Audi recalls 5,000 diesel cars to fix emissions control
software
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 [November 02, 2017]
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Audi is
recalling almost 5,000 cars in Europe for a software fix after
discovering they emitted too much nitrogen oxide, the polluting gas that
parent Volkswagen <VOWG_p.DE> concealed from U.S. regulators in its
devastating 2015 "dieselgate" scandal.
The luxury carmaker said on Thursday it had reported the matter to
Germany's road transport authority KBA, which was concerned about the
possible illegal manipulation of emission levels.
The KBA had no immediate comment.
Audi said it would update the software of the 4,997 A8 model vehicles
with 2.4 liter V8 diesel engines, of which 3,660 are in Germany and were
made between September 2013 and August 2017.
The software updates will likely be available in the first quarter of
2018 after winter testing.
"Among other things, the update should ensure that after cold starts the
engine more quickly reaches optimal operating conditions for the
exhaust-gas treatment system so that its emissions are improved in real
driving conditions," it said.
"During the testing, it will be ensured that the new software has no
disadvantages for customers in terms of fuel consumption or
performance."
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The logo of German car manufacturer Audi is seen at a building of a
car dealer in Duebendorf, Switzerland November 22, 2016. REUTERS/Arnd
Wiegmann
Volkswagen was found in 2015 to have illegally manipulated engine software so
that vehicles would meet nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions standards in laboratory
testing but not in real-world conditions, where they could emit up to 40 times
the permitted levels.
Several Audi models were affected and Audi has been accused in media reports of
having devised the so-called defeat devices years earlier but not to have
installed them in its vehicles at that time. Audi and Volkswagen have never
commented on the matter.
Volkswagen's shares plunged more than 20 percent when the scandal broke. They
climbed back to pre-crisis levels for the first time on Thursday.
(Reporting by Maria Sheahan and Jan Schwartz; Writing by Georgina Prodhan;
Editing by Christoph Steitz, Greg Mahlich)
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