Audi, Porsche And Volkswagen Have Recalled 850,000 V6 And V8 Diesels Over Dubious Emissions

We thought it might happen, and it has. Volkswagen, Porsche and Audi have collectively admitted that some of their V6 and V8 diesels are somewhat less than compliant with emissions laws, and have offered to fix a total of 850,000 cars in markets outside North America, where there’s a separate investigation.

The engines, built across both the Euro V and current Euro VI emissions legislation periods, will go back to the dealership for new software that should, the companies say, bring their emissions well within the limits without compromising performance, fuel economy or driveability. Volkswagen hasn’t necessarily had a lot of joy with that so far…

There will be no cost for the fix, which will be rolled out as soon as the arrangements can be put in place. Owners of affected cars should, in the UK at least, receive a letter explaining what needs to be done. We don’t yet know which models are affected, but the V6 TDI was put into everything from the A4 to the A8, plus many more Volkswagens and a few Porsches.

Apparently the fix will focus most on reducing emissions at low engine speeds and in heavy traffic situations, to attempt to cut most of the emissions in urban areas. The fix comes as Audi has acknowledged that diesel won’t be going away any time soon, volunteering the software remedy to make sure the bigger diesels stay the course of their typical lifetimes.

This fix comes just days after Mercedes issued a voluntary recall for millions of its diesel-engined cars that are suspected of cheating emissions tests. Both companies still have legal cases open against them in a number of countries, but the VW Group has pledged to cooperate fully with the German authorities.