VW emissions recall, anyone had it?

Man of Honour
Joined
17 Oct 2002
Posts
159,534
I love how they gave my 2.0 petrol (gt86) an A rating. Same as a Prius. Yet because of the Euro ratings I'm paying £230 tax :D

Because your GT86 is more harmful to the wider environment than the Prius. It's not like the new focus on NOx suddenly means CO2 is safe and lovely again.
 
Soldato
Joined
22 Nov 2006
Posts
23,304
Because your GT86 is more harmful to the wider environment than the Prius. It's not like the new focus on NOx suddenly means CO2 is safe and lovely again.

Yes but NOX is like 10x worse for the environment than co2, plus has a health impact. So something kicking out almost no NOX is going to automatically be better than something with low Co2 but lots of NOX.

If they changed the tax system to reflect that, it would be turned on it's head with many diesels suddenly shooting up in to the top tax brackets and petrol cars (even something like a 370z) dropping right down in to the lower brackets.
 
Last edited:

mjt

mjt

Soldato
Joined
31 Aug 2007
Posts
19,999
My DPF is regenerating all the time and I'm only doing town driving at the moment so it keeps going after I turn it off.
I'm moving to a flat with an underground garage next week. Is this safe?
 
Soldato
Joined
1 Mar 2010
Posts
21,780
My DPF is regenerating all the time and I'm only doing town driving at the moment so it keeps going after I turn it off.
is that normal ? - is it more 'economic'/less wear, to drive further say, to let it finish.

FYI this is the governmnet consultation doc, exclusively for Nox (I had not originally read title)
https://consult.defra.gov.uk/airquality/air-quality-plan-for-tackling-nitrogen-dioxide/supporting_documents/Consultation%20Document.pdf
see page 7 - the HGV/LGV/buses are 50% of the offenders (petrol engines are not going to fix those ? or electric ?)
 
Soldato
Joined
27 Feb 2003
Posts
7,171
Location
Shropshire
I had a letter through from VW this week - says that if there is a failure of the EGR, fuel injection or emissions within 24 months of the "fix" being applied (for vehicles under 160,000 miles), VW will "consider the complaint very carefully" and if the complaint was established to have arisen because of the fix, deal with it inline with the VW goodwill policy.

Lots of wriggle room in that but sounds like they are responding to the EGR failures reported.
 
Associate
Joined
21 Nov 2016
Posts
9
I have been emailing the DfT regarding the recall, and along with inside information from VW they have started to agree that there may be a case for getting the recall reversed. i forwarded my Exhaust gas results from 2 years ago, along with last years and this years, i had the recall done 1 month after the MOT 2016 so i hav a before and after set of results. i made contact with a few EX VW engineers and service managers and they have given inside informetion to the DfT basically stating that they knew the "FIX" would cause these problems months before it was rolled out, and that they knew CO2 emissions would suffer as a result. in most cases CO2 emissions are 35-40% higher after the fix. i have used this increase as my bargaining chip with the DfT especially as the government are pushing us all to reduce CO2 emissions.
 
Soldato
Joined
11 May 2007
Posts
8,906
Location
Surrey
I'm sure the throttle response on mine is dodgy after the recall. It was my wife's car when it was done but is mine now, I drove it a few times pre-recall, and after a month of using it I'm certain it's different. It's a 2.0 Golf 58 plate diesel DSG Auto. I've read that the DSG is slightly weird in terms of throttle response but I feel like it's dangerous the way it behaves!
 
Caporegime
Joined
28 Feb 2004
Posts
74,822
How can they enforce this fix?

All the Government has to do is make the fix a mandatory recall, then as far as I am aware garages applying the fix have to notify DVSA of the vehicles it has been applied to.

Simple enough then to decline tax to any vehicle that has not had the fix, until it gets it.
 
