Bad show, Volkswagon. I expected better of you.

[jinjuku]

Didn't I see you had the 2009 model, also? Ever had any HPFP issues? I got the 'extended warranty' notice, but my car was already way over 120k. Between that, and the cost of a new DPF, yeah, we're talking new car territory. They really just need to own it, pay their $18 Billion fine, and give everyone a massive credit towards a 2016 that HAS been approved by the EPA!

Nothing with the fuel pump. Was this a recall item? I purchased the car in 2011 from Bachman Volkswagen (good purchase experience with them) and if it was a recall item hopefully replaced.

Almost 45,000 miles later no issues.

 

[TheWarrior]

To be clear, is yours a 2009, or 2011? It was the '09 specifically that was affected.

 

[TheWarrior]

The main issues I was able to identify from a dealership was the tendency of drivers to either a) run the tank on empty, or b) not accept the nature of turbo lag and apply more pedal than the car is ready for, putting excess strain on the fuel system

 

[jinjuku]

We purchased a 2009 in 2011. I quickly read the HPFP issues at a VW forum. My wife doesn't run the car down to empty (the first thing I thought when you mentioned HPFP) and the other issue seemed to be either gas inadvertently put into the tank or low quality fuel was a contributor.

It's probably a mix of all this including problematic fuel pumps.

 

[jinjuku]

The main issues I was able to identify from a dealership was the tendency of drivers to either a) run the tank on empty, or b) not accept the nature of turbo lag and apply more pedal than the car is ready for, putting excess strain on the fuel system

VW's turbo tuning response is pretty solid however. You would have to really be doing some odd bit of driving to create that scenario.

 

[jinjuku]

Winterkorn is getting $32 Million EU$ for leaving VW over all this. The super rich have the deck so fricking stacked it's not funny.

 

[TheWarrior]

VW's turbo tuning response is pretty solid however. You would have to really be doing some odd bit of driving to create that scenario.

I think that would apply to someone trying to drive it like a sports car. Mine is a manual, and the first couple gears are reminiscent of driving a large truck. If you want 0-60 in less than 7 seconds, you're asking the fuel system to do something it was not designed for.

 

[Leroy Jenkins]

This is a huge hit to their rep. I will be interested to see their approach and how they attempt to recover from this, it's such a blatant disregard for the laws. The damage to the German economy could potentially be huge. I wouldn't want to be a VW employee or salesperson right now. Their showrooms must be empty.

It also points to a flaw in the testing system. In this case the emissions tests are based on the cars own computers not the objective data (exhaust) emitting from the tailpipe. If we should have learned anything by now it's that we can't trust companies to self regulate themselves. There is always going to be the temptation to cheat with the thinking that you will never be caught.

 

[TheWarrior]

I see faults in both VW and the EPA. There needs to be more transparency with the test data and how they are performed.

But when you're talking about fuel being atomized at incredibly high pressures, I must question these claims of '40 times' the amount of NOS being emitted.

I think the German economy will be fine if Mercedes can recover from their loss to Ferrari last week...

 

[Leroy Jenkins]

I see faults in both VW and the EPA. There needs to be more transparency with the test data and how they are performed.

But when you're talking about fuel being atomized at incredibly high pressures, I must question these claims of '40 times' the amount of NOS being emitted.

I think the German economy will be fine if Mercedes can recover from their loss to Ferrari last week...

I offer this article. It's food for thought not saying I agree with it. But it does make some good points. Like I said above it now depends on how VW and Germany handle this scandal. These things can get out of control if not handled properly.

Let's hope there are no scandals in the German beer industry!

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/09/23/us-usa-volkswagen-germany-economy-idUSKCN0RN27S20150923

 

[TheWarrior]

I agree with the perspective that this is not the end for Germany, but it is unfortunate how much of their economy is dependent on the auto industry. With any luck, VW will 'service' ;-) all of us that own these cars appropriately.

Own it. Fix it. Never let it happen again!

 

[Leroy Jenkins]

I agree with the perspective that this is not the end for Germany, but it is unfortunate how much of their economy is dependent on the auto industry. With any luck, VW will 'service' ;-) all of us that own these cars appropriately.

Own it. Fix it. Never let it happen again!

I feel so bad for people that purchased these cars, they were sold a false bill of goods.

If I ran the company I would be cutting checks to VW owners to take care of them but we shall see what their next move is.

 

[KEW]

I'm not sure it makes sense for the EPA to make certain the system can't be hacked. That sounds like a very expensive (unrealistic?) prospect!
If a company is willing to do what VW did, let them go for it!
The consequences of their actions will likely be enough to prevent anyone else from mimicking vw.
That is such a gamble! My vw passes then they notice the hole in the catalytic converter. It has to happen with millions of cars on road (11 million per USA Today).

I am very disappointed if Winterkorn doesn't have to answer for this. I like to think German business/culture/politics would hold him accountable.

 

[Chu Gai]

I'm reading they fudged it for cars sold in Europe as well and their Spanish subsidiary SEAT has installed 500,000 of the software doctored engines. There's some talk that this trickery isn't limited to VW as BMW is being said to have some models that also don't meet emission requirements and Italy is said to be taking a survey of 1000 random models from different makes to see how they test out.

With the CEO and other executives resigning, I'm very curious about the chain of events surrounding this. Who came up with the idea? Who proposed it? Who knew and signed off? Were any government officials in on this? Is there a paper trail or was it done verbally? I'm just stunned that someone thought this was a good idea and wouldn't be uncovered although in retrospect it's amazing it went on for so long.

Here's their 2014 Super Bowl commercial. Looks like a lot of engineers will be getting their wings clipped.

 

[TheWarrior]

Get yer pitch forks!!!

 

[KEW]

With the CEO and other executives resigning, I'm very curious about the chain of events surrounding this. Who came up with the idea? Who proposed it? Who knew and signed off? Were any government officials in on this? Is there a paper trail or was it done verbally? I'm just stunned that someone thought this was a good idea and wouldn't be uncovered although in retrospect it's amazing it went on for so long.

I think it should become SOP to hold 20% of executives pay until 5 years after they have left (they can invest it like a 401K during the interim).

So often, the guys who made the decision have included an exit strategy for when the sh1t hits the fan!

.

 

[markw]

Get yer pitch forks!!!

 

[Chu Gai]

I think it should become SOP to hold 20% of executives pay until 5 years after they have left (they can invest it like a 401K during the interim).

So often, the guys who made the decision have included an exit strategy for when the sh1t hits the fan!

.

I was reading some of the online German newspapers. There is great concern in Wolfsburg, where much of the citizenry is employed by VW, about their jobs, pay cuts, etc. there's also a large ripple effect because suppliers, and all the other businesses that depend upon the manufacture of cars will be impacted. They said Winterkorn could receive €60M but these severance packages are always pretty generous to top executives.

 

[rojo]

Chu Gai said:

I was reading some of the online German newspapers. There is great concern in Wolfsburg, where much of the citizenry is employed by VW, about their jobs, pay cuts, etc. there's also a large ripple effect because suppliers, and all the other businesses that depend upon the manufacture of cars will be impacted. They said Winterkorn could receive €60M but these severance packages are always pretty generous to top executives.

Don't forget that there will probably be domestic difficulties as well. There's a Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, TN with a lot of workers whose jobs are now uncertain -- the kind who have no golden parachute.

Sent from my LG-VS980 using Forum Fiend OSP v1.3.3.

 

[Chu Gai]

Yeah, but I don't think they're Union so I don't expect much governmental sympathy.