A year on
since the parent party Volkswagen was hit with near bankruptsy, German media
has reported the discovery of a second illegal software function in automatic
transmission Audis.
Deutsche Welle, 6 November 2016
German
newspaper "Bild am Sonntag" reported on Sunday that the Californian
Air Resources Board (CARB) had discovered another illegal software function in
an automatc transmission in Audi last summer.
The paper
said the device, which was not the same as the one which triggered last year's
diesel emissions scandal at Audi's parent company, Volkswagen, was also used in
gasoline and diesel-powered cars in Europe.
The illegal
software deactivated pollution controls on more than 11 million diesel vehicles
sold worldwide, triggering the deepest business crisis in the German carmaker's
history.
Investigators
found that the cars emitted more than 40 times the legal limit of nitrogen
oxide, which can cause respiratory problems.
Unorthorized
VW said
earlier this week, however, that the use of the software “did not constitute an unauthorized shutdown device under European law.”
According
to "Bild am Sonntag" the most recently discovered software was
installed on many Audi models with a certain automatic transmission. If the
steering wheel does not turn, this indicates laboratory testing conditions, and
a gear shifting program which produces less carbon dioxide is activated.
If the
driver turns the steering wheel by more than 15 degrees, however, the
"warm-up strategy" deactivates, "Bild am Sonntag"said.
Audi
reportedly stopped using the software in May 2016, just before CARB discovered
the manipulation in an older model, the paper said, adding that the carmaker
had suspended several engineers in connection with the matter.
ksb/jm (Reuters, AFP)
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