BREAKING: U.S. Sues Volkswagen Over Emissions Cheating

By BETH DALBEY (Patch Staff)

DETROIT, MI – The Justice Department and Environmental Protection Agency are suing Volkswagen for installing emissions-cheating software in more than 600,000 diesel engine vehicles sold in the United States.

The U.S. headquarters for the car company is in Herndon.

The civil complaint against the German automaker was filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Detroit, the Associated Press reports.

Volkswagen is accused of installing the “defeat device” software to intentionally detect when the car is undergoing official emissions testing and turn full emissions controls on only during the tests.

The software then turns off during normal driving conditions to boost performance. As a result, the vehicles emitted greenhouse gases up to 40 times higher than federal environmental standards allowed, the government said.

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
• EPA: VW Emissions Cheat Scandal Deepens

Volkswagen first admitted in September that the “defeat device” software was installed in diesel cars sold in the U.S. since 2009. The automaker is negotiating a massive recall and could still face criminal charges, the AP said.