We have already received reports confirming that the recall will have an adverse impact on the performance of a vehicle once the recall has been completed. The Volkswagen group are telling us that there will be no changes to the performance or fuel economy of the vehicle, but we’re being told an entirely different tale by experts and by the few who have had the recall done so far.
The evidence appears damning, and it all points toward yet another possible misrepresentation as we’re finding out that it’s nigh impossible to conduct the recall without adversely impacting vehicles.
Scientifically – and I’ll try and be concise here and not bore you with a load of jargon – the way NOx emissions can be reduced is to make an engine perform inefficiently. There is a relationship between NOx and carbon which, generally speaking, means you can’t reduce one without increasing the other. This is known as “Soot-NOx trade-off” (soot being carbon).
At optimal combustion levels you see higher performance, increased temperatures, and better fuel economy; but this unfortunately also means higher NOx! Reducing the NOx means forcing less optimal combustion, which in turn leads to reduced performance, lowered temperatures, and therefore reduced NOx emissions.
One major theory as to why they cheated in the first place is because of the impact on engine performance when you force an engine to work less optimally to reduce NOx. Volkswagen Group cars are often well known as being good in terms of performance, so the sacrifice of lower performance in favour of lower NOx isn’t generally agreeable for many people.
The reports we have obtained from experts essentially say that it’s practically impossible for the engine performance and fuel economy to not be affected following the recall. This is in direct contradiction to assertions made by Volkswagen so far.
Real world examples – not looking good!
We’re aware that the real world fixes and trials and tests haven’t been easy for Volkswagen so far. They were supposed to have started the recall in January, but here we are in May, and things have only just started happening.
We have been advised by clients who have had the recall that engine performance has suffered as a result of the recall, and we have received reports of the recall playing havoc with MPG and engine temperature gauges as well; both of which are factors that are set to be adversely affected by the recall.
Things might be set to get much tougher for Volkswagen following the post-scandal PR nightmare that has seemingly got worse as time has gone on. With promises being made to customers that so called “new technology” that allegedly wasn’t available when they decided to cheat will mean that engine performance and MPG won’t be impacted, consumer confidence may take another huge hit if it transpires these statements are entirely wrong as well!
They have said right from the start that they want to build back their relationship of trust with their customers – but making promises that don’t hold any weight is certainly the wrong way to go about it.
We’ll keep you updated as reports come in and more is known about the bad things we expect to happen as a result of the Volkswagen recall fixes.
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