Many diesel cars will begin to be recalled in January of 2016 by Volkswagen. The Volkswagen brands included in this recall are VW, Audi, Skoda and SEAT. The initial recall will be on the Volkswagen diesel cars in Germany. The Company has not set a date for repair on vehicles in the U.S. There are as many as 11 million cars worldwide that will have to be recalled.
Volkswagen admitted fault after they were caught cheating on diesel emission tests in the U.S. earlier this year. The affected cars have software that makes their engines produce more toxic emissions on the road than during the official testing. New reports show that once on the road the cars are pumping out close to 40 times the legal level of nitrogen oxide.
Volkswagen is currently trying to develop a fix for these vehicles. The fixes will included changes to the software and hardware depending on the vehicle. As a result of this cheating on the emissions test, Volkswagen had to return two awards they received for Green Car of the Year for two of their diesel cars that are now at the center of the scandal. These two vehicles are the 2009 Volkswagen Jetta and the 2010 Audi TDI.
So far Volkswagen has recalled 2.4 million in Germany and they have ordered to recall close to 500,000 from the U.S. Volkswagen has not yet issued the date the new software will be available in the U.S.
The Volkswagen headquarters in Germany has been searched by authorities to try to find out who is responsible for the cheating on the emissions tests. So far Volkswagen has set aside close to 7 billion to settle issues and claims coming from the scandal. It is being speculated that Volkswagen could face a total cost of $87 billion. This is more than two times the cost of the Deepwater Horizon Spill to BP. Volkswagen does not agree with this estimate. Only time can tell what the true cost will be.
If you have a vehicle that is subject to the recall, please call Kilpatrick & Philley for a free consultation. We have experience in pursuing claims such as that subject recall as we have been active in the BP litigation as well as other Mass Tort claims. Please let our friendly staff of attorneys help with your claim.