This is really serious, VE and Audi are taking a serious financial hit.

Volkswagen faces a maximum fine of $18 billion for having diesels that are much dirtier in real world driving than during the EPA's mandated tests. But how does a car know it is being tested? Consumer Reports explains that the method is simple and uses a feature common in modern cars — but VW is in hot water over how they exploited it.


Volkswagen Emissions Cheat Exploited 'Test Mode'
One key part of the unfolding Volkswagen emissions scandal is that the diesel-powered vehicles in...
Read more consumerreports.​org
Buried in the EPA's letter to VW and explained now by CR is the secret to how the automaker used a hidden mode within the car to achieve the test results they wanted.

CR, which is more familiar with the actual operations of modern cars than just about any other automotive publication, points out that the diesel VWs in the midst of this regulatory drama have a dyno mode, or a test mode, depending on how you call it.

The EPA tests cars in a controlled environment, and that means running them on a stationary dyno. This means that your Golf SportWagen's front wheels would be rolling while the back wheels stood still. The EPA even posted a picture of what this dyno testing looks like, which you can see below with the Dodge Ram.

Understanding The 'Test Mode' That Let VW Trick The Emissions Test

And a car's stability and traction control systems don't like the idea of your front wheels speeding along with your back wheels going zero miles per hour, as CR points out.

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/cars/volkswagen-emissions-cheat-exploited-test-mode.htm

QuoteVW's confession that it illegally programed the software in 11 million diesel-powered cars to cheat on emissions tests comes with the sting of betrayal for owners. The automaker's been touting the benefits of "clean diesel" for years, and it dominates the American market for the gasoline alternative.

Last week, the EPA accused the German automaker of using a "defeat device," an algorithm that detects when the car is being tested by the EPA and changes its performance to meet emissions standards. The rest of the time, the cars produce up to 40 times the legal limit of nitrogen oxides (NOx), the stuff linked to increased rates of asthma and other respiratory problems.

I wonder how many of the 'Greenie' nutbars bought VW diesels are primed for a nervous breakdown. 

http://www.wired.com/2015/09/vw-owners-arent-going-like-fixes-diesels/

You mean like the Prius or Tesla buyers when it comes time to replace the batteries?

Walks would you merge this with the original?

http://conservativepoliticalforum.com/financial/consumer-reports-busted-vw-for-cheating-smog-checks/

Quote from: MACMan on September 23, 2015, 09:03:41 AM
I wonder how many of the 'Greenie' nutbars bought VW diesels are primed for a nervous breakdown. 

http://www.wired.com/2015/09/vw-owners-arent-going-like-fixes-diesels/

Don't you just love liberal hypocrites? What are they doing buying diesels? 

Quote from: supsalemgr on September 23, 2015, 10:43:03 AM
Don't you just love liberal hypocrites? What are they doing buying diesels? 

There now putting 15% ethanol in diesel fuel in Oregon and selling it cheaper than diesel.  Yet it cost more to make ethanol.  Go figure, and the damn fools are buying it.    

Quote from: walkstall on September 23, 2015, 10:53:58 AM
There now putting 15% ethanol in diesel fuel in Oregon and selling it cheaper than diesel.  Yet it cost more to make ethanol.  Go figure, and the damn fools are buying it.   

I am not well versed in auto repairs, but wouldn't long term use of that mixture not be good for a diesel engine?

Quote from: supsalemgr on September 23, 2015, 11:39:50 AM
I am not well versed in auto repairs, but wouldn't long term use of that mixture not be good for a diesel engine?

Even short term use.  Remember ethanol is made using water. 

Quote from: walkstall on September 23, 2015, 12:18:01 PM
Even short term use.  Remember ethanol is made using water.

You've got that right. Ethanol is a real PITA.

I haven't had any trouble using 'off road' diesel in my tractor. Ethanol is bad news in gasoline as far as I'm concerned. My lawnmowers and weed trimmers were giving me a hard time starting. A landscaper friend said that gasoline with ethanol isn't 'good' for very long and that it will corrode small engines and recommended NOT using regular gas, but to use medium grade gas with some Seafoam, or to purchase gasoline from a marina because marine gas contains no ethanol.

No problems with my small engines since I took his advice.

Quote from: MACMan on September 23, 2015, 03:38:55 PM
You've got that right. Ethanol is a real PITA.

