Alleged Volkswagen Passat emissions fix problems have caused a proposed class-action lawsuit that alleges 2-liter diesel emissions modifications made as part of VW's settlement claims program can cause vehicles more problems than they had before repairs were performed.
Plaintiffs Allen and Jennifer Pickard say they purchased a 2013 Volkswagen Passat in February 2016, then bought a 2012 Passat in April 2016.
As part of Volkswagen's $10 billion settlement with 2-liter diesel customers, the plaintiffs received two offers in December 2016, one offer for each of their VW vehicles. Each offer, titled "2.0-Liter Settlement Claims Program," said the plaintiffs could choose a buyback offer with compensation, or the "emissions modification offer" with compensation.
The plaintiffs chose to keep both Passats, have them repaired under the emissions modification offers and receive estimated compensation of $4,880 for one vehicle, and $4,490 for the other Passat.
According to court documents, both Passats have been in the custody of an authorized Volkswagen mechanic for months because the emissions repairs caused both cars to not start.
The plaintiffs claim numerous attempts made by VW technicians have failed to fix the no-start problems, so the owners tried to trade in one of the Passats. The lawsuit alleges they were told a trade wasn't possible because the car was worth $0 since it couldn't be started.
The plaintiffs say they are stuck because the alleged emissions fix they were promised has done nothing but cause their Passats to lose value, down to zero. In addition, the owners have allegedly lost the use of both cars for months all because they chose to skip the buyback offers and have their emissions systems "fixed."
The VW Passat emissions fix lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court of South Dakota - Allen and Jennifer Pickard, et al., v. Volkswagen Group of America Inc.
The plaintiffs are represented by Cadwell Sanford Deibert & Garry, LLP.
The Passat plaintiffs aren't the only Volkswagen customers who believe the emissions "fix" caused problems that weren't there before the repairs.
One such customer is the owner of a 2010 VW Jetta Sportwagen who said they were very happy with the diesel vehicle until they received word it was equipped with illegal emissions software. According to the owners, they thought choosing the emissions fix over the buyback offer was the right choice because a simple software update was all that was needed.
They now regret that decision.
"Just after the Emissions "fix" the car started sputtering when in idle speed so we took it to the dealership but were told they did not see any error codes and could not duplicate the problem so we kept driving the car but this issue did not go away and is still a constant aggravation to us as the entire car shakes when this occurs. After 8.5 years without any issues to have these problems AFTER they "fix" the software seems awfully coincidental."
Then there are the complaints from Volkswagen diesel customers in the UK who didn't get the same deals offered to U.S. customers. By the time December 2017 rolled onto the calendar, VW had received about 17,000 complaints from UK customers whose vehicles were allegedly worse following the emissions fix.
Customers complain the emissions repairs allegedly caused lower fuel mileage, busted exhaust gas valves and clogged diesel particulate filters.