Volkswagen admits Audi cars had emissions cheating software
Audi admits to emissions cheating software
The German Car Manufacturer, Volkswagen has admitted to technologically cheating again on its carbon dioxide emissions tests.
They have confirmed that some Audi cars are equipped with software that can distort and turn out incorrect carbon dioxide emission test results.
This comes on the heel of Volkswagen's most embarrassing and costly scandal in which they are currently being investigated by the authorities in both the United States and Europe. You may remember last year, Volkswagen admitted to installing so-called "defeat devices" on 11 million of its diesel cars. The “defeat devices” distorted emissions tests for nitrogen oxides, which cause huge health problems.
An engineer measures the emission of a car in Stuttgart, Germany. (AP Photo/Thomas Kienzle)Reuters reported, the software has also been installed on automatic transmission Audi's which can allow the cars to behave differently during testing, resulting in inaccurate test results.
The California Air Resources Board made the discovery of the software in an older model Audi during the summer.
Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Germany’s largest subscription daily reported over the weekend that the automatic transmission software can detect certain testing conditions which are based off steering wheel movements and can adjust the car's performance levels accordingly in order to emit less CO2 and nitric oxides.
This means that the car is actually not operating at full performance under test, skewing the CO2 emissions results. In contrast to test conditions which generate “incorrect and non-reproducible results, while under normal full-performance driving conditions in the real-world, the emissions are far higher.
pollution of environment by combustible fuelThis software or Adaptive Shift Programs can be very successful at masking higher CO2 emissions in a vehicle.
In response to the Sueddeutsche Zeitung report, Volkswagen said in an email to Reuters on Sunday, that Audi "has made available technical information" about the software to Germany's Federal Motor Vehicle Authority KBA, which is investigating the matter.
It has not been revealed which exact models the adaptive shift software has been installed on but the Wall Street Journal claims it has been installed on "top sedans (Saloons) and sport-utility vehicles," including both diesel and gasoline-powered cars.
The giant automaker admitted to the Wall Street Journal that the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) has been aware of the existence of this software since July, when the agency discovered it during testing.
To find out your own vehicles CO2 emissions why not run a report with MyVehicle.ie
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