In the shadow of the diesel scandal, and just before the official reveal of its first mass-market electric car next week, Volkswagen is facing yet another public reprimand: It’s being ordered by the EPA to revise its fuel economy estimates applying to about 98,000 vehicles.
And in a separate settlement coinciding with the Friday announcement (pending court approval), VW will pay drivers a total of $97 million—ranging from $5,40 to $24.30 for each month the affected vehicle is owned or leased.
2014 Porsche Cayenne Platinum Edition
The issue, over a software routine that shifted the transmission in a more efficient manner than normal when it was being run in an emissions test, affects some of the most exclusive and expensive gasoline-powered vehicles in the Volkswagen Group, including 2013-2016 Bentley Continental GT and Flying Spur models, the 2013-2016 Porsche Cayenne, as well as 2013-2016 Audi models that include the 4.0-liter V-8 or 6.3-liter W-12 engines. It also includes the 2013-2014 Volkswagen Touareg (VR6) and all-wheel-drive (4Motion) versions of the 2017 Tiguan crossover.
For under-reporting the numbers, VW is also being required by the EPA to forfeit its emission credits earned for federal light-vehicle greenhouse-gas standards, as it has understated greenhouse-gas emissions by about 220,000 metric tons. It works out to be about 1 mile per gallon across the affected vehicles.
The issue, as described by the EPA, sounds awfully familiar: “This software causes the transmission to shift gears during the EPA-prescribed emissions test in a manner that sometimes optimizes fuel economy and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions during the test, but not under normal driving conditions.”
In Volkswagen’s diesel scandal, “defeat device” engine software controls were using a set of variables to determine when a vehicle was being run in an emissions test; in some situations when it wasn’t, the software allowed relaxed emissions controls permitting many times higher NOx emissions.
2014 Volkswagen Touareg R-Line
The new round of ordered adjustments don’t have anything to do with diesel. And owners of the affected vehicles should note that the they're well within allowed emissions in either of its modes of transmission operation.
The EPA is working with the Department of Energy to update values for the affected vehicles at FuelEconomy.gov, and changes will be made by September 6, 2019.
See below for the chart of adjustments by model, as published by the U.S. EPA:
Brand
MY
Model
Engine
Transmission
Old Label Values
New Label Values
Combined
City
Highway
Combined
City
Highway
Audi
2013
A8L
6.3L W12
Auto(S8)
16
13
21
15
13
20
S8
4.0L V8 TSI
Auto(S8)
19
15
26
18
15
26
Audi
2014
A8L
6.3L W12
Auto(S8)
16
13
21
15
13
20
RS7
4.0L V8 TSI
Auto(S8)
19
16
27
19
15
27
S8
4.0L V8 TSI
Auto(S8)
19
15
26
18
15
26
Audi
2015
A8L
4.0L
Auto(S8)
22
18
29
21
18
29
A8L
6.3L W12
Auto(S8)
17
14
22
16
13
22
RS7
4.0L
Auto(S8)
18
15
25
18
14
25
S8
4.0L
Auto(S8)
20
17
27
20
16
27
Audi
2016
A8L
6.3L W12
Auto(S8)
17
14
22
16
13
22
RS7
4.0L
Auto(S8)
18
15
25
18
14
25
S8
4.0L
Auto(S8)
19
15
25
18
15
25
Bentley
2013
Continental GT
4.0L
Auto(S8)
18
15
24
18
14
24
Continental GTC
4.0L
Auto(S8)
17
14
24
17
13
24
Bentley
2014
Continental GT
4.0L
Auto(S8)
18
15
24
18
14
24
Continental GTC
4.0L
Auto(S8)
17
14
24
17
14
23
Flying Spur
6.0L W12
Auto(S8)
15
12
20
14
12
20
Bentley
2015 – 2016
Continental GT
4.0L
Auto(S8)
19
15
25
18
15
25
Continental GT Convertible
4.0L
Auto(S8)
17
14
24
16
13
23
Flying Spur
4.0L
Auto(S8)
17
14
24
17
13
24
6.0L W12
Auto(S8)
15
12
20
14
12
20
Bentley
2017
Continental GT
4.0L
Auto(S8)
19
15
25
18
15
25
Continental GT Convertible
4.0L
Auto(S8)
17
14
24
16
13
23
Porsche
2013
Cayenne
3.6
Auto(S8)
19
17
23
19
16
23
Cayenne GTS
4.8
Auto(S8)
17
15
21
16
14
20
Cayenne S
4.8
Auto(S8)
18
16
22
18
15
22
Cayenne Turbo
4.8
Auto(S8)
17
15
22
17
14
21
Porsche
2014
Cayenne
3.6
Auto(S8)
20
17
23
19
17
23
Cayenne GTS
4.8
Auto(S8)
17
15
21
16
14
20
Cayenne S
4.8
Auto(S8)
18
16
22
18
15
22
Cayenne Turbo
4.8
Auto(S8)
17
15
22
17
14
21
Cayenne Turbo S
4.8
Auto(S8)
16
14
20
15
13
20
Porsche
2015
Cayenne S
3.6
Auto(S8)
20
17
24
19
16
24
Porsche
2016
Cayenne
3.6
Auto(S8)
21
19
24
20
17
24
Cayenne GTS
3.6
Auto(S8)
19
16
23
18
16
23
Cayenne S
3.6
Auto(S8)
20
17
24
19
16
24
Cayenne Turbo S
4.8
Auto(S8)
17
14
21
16
14
21
Volkswagen
2013 – 2014
Touareg
3.6L VR6 FSI
Auto(S8)
19
17
23
19
16
23
Volkswagen
2017
Tiguan 4MOTION
2.0L TFSI
Auto(S6)
21
20
24
21
20
23