Associate
Joined
16 Nov 2014
Posts
529
I'm sure the throttle response on mine is dodgy after the recall. It was my wife's car when it was done but is mine now, I drove it a few times pre-recall, and after a month of using it I'm certain it's different. It's a 2.0 Golf 58 plate diesel DSG Auto. I've read that the DSG is slightly weird in terms of throttle response but I feel like it's dangerous the way it behaves!

There have been a whole host of issues reported - EGR's failing being the most common.
I had a letter through from VW this week - says that if there is a failure of the EGR, fuel injection or emissions within 24 months of the "fix" being applied (for vehicles under 160,000 miles), VW will "consider the complaint very carefully" and if the complaint was established to have arisen because of the fix, deal with it inline with the VW goodwill policy.

Lots of wriggle room in that but sounds like they are responding to the EGR failures reported.

But the letter states something like "however this is not an admission that any issues you may experience are related to the EA189 emissions software update". Despite them being entirely responsible for them.

This has been handled very poorly, and as usual, the multinationals will wiggle out of it and the consumers will get shafted.
 
Soldato
Joined
11 May 2007
Posts
8,906
Location
Surrey
There have been a whole host of issues reported - EGR's failing being the most common.

What's the best course of action do you reckon? It's got RAC warranty on it (bought it used from a dealer), I could speak to him, or speak directly to VW (seeing as they did the recall)?

Phoned VW, booked in on Wed for them to run some tests.
 
Last edited:
Associate
Joined
16 Nov 2014
Posts
529
Have you joined the facebook group?
https://www.facebook.com/groups/955027937948541/

The best course of action will depend on how long ago it was "fixed" (Broken!)

Earlier versions can be rolled back by a good re-mapper - you will have to pay, but its the only way. Dealerships will refuse to.
Newer versions of the update (in the last 5 weeks or so) are very difficult to rollback and will probably require removal and flashing of the entire ECU. It appears VW have built some sort of failsafe in now to stop tuners making money out of their screw-up.

Personally, i'd cancel your diagnostics visit with VW. They are going to tell you everything is fine. They will probably also charge you for the diagnostics. They'll also update it to the latest version, which will be just as bad, but harder to reverse. Read some of the horror stories on the group above. (There are over 6500 members now).

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news!

You can join one of the legal campaigns, but i'm not sure how fruitful that will be.

I'd get shut of the car if you can take the hit - I can't afford to! Mines not fixed, but I paid a premium price for a mint, low mileage Octavia VRS, literally weeks before the scandal broke. Prices have now fallen through the floor so I've got to keep it. I love it, but I don't want the performance or safety compromised by having the fix. I don't see why I should lose out because of a multinational scandal?

I've also prepared some answers before someone pipes up with the following:

"Not all vehicles will develop issues" - I know this, but why would I take the risk?
"I had the fix and my car is fine" - Good for you, but for how long? And why should you have had to have it anyway? It's about the whole principle.
"I'm a mechanic for VW and this is all BS......" - Seriously - don't even bother. I've read enough horror stories to convince me. i wouldn't waste your time.

Good luck!


By offering a guarantee to replace parts which fail after having the fix done for free, up to 2 years after the fix tells me they know the update can damage vehicles.
 
Soldato
Joined
11 May 2007
Posts
8,906
Location
Surrey
Thanks for the link, I'll have a look.

The recall was carried out at the end of August. They really can't tell me it's fine, you only have to drive it to experience the problem. Whenever you try to pull away at a half decent lick it just doesn't accelerate properly.

I'll consider cancelling it but will read up a bit first. Might talk to the dealer I bought it from and see what he thinks.
 
Associate
Joined
16 Nov 2014
Posts
529
Thanks for the link, I'll have a look.

The recall was carried out at the end of August. They really can't tell me it's fine, you only have to drive it to experience the problem. Whenever you try to pull away at a half decent lick it just doesn't accelerate properly.

I'll consider cancelling it but will read up a bit first. Might talk to the dealer I bought it from and see what he thinks.

Was it a VW dealer you got it from?

I really hope you get it sorted and your dealership will be more sympathetic than some of the others.
 
Back
Top Bottom