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Comment by alkonaut | Hacker News Reader

> It's weird, VW say that if your car if affected, they'll fix it. It's a software update that a) won't affect performance and b) won't affect fuel consumption. So, why did they do it in the first place?

I think it's safe to say that until someone actually has had their car fixed by this new software, and then tested its performance and consumption after that we can assume that it's impossible. I'll believe it's possible when I see it.

My guess: VW europe will claim to make a performance-neutral fix, but simply cut the performance and increase the consumption of the affected cars. Anyone in the EU who finds that annoying can try to scream with very little chance of getting any compensation from VW because of how EU consumer laws work.

In the US where they are actually scared of being sued into compensating customers they will make more advanced fixes potentially even retrofitting urea systems where possible.

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> In the US where they are actually scared of being sued into compensating customers they will make more advanced fixes potentially even retrofitting urea systems where possible.

You don't think there will be class action lawsuits if they mount a diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) tank taking up any cargo or other usable space? Or if they don't provide a lifetime supply of free DEF (or more likely a cash payment to cover the likely DEF costs for the projected life of the car)?

As an EU consumer I'd be delighted if they did that, even if I was paying for my own DEF and it took a chunk of my cargo space. I'm sure there will be class action lawsuits in both the US and the EU regardless.

The reason they are only doing the cheap software changes in the EU is likely because they think they will either win any legal processes OR it's much cheaper to lose them than to fix cars (both of which are probably true).

> As an EU consumer I'd be delighted if they did that, even if I was paying for my own DEF and it took a chunk of my cargo space.

That's very personal thing and it's easy for a lawyer to argue that VW has no longer delivered a car conforming to the original specifications for cargo space/capacity, etc and that the consumer is due compensation to compel them to accept the new specifications. I can't imagine that flying without additional compensation in the US (and frankly, don't believe that it should).

I completely agree - however as an EU '09 Audi owner I have zero hope of getting anything other than a car with 10-20 less horsepower that does a few less mpg than before the fix. This in turn also means that its resale value drops around $1k or thereabouts (hard to tell). In any case, I have zero hope of getting a single penny from VW because the car no longer meets my expectations. That is even if I participate in some class action process. I'd be shocked to even get a 5% rebate on new car.

Interesting. VW is offering TDI owners in the US a $500 Visa prepaid card, a $500 VW dealership card, and to receive, you don't need to release VW from any other claims or liability.

https://www.vwdieselinfo.com/updates/letter-to-2-0l-tdi-owne...

Set aside the VW dealership card, you'd still be getting $500 as an affected US owner. Seems odd that EU (which I find generally more consumer-friendly than the US) would be less generous. (I'm not doubting you; it just mismatches my normal expectations.)

I think one difference is that VW wants to break into the US markets, but is already a dominating brand in the EU market. The number of diesels sold in the US (low) compared to the risk of legal fallout there (high) means they have one strategy there, compared to the EU where the number of diesels sold is much bigger. If VW offer compensation without requiring you to not claim anything in the future - that's pure goodwill/marketing. That's good to hear. They probably can't afford that here, or they don't want/need to because of the market situation.

Thank you for mentioning this.

I am a owner of an affected TDI but did not receive the letter (or threw it away mistaking it for another car warranty junk mail letter) and was unaware of the "TDI Goodwill package"

Did you buy or lease it new from the dealership?

Any time I go in for service they ask if I've registered for the package yet and bug me to do so (presumably so I get the dealership card and they know I'll be back).

You didn't need to buy it new from a dealership to get the package.

I bought mine used from a 3rd party dealership (non-VW specific), and still got the goodwill package.

I bought it used with 80,000 miles on it. Second owner.

I'm a big do-it-yourselfer and generally avoid dealerships.

BTW If you haven't changed your serpentine belt lately, do it! Mine broke at 90,000 miles, wrapped itself around the timing sprocket, cause the engine to jump timing and broke 7 valves. Cost me about $3500 for a new head. Apparently it's fairly common.

That would be timing belt, not serpentine belt, I think. (Just in case someone wants to go looking through service records or talk to a service advisor about the job.)

Nope, it actually was the serpentine belt. The serpentine belt shredded, wrapped around the crankshaft and worked its way into the timing cover, caused the timing belt to slip, which, since this is an interference motor, was disastrous for the valves.

Forum threads:

https://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=424956

https://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=407745

There is a design flaw that allows a shredded serpentine belt to work it's way past the timing cover and wreak havok. When I took apart the engine, the timing belt was in-tact.

There is now available a guard that you place behind the main crankshaft pulley to stop this from happening but I can't find it right this second.

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