Were you duped into purchasing a Volkswagen or Audi TDI, marketed as having a “clean diesel” engine?
If you drive any of the following, you may be entitled to compensation under state and federal law.
- Jetta TDI (model years 2009-2015)
- Beetle TDI (model years 2009-2015)
- Golf TDI (model years 2009-2015)
- Passat TDI (model years 2014-2015)
- Audi A3 (model years 2009-2015)
The Environmental Protection Agency recently released information confirming that Volkswagen intentionally designed and sold approximately 482,000 of the above listed turbo-diesel vehicles in the United States equipped with a “defeat device.” The defeat device contains a sophisticated software algorithm that detects when the car is being tested for emissions, and triggers it to emit far less pollution than under normal driving conditions. When the “defeat device” is not triggered, and TDI Vehicles are operating in regular driving conditions, they emit up to 40 times more than the allowable legal levels of certain pollutants, most notably nitrogen oxides (NOx).
NOx are especially dangerous because they are a family of highly reactive gases that play a major role in the production of ozone (smog). Breathing in ozone can trigger a variety of health problems including chest pain, coughing, throat irritation, and congestion and can worsen bronchitis, emphysema and asthma.
Volkswagen, a company that touts itself as “clean,” and “environmental,” designed these vehicles to bypass EPA emissions regulation tests and then aggressively marketed them as low-emission and “green.” Volkswagen shamefully took advantage of the well-meaning and conscientious consumer, at the expense of the consumer, the environment, and public health.
Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn has apologized for breaking the trust of the consumers and the public, and set aside $7.3 billion to pay for the cheating scandal.
If you have a Volkswagen vehicle that meets the year and model manufactured with the defeat devices listed above, contact the attorneys at Makarem & Associates for immediate assistance at 310-312-0299 or email [email protected]. Our consultations are at no cost to you.
