December 11, 2015
December 11, 2015 - PRESSADVANTAGE -
Thousands of disappointed customers have joined a class action lawsuit against VW since September, when one of the largest scandals in the history of car industry was made public.
In September, 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) declared that VW had installed “defeat device” software on certain 2009–2015 model year VW Beetle, VW Golf, VW Jetta, VW Passat and Audi diesel vehicles. This software is able to detect when the car is undergoing emissions test and changes the performance correspondingly. This emissions software was installed on more than 500,000 diesel cars in the U.S.
In the test mode, the tainted VW cars are fully compliant with federal emissions standards. But when driving in real life settings, the engines switch to a separate mode. The “normal” mode will likely deliver higher mileage and power, but will also generate nitrogen oxide (Nox) emissions that are up to 40 times higher than permitted.
Now that VW has issued a recall to fix the affected vehicles, VW owners worry that repairing the cars so they meet emission standards may lead to notably reduced power and fuel economy, as well as decreased resale value. Recent research conducted by Autolist (http://www.autolist.com/volkswagen-jetta-portland-or#section=vw-scandal-pricing-dec) shows that the VW prices continue to fall, and now this involves also gasoline vehicles which initially were not affected by the emissions scandal. List prices for affected diesel cars are 5 percent below the expected average, while prices of unaffected Volkswagen models are down 2 percent. During the past two months, since the scandal broke, the list prices for affected cars have fallen by about $1,500. All Volkswagen models are proving tougher to sell, whether or not they are among those found to have illegal "defeat device" software.
A growing number of VW owners seek to obtain monetary compensation for the reduced value of their cars. There are over 30 class action lawsuits against VW in progress already, and VW customers whose cars could be affected by the scandal are advised to seek attorney advice in order to assess their eligibility and options of legal action against VW.
As of right now, there are eight vehicle models that may have been manufactured with a defeat device. In the United States, these vehicles include:
2009-2015 Audi A3 2.0 L TDI
2009-2015 VW Beetle 2.0 L TDI
2009-2015 Beetle Convertible 2.0 L TDI
2009-2015 VW Golf 2.0 L TDI
2015 VW Golf Sportwagen 2.0 L TDI
2009-2015 VW Jetta 2.0 L TDI
2009-2014 Jetta Sportwagen 2.0 L TDI
2012-2015 VW Passat 2.0 L TDI
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For more information about VW Class Action Attorneys, contact the company here:
VW Class Action Attorneys
Angela Smith
415-671-6163
4305 Center Avenue
Fresno, CA 93704