U.S. orders Volkswagen to recall almost 500,000 vehicles over emissions violations

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has ordered German automaker Volkswagen to recall roughly 482,000 diesel cars over violations of the Clean Air Act.

The EPA issued a noticed of violation of the Clean Air Act Friday, which alleges some Volkswagen and Audi models include software that circumvents EPA emissions standards.

The allegations cover roughly 482,000 diesel passenger cars sold in the United States since 2008.

The EPA said that the state of California has issued a separate notice of violation of emissions standards.

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“Using a defeat device in cars to evade clean air standards is illegal and a threat to public health,” said Cynthia Giles, Assistant Administrator for the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, in a press release. “Working closely with the California Air Resources Board, EPA is committed to making sure that all automakers play by the same rules. EPA will continue to investigate these very serious matters.”

The EPA alleges the software found in the four-cylinder cars can detect when the vehicle is undergoing official emissions tests, where the device only then turns on the cars’ full emissions controls. The EPA said the “defeat device’s” effectiveness of the cars’ emissions control is greatly reduced during all normal driving conditions.

“Working with US EPA we are taking this important step to protect public health thanks to the dogged investigations by our laboratory scientists and staff,” said Air Resources Board Executive Officer Richard Corey, in a press release. “Our goal now is to ensure that the affected cars are brought into compliance, to dig more deeply into the extent and implications of Volkswagen’s efforts to cheat on clean air rules, and to take appropriate further action.”

Affected diesel models include:

• Jetta (Model Years 2009 – 2015)
• Beetle (Model Years 2009 – 2015)
• Audi A3 (Model Years 2009 – 2015)
• Golf (Model Years 2009 – 2015)
• Passat (Model Years 2014-2015)