EPA: Volkswagen Cheated on Larger Vehicles, Too

By BETH DALBEY (Patch Staff)

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Monday that Volkswagen also cheated on emissions software or some its larger diesel vehicles, the Associated Press is reporting.

In September, the German automaker admitted that it had intentionally circumvented smog-reduction standards on more than 11 million diesel-engine smaller model vehicles sold in the United States.

As many as 10,000 more vehicles are potentially affected, the EPA said.

The EPA alleges the larger vehicles are belching emissions at nine times the the allowed standard.

Volkswagen programmed its diesel cars so they met U.S. emissions standards during testing, but in normal driving conditions, emissions rates went up 40 times higher, the EPA said.

CEO Martin Winterkorn resigned following the stunning admission of cheating.

The EPA said so-called “defeat device” software intentionally “detects when the car is undergoing official emissions testing, and turns full emissions controls on only during the test,” then turn off during normal driving conditions and emit nitrogen oxide pollutants that contribute to the creation of ozone and smog. The pollutants are linked to a range of respiratory health problems.