog Tests
• Volkswagen Cheated on Larger Engines, Too