I haven't had any trouble using 'off road' diesel in my tractor. Ethanol is bad news in gasoline as far as I'm concerned. My lawnmowers and weed trimmers were giving me a hard time starting. A landscaper friend said that gasoline with ethanol isn't 'good' for very long and that it will corrode small engines and recommended NOT using regular gas, but to use medium grade gas with some Seafoam, or to purchase gasoline from a marina because marine gas contains no ethanol.

No problems with my small engines since I took his advice.

I use Ethanol free gas and STA BIL year around.   See
http://conservativepoliticalforum.com/repair-and-maintenance-support/lawnmower-issues/

I'm thinking VW deserves an award, they managed to pull off what most Americans would love to get away with, tell the EPA to F off.

QuoteVolkswagen Emissions Cheat Exploited 'Test Mode'
One key part of the unfolding Volkswagen emissions scandal is that the diesel-powered vehicles in...
Read more consumerreports.​org
Buried in the EPA's letter to VW and explained now by CR is the secret to how the automaker used a hidden mode within the car to achieve the test results they wanted.

Quote from: MACMan on September 23, 2015, 03:38:55 PM
You've got that right. Ethanol is a real PITA.

I haven't had any trouble using 'off road' diesel in my tractor. Ethanol is bad news in gasoline as far as I'm concerned. My lawnmowers and weed trimmers were giving me a hard time starting. A landscaper friend said that gasoline with ethanol isn't 'good' for very long and that it will corrode small engines and recommended NOT using regular gas, but to use medium grade gas with some Seafoam, or to purchase gasoline from a marina because marine gas contains no ethanol.

No problems with my small engines since I took his advice.

I've been running E10 for most of 20 years...I would bet my truck & my wife's and my motorcycles have run nothing else.  I had to clean the carb on an old leaf blower...that's it.  No other problems, and we store two cars and three bikes for the winter.

Quote from: Solar on September 23, 2015, 07:13:54 PM
I'm thinking VW deserves an award, they managed to pull off what most Americans would love to get away with, tell the EPA to F off.

49mpg....   If they put them on-sale, I'd be really tempted to go Diesel myself!

I'm on my second Subaru, a 2010 and 2011 - the bad rings make them BURN OIL...   400mi to the quart at hwy speeds.  I'll bet that Diesel is running cleaner than my Subaru's ever have!

Why doesn't the EPA, consumer reports, et al go after SUBARU?
(Oh, I forgot, Subaru does all this PC crap, so they're the good guys)

Quote from: kj4adn on September 24, 2015, 02:34:20 PM
49mpg....   If they put them on-sale, I'd be really tempted to go Diesel myself!

I'm on my second Subaru, a 2010 and 2011 - the bad rings make them BURN OIL...   400mi to the quart at hwy speeds.  I'll bet that Diesel is running cleaner than my Subaru's ever have!

Why doesn't the EPA, consumer reports, et al go after SUBARU?
(Oh, I forgot, Subaru does all this PC crap, so they're the good guys)

Hmm...
I don't drive a Subaru, but have yet to see one driving down the road burning oil. 

Quote from: walkstall on September 24, 2015, 04:09:59 PM

Hmm...
I don't drive a Subaru, but have yet to see one driving down the road burning oil.

It is a known problem, Subaru wants to keep it buried.
In order to meet the higher mileage requirements, they went with thinner oil control rings, and 0-20w oil to boost the MPGs on the 2010~2014 model years.  Subaru requires an "oil consumption test" - once failed they replace the block, or piston/ring job, which sometimes fixes the problem.  The engines / Transmission warranty is 36k, after that, if you didn't notice the problem & report it, you're out of luck.   

Several reports of dealers cheating on the oil consumption test by over filling the crankcase.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2014/07/18/subaru-oil-burner-lawsuit/12859865/

"A proposed class-action lawsuit contends Subaru of America failed to tell consumers about an oil-consumption problem in its most popular models.

The suit claims the vehicles "prematurely burn off and/or consume abnormal and excessive amounts of engine oil" and alleges Cherry Hill-based Subaru has refused to fix the problem, saddling some customers with steep repair bills.

The suit seeks to represent buyers of 2011-14 Foresters, the 2013 Legacy and 2013 Outback, all with 2.5-liter "Boxer" engines; and the 2012-13 Impreza and 2013 Crosstrek, with 2-liter "Boxer" engines."

A search of "Subaru oil consumption" brings up a boatload of hits.