California Regulator Finds Another Cheat Device In Audi Car

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More cheating in Volkswagen Group cars has been found! The discovery is another cheat device in Audi cars in the United States. Why can’t automakers play it straight? Well, some do (Tesla & Nissan, for example).

audi

Apparently, regarding the cheat device just discovered, Audi suspended several engineers who tried to work around California’s emissions rules. However, it didn’t do so until May 2016 of this year (not long before the device was discovered in California).

The device was not the same as the one Volkswagen initially got busted for, but it did lower the car’s CO2 emissions if the software detected that the car was on a test machine. The cheat device was used on both gasoline and diesel cars with automatic transmissions (which is typically what we use in the US, unlike Europe).

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) made this latest discovery. “Bild am Sonntag said the software discovered by CARB, which was installed in vehicles with certain automatic transmissions, detected whether a car’s steering wheel was turned,” Reuters reports.

“If it was not, indicating laboratory testing conditions, the software turned on a gear-shifting program which produced less carbon dioxide than in normal road driving. If the wheel was turned in any direction by more than 15 degrees, the program was switched off, the paper said.”

Certainly, by now, you have heard about the main Volkswagen scandal. Regarding that case, in which Volkswagen was caught by West Virginia researchers, CleanTechnica reported in June that “The European Commission was apparently warned by its own in-house researchers that vehicle emissions tests had revealed what those involved suspected to be a ‘defeat device’ (like the one VW was recently found to be using in many of its vehicles) … a full 5 years before the VW diesel emissions cheating scandal hit the news.” Stunning.

The eventual payout to “make things right” came about to the tune of $15 billion in the US.

Now comes this — and Audi is the main contributor to Volkswagen Group’s profit according to Reuters.

Just a few days ago, it seemed like VW might be bouncing back with the settlement. VW’s settlement to invest billions into charging infrastructure and pay billions in fines rectifies some of the damage. However, the company is sliding under more disappointment and deception.

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Cynthia Shahan

Cynthia Shahan, started writing after previously doing research and publishing work on natural birth practices. Words can be used improperly depending on the culture you are in. (Several unrelated publications) She has a degree in Education, Anthropology, Creative Writing, and was tutored in Art as a young child thanks to her father the Doctor. Pronouns: She/Her

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