Volkswagen Diesel Emissions Lawsuits Piling Up

Volkswagen owners have filed at least nine more Volkswagen class action lawsuits against the car manufacturer. This comes in the wake of at least seven previous Volkswagen emissions lawsuits over the Volkswagen emissions scandal.

These various Volkswagen emissions lawsuits come from across the country. They have been filed in federal courts in California, Florida, Illinois, Oregon, and Utah.

At least five Volkswagen class action lawsuits have been filed in California alone. These various Volkswagen emissions lawsuits all hinge on accusations that Volkswagen designed their vehicles to illegally “trick” emissions testing equipment while promoting the vehicles as environmentally friendly.

If these allegations prove true, this could be considered fraud.

In September, the EPA formally accused Volkswagen of installing a “defeat device.” A defeat device creates changes to the code that runs the emissions systems in cars, which help regulate the catalytic converters and other systems that control performance to improve the quality of air leaving the engine.

Allegedly, the defeat device would cause the car to run without the emissions control system, unless the system detected that the car was having an emissions test. In that case, the system greatly restricted the engine performance to artificially pass the emissions tests.

This meant that the Volkswagen vehicles in question allegedly usually ran without the emissions control equipment running, causing the car to pollute at levels that violated emissions regulations, all while promoting the cars as “clean diesel.”

According to the EPA, the alleged Volkswagen emissions scandal affects a wide variety of VW vehicles including a range of Volkswagen Beetles (“New Bugs”), Golfs, Jettas, and Passats, in the model years 2009 to 2015. Cars sold under the Audi brand, specifically the Audi A3, are also included in the EPA’s allegations.

All told, the EPA states that more than 482,000 Volkswagen and Audi diesel cars sold in the U.S. are affected. The vehicles were promoted as using “clean diesel” technology, a point that comes up in Volkswagen emissions lawsuits. It is alleged that Volkswagen fraudulently promoted these vehicles as environmentally friendly.

The same week in September, when the EPA made this announcement, Volkswagen said that the figures were even higher than the EPA’s estimate. Volkswagen stated that more than 11 million Volkswagen vehicles worldwide have the same problem, and that it will cost the company an estimated $7.2 billion dollars to correct the problem.

Emissions testing is the primary tool to ensure that cars meet environmental standards. According to the EPA, emissions controls are critical to the safety of the environment.

Tightening emissions standards have been instrumental in improving the environmental-friendliness of cars. The dramatic decreases in acid rain and other types of pollutants seen over the past 20 years is partially attributable to improvements in vehicle emissions.

Emissions regulations have required components like catalytic converters, reducing emissions and allowing cars to run cleaner.

UPDATE: On June 28, 2016, Volkswagen reached proposed settlements with both the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission following the VW emissions scandal. VW’s deal with the DOJ includes up to $14.7 billion along with vehicle buyback provisions as well as funding for pollution control programs. In addition to the DOJ settlement, Volkswagen will also spend up to $10 billion in a buyback and lease termination settlement with the FTC that is expected to include about 475,000 vehicles.

UPDATE 2: The Volkswagen, Audi diesel emissions class action settlement is now open! Click here to file a claim!