What Are VW's Dieselgate Fixes Actually Doing To People's Cars In Europe?
As soon as fixes for VW Dieselgate-hit cars were announced, there was a reasonable amount of speculation as to how the changes might affect the cars. Would fuel economy worsen? Would power and torque drop?
The Guardian was contacted by one of its readers, claiming his ‘fixed’ 1.6-litre TDI VW Golf Plus had started stalling intermittently and become difficult to restart. The newspaper also pointed to a Facebook page containing various complaints, plus further reports of post-Dieselgate fix issues on motoring website Honest John.
In response, a VW spokesperson told The Guardian that around 0.02 per cent of the 540,000 fixed cars have generated complaints, going on to say: “We have engaged constructively with our customers. They are our top priority, and the vast majority are satisfied”. It’s also worth noting that in the UK, having the work done is still voluntary.
So, it could well be some relatively isolated cases. But, just a few days after The Guardian report, Swedish publication Teknikens Värld - the very clever chaps known for their often very revealing moose tests - tested a variety of post-fix VW Group cars, and while reliability wasn’t an issue, the majority of 2.0-litre TDI models had suffered from an increase in fuel consumption. Torque and power losses were extremely common, too, although - weirdly - one 1.6-litre TDI car actually gained power.
It’ll most likely be down to the different ways in which the cars are fixed. 2.0-litre models are given a simple software update, whereas the 1.6-litre cars receive a hardware upgrade in the form of a ‘flow transformer’, which according to VW “calms the swirled air flow in front of the air mass sensor and will thus decisively improve the measuring accuracy of the air mass sensor.”
Responding to the claims, Marcus Thomasfolk, Head of Communications for VW Sweden, said: “We track customer satisfaction after the measure and after reprogramming 75,000 cars in Sweden only 0.1 per cent are unhappy,” adding: “We are surprised by Teknikens Värld’s test results. The results from ’s tests are unique so far and have not been found anywhere else.”
Sources: Teknikens Värld, The Guardian
Growing up on a diet of World Rally Championship highlights and lengthy Gran Turismo 2 sessions, a life in cars was as good as inevitable for Matt.
Comments
Power loss and increased fuel consumption…
Suspicious,I think they just got lazy,had snack,and decided to add RNG to the software
Yeah, that’s the point where a normal person looks for the problem instead of calling it a fix :D
The Germans 80 years ago were criticized for using too much gas. Nowadays they’re criticized for using too little gas?
Lololol y the downvotes??
I’ve got the update since December but I don’t feel any difference. I don’t sense any change in fuel consumption or power.
Probably depends alot on driving style and vehicle.
Seeing the software in question has been quite interesting, certainly there’s a big variety of changes across different platforms.
VW should take some notes from you guys.
If you could give us a bit more details on what’s changed in the software I would be thankful :)
Could you tell me a bit more about that? I’ve got a 2009 Golf with the 2.0 110hp engine, and since the update I havent noticed any difference. How are the chances that my car has lost power?
Yeah, same thing happened to my dad’s car.
it’s funny how that “customer” in the video looked like he was trying to remember his lines.
Maybe because English is not his native language?
EGR coolers are failing left right and center on cars after the update, so much so that demand outweighed production of them, I’ve even seen ECU’s bricking from the update.
The 1.6 and 2.0 engines get a flow stabiliser and injector dampers as well as the software update
Is it being done properly with a 40a charger we havent seen ecu’s bricked by it and havent seen a rise in egr issues since it came out
Haha flow stabiliser is what they call a restriction plate nowadays hahahahahah. You guys fall for this kind of bs? It makes the intake area at least 20% smaller. It is a restrictor that cuts down on air delivery. Luckily for diesel users this is actually beneficial to burning of fuel. Yeah, diesels are weird.
Of course its changed. It was a reason they cheated in the first place. Lean burning the diesel at high temperature creates good horsepower and low CO2 emissions, but high NOx emissions. To lower the NOx emissions youll have to lower the combustion pressure (boost) and raise the diesel amount so that it burns colder, that will effect the fuel consumption and power.
Couldn’t a high-NOx emissions problem be solved by installing an AdBlue system though? It would have to get filled, but, in the other hand, the torque output, low CO2 and power consumption would stay the same.
And this, is why my dad is not going to the VW garage to get it fixed.
Right, a serious comment to be made here from proper experience.
My mum has a 2011 Golf 2.0 TDI bluemotion. We had it taken to a local dealer to get it fixed.
It only took 30 minutes to get the job done, and the car, I had to say- felt EXACTLY the same as it did before! It still gets the same MPG, and we even got a free box of VW branded goodies! Including a flask and an awesome looking key ring.
The point is- the car’s performance was exactly the same, the MPG was the same, if not better! And it’s still a great car.
This post is far from the actual truth- most people had to just take their car in for half an hour, and it came out feeling exactly the same! My mother would say exactly the same thing.
Still a FWD shitbox…