EPA caught VW cheating - how does the car know it's being tested?

Was the software really all that "sophisticated"?

The NY Times said it was "sophisticated".

I think it was just brazen.

Google,,, independent.co.uk Wolfsburg: VW workers worried about their jobs.

Apparently cheating is rather common.

Volkswagen Test Rigging Follows a Long Auto Industry Pattern By DANNY HAKIM and HIROKO TABUCHISEPT. 23, 2015

Winterkorn stepped down? Not exactly.

...He is still CEO of Porsche and he serves as chairman of the supervisory board of Audi AG.

snipped-for-privacy@snyder.on.ca posted for all of us...

I am glad you challenged me! I was thinking of the VW/Chrysler plant in PA. I was mistaken in ownership. Thank you.

Like AMC, Chrysler DID buy some engines from VW back around then - the Omni-Horizon originally used a VAG supplied engine (Audi fox?) a bit bigger than the rabbit engine at the time - and I believe AMC used basically the same engine in the early 4 cyl Spirit.

Have you actually seen any factual data that they were providing more fuel? From the little bit of decent info I've seen it looked more like they were trying to extend the life of some "filter" by turning the filter "off" and just letting the stuff fly out the tailpipe.

some info here..

.

This is partially correct. See the link I provide below.

No, that is not correct.

No, thats not how the system works.

Yes, thats partially correct.

Ashton: Yes, here is a link to the best info I've found on how the VW 2.0L TDI diesel emission control system works. It's technical, but accurate. What VW appears to do is shut the NOx trap off by limiting exhaust fuel enr ichment. The NOx trap requires some fuel to regenerate and convert the NOx back to N2, CO2, and H20. The "switch" activates whenever there is a test plug in the OBD2 data port. It deactivates when there isn't. Look at the NOx chart in the link you provided. The max allowable NOx emission limit in the US for this engine is .04 grams per mile. That means the max NOx em issions at 39 times over the limit are 1.52 grams per mile. Much less in o ther testing scenarios.

I had a smog check this morning on a 2007 Camry. The shop had a new machine for newer vehicles. Since September 2013, 2000 and newer vehicles no longer get tested on the dynamometer and no longer get a probe shoved up their tailpipe. The whole test is done via the OBD-II port (as well as a visual inspection).

For diesel vehicles you can see the details here:

So clearly VW was not just looking at wheel rotation, they probably turned on the emission controls whenever they detected something reading the sensors. I wonder if an ELM327 transceiver or a Progressive "Snapshot" would have any effect.

Here's an interesting point. It seems CA has portable roadside emissions checkpoints that measure the emissions as you drive. I wonder why they haven't seen a major problem with VW vehicles as they pass these checkpoints?

Maybe it is a minimum difference between a properly working system and a VW in the fuel economy mode? Like someone else said - is the nominal emission near zero and 10 to 40 times worse is still an extremely small amount of NOx.

can you elaborate on this?

On scary battery plants or MBTE exposure, or long-term lead exposure rates?

--scott

both-

I imagined you visited some dirty smelting town where everybody was a mouth breather caked in filth. The battery plant must have been a pleasant place too.

Gary, IN had the permanent pollution cloud over it from heavy until maybe the early 2000s. The smell was awful.

The battery plant was in a town called Leeds, Alabama, and I have no idea what happened to it. I was born in Pittsburgh so I have a pretty high tolerance for industrial waste in the air, but lead is scary. The company there had sent recruiters to gatech and as a new grad I was trying to get as many plant tours as possible just to see what the industry was like.

I still do try to get plant tours whenever I can.

Here is some recent but pretty complete data on lead levels in children:

And here is a good overview on why any lead is bad: I don't have a good online citation on how blood lead levels dropped when leaded gasoline was banned, but "Cities: An Environmental History" has an overview.

But if it was anything like Pittsburgh, the sunsets were beautiful. My aunt is still upset that they closed the mills down and now with no sulfur in the air she keeps getting mildew on her roses.

--scott

Yeah. Do a buyback and sell them where it's bloody hot

3rd world countries in africa and asia would rejoice (australians would too I'm sure)

The proper fix would be to buy the cars back from the (willing) owners at bluebook and sell them to the (3rd world) countries that do not participate in the smear campaign against VAG and could not care less about the emissions. An even more proper fix would be for VAG to withdraw from the american market altogether. There are lots of other markets where you do not have to make emissions claims at all and that would appreciate the 4 banger [turbo]diesels from VAG

According to NBC, the emission controls were altered when only the front wheels were turning, as on a dynometer.

I don't know about diesels, but newer gasoline powered cars in California don't use the dyno anymore. The levels are all read from the sensors via the OBD-II port, at least in California.

It's trivial to detect that the car is not being driven. No steering wheel motion, no compass variation, no accelerometer (if fitted), no... you name it, I'm sure there's a long list of candidates.