Hundreds of thousands of recall letters have been going out from the German auto maker, after the EPA has accused them of 'cheating' with computer software designed to end-run emissions standards.

The EPA says computer software was installed in some 482,000 diesel-powered vehicles which allowed emissions controls to only be turned on during testing. According to the website wired.com:

"In a notice of violation of the Clean Air Act sent to Volkswagen AG, Audi AG, and Volkswagen Group of America, Inc today, the EPA said diesel-powered VW cars used a “defeat device,” a kind of “a sophisticated software algorithm [that] detects when the car is undergoing official emissions testing, and turns full emissions controls on only during the test. The effectiveness of these vehicles’ pollution emissions control devices is greatly reduced during all normal driving situations.”

A wide variety of models manufactured between 2008 and 2015 were affected. They include (from wired.com):

"... four-cyclinder Jetta, Beetle, Audi A3, and Golf cars sold between 2008 and 2015 in the US, and to Passat cars..."

Auto experts say recall notices have been sent and the EPA and government have ordered Volkswagen to fix the problem. They also say this is a significant blow to the company that's been pushing "clean diesel" which is more energy rich than gas, and produces better miles per gallon.

Experts say turning "off" the emissions control equipment reportedly can help increase the performance of the vehicle by not limiting the engine as much.

 

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