Posted on 11/13/2015 9:11:13 PM PST by Cowman
So Consumer Reports decided to put a 2015 Volkswagen Jetta TDI and a 2011 Jetta Sportwagen TDI to the test. To activate the car’s cheat mode, they pumped the accelerator pedal 5 times while the ignition was in the “on position†but the engine was off. To avoid being “kicked out†of the cheat mode when the car noticed the rear, undriven wheels spinning, CR simply unplugged the rear wheel speed sensors. Simple as that. Cheat mode activated.
They ran their standard Consumer Reports drive cycle. This involved a city traffic simulation on the track and a 65 MPH highway run on the local highway.
Fuel economy numbers were determined by taking fuel readings from a flow meter and averaging MPG numbers in both directions to account for grades and wind speed, and tests were run several times with different drivers to guarantee consistency.
Here are the numbers: On the 2011 Jetta TDI, 0-60 times increased from 9.9 to 10.5 seconds but the 2015 Jetta’s acceleration numbers were unaltered.
But the biggest changes occurred in fuel economy. Especially on the highway where the 2015 Jetta’s MPGs dropped from 53 to 50 and the 2011 Sportwagen’s plummeted from 50 to 46 MPG.
That’s a pretty significant change for both cars, and considering how many different cycles Consumer Reports ran and how many checks they have for verifying their figures, these numbers definitely seem credible.
But Volkswagen’s fix probably won’t involve always running with the “cheat mode†engaged— there may be durability concerns. We don’t know yet. So TDI owners— we’re not saying your car will become lethargic and lose about 10% in fuel economy. We really won’t know until VW decides how they’ll fix their cars.
(Excerpt) Read more at jalopnik.com ...
Cheating the epa, yes.
Lying to their customers by omission / non disclosure, no.
Really? 4 mpg drop is “plummeting” from 50 to 46. I weep for their loss.
I disagree. This whole thing is just a net cast over them, which they tried to avoid, but could not. How can you take all this verbiage at face value? This is the War on Diesel, and the war on All of Us, AFAICD. Wake up and smell the coffee.
BINGO!
In the end, to halt all the legal activity and lawyer costs...I see VW having to offer a brand new car to each single ‘victim’. The guy will get thirty days to make the decision to swap his car for this new one. As for the old diesel cars collected....I would imagine they all leave the US on some boat sailing to Africa and sold for half their value there.
My friend has about a 2012 or 3 model. He loves it and it gets 55 mpg steadily. What is wrong with that?? He will drive it forever, knowing him.
This is obviously a Big-Three driven hatchet job against a foreign producer, nothing more.
> on the highway where the 2015 Jetta’s MPGs dropped from 53 to 50 and the 2011 Sportwagen’s plummeted from 50 to 46 MPG.
Get that? A decline of 3 mpg is a drop, a decline of 4 is a plummet. Shills at work there.
> I’ve yet to own a vehicle that met EPA estimates.
/bingo
REALLY???? So I can get one of these vehicles for 1/2 off now? Where do I sign up? I’ll take 3 of them!!!!
There are a lot of people who have a eighty-mile a day routine and the VW diesel makes sense.
The problem will be....mandatory appointment for you to show up and they load the new software. Your mileage will quickly go down to 25 miles per gallon. The value or resell potential will drop by half. Some guys will try to refuse but I think state-by-state....they will end up forcing you to upgrade the software or pay a yearly tax fee (figure $2k a year to get your attention).
In the end....all of the owners will be angry.
My suggestion? Go and get the update software and demand that VW pays you a minimum of $10,000 for damages and lost value/mileage. Then turn around to the geeky kid on the street and have him reset the software package to the original mileage deal. You pocket the $10,000....your government feels great that you cooperated....and you still get 55 mpg. Course, you will have to reset it every two years when the state does the test but that’s fine with the geeky kid. Life goes on.
Wow the mileage PLUMMETED from 50 (FIFTY) all the way down to 46 (FOURTY SIX). OMG a whole 8%, still better than a Prius. Yes, that’s me shouting, absurd.
I can’t imagine anybody wanting to take their new car in to get LESS performance and fuel mileage, unless compelled by the force of government.
These cars may actually got UP IN VALUE for this reason!..................
That’s an apples and oranges comparison. Asbestos is dangerous to your health, whereas a car that gets better mileage and performance is a plus to the consumer.................
That would be a ‘blow’ for freedom!................
Then beaten again.............
The problem with the EPA is that generally they are perceived as being worse than Nazis.
Most people can find sympathy for VW, even if you wouldn’t buy one because their electrical systems are pathetic.
Love my TDI, great mileage and pretty peppy. Here in Florida there is no emissions testing so no problem. Got the VW good faith offer of $500 cash card, a $500 VW credit at VW dealership and 3 years free roadside assistance. I’m taking it. Plus a Michigan court ruled this past week that accepting the offer does not preclude receiving what ever the ultimate owners settlement is as part of the class action lawsuit.
You are 100% correct about this being political. Actually however it is New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman who has close ties to Hillary Clinton not the EPA that is harassing Exxon.
And the point should be made that this NY AG attack just happens to happen right after ExxonMobil discontinues sending money to the Clinton Foundation. The dots don't get much easier than that to connect.
My opinion exactly. If the vehicles performed well & the mileage was good,people were apparently pleased. EPA doesn’t care much about how they perform. Nothing they do adds to the value of the vehicle,just to the expense of it.
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