VW Dieselgate 2.0 - Are you also affected?
Volkswagen - the name says it all: a car for the people from a good traditional German company. When in the 1930s the first VW Beetles and later the vans hit the streets, the people were thrilled. The cars accompanied us on road trips and holidays, gave us a feeling of freedom and reliability. And that for decades.
But then the shock in 2015: VW cheats, falsifies exhaust emission values, makes its cars look greener than they are. Green sells well. Over the next few years, it became public how the manufacturer had tricked: VW had installed a cut-off device in the engine control unit which recognised that the vehicle was in test mode and thus significantly reduced emissions during the test of the vehicle. In normal road use, this device was then switched off and the vehicle was driven in "normal mode". This increased emissions significantly, to the detriment of air quality. However, the damage was also significant for the vehicle owners, as the vehicles were not only worth less but were also threatened with immobilisation because they were not acceptable with the real emissions. Not to mention driving bans in the low emission zones of many German city centres.
New findings, also known as Diesel Gate 2.0, now reveal how fraud continued after the first deception became known and the extent of the cheating: Not only is the VW EA189 engine type known from 2015 affected, but customers may also have been deceived with the successor model EA288. This means that even buyers of the latest models are affected. The EA288 can be found in vehicles of all VW brands, i.e. not only VW itself but also Audi, Seat and Skoda, and has been installed in almost all diesel vehicles with 1.4 TDI, 1.6 TDI or 2.0 TDI since 2013. Only the T6 is still subject to an obligatory recall by the authorities, but the courts have decided in favour of the cheated plaintiffs for other EA 288 models as well. In order to avoid a mandatory recall, VW has now launched a voluntary recall, in which a software update of the engine management system is intended to reduce emissions.
The deliberate deception of the Dieselgate 1.0 had already caused damage to VW's image in 2015 and caused enormous costs through compensation payments to buyers. The new accusations surrounding Dieselgate 2.0 will result in further payments to customers.
We all suffer from the fraud - especially diesel drivers, whose freedom is increasingly restricted by environmental zones and now ever-increasing bans on diesel driving. Do you think that you too could be affected by the new developments, but are you unsure how to proceed? In order to help ensure that more VW customers receive the compensation they deserve, we at Green Zones have now entered into a cooperation with the consumer law firm Baumeister Rosing, which has already brought many thousands of claims for damages against VW and increasingly other manufacturers. Check quickly and free of charge whether you too are entitled to compensation.
For further information on the diesel scandal, visit the website of the consumer law firm Baumeister Rosing and click HERE.