Volvo in hot water over claim of emissions cheating

[volvo s60 2001]

Volvo denied cheating after German environmentalists claimed their investigation showed that Volvo SUVs released up to 12 times the amount of nitrogen oxides allowed in the EU.


The similarities to "dieselgate" in 2015 are striking considering that DUH claims to have discovered an illegal measuring device in the car.
Researchers at the DUH group "discovered, what is in our view, a clearly illegal defeat device when measuring exhaust from a Volvo XC60... in real on-road driving", they said in a statement.

So-called defeat devices manage car engines to allow higher emissions out on the road than under test conditions.

At temperatures between nine and 22 degrees Celsius (48-72 Fahrenheit), the Volvo's diesel motor emitted four times more harmful nitrogen oxides (NOx) than allowed under "Euro 5" standards, DUH said.

That grew even higher, up to almost 12 times, when an external temperature sensor was cooled to between -4C and 0C, the group added.

"Vehicles with such high real emissions cannot be allowed to keep polluting the air in our inner cities," said DUH director Juergen Resch, calling for "hardware refits" with new catalytic convertors to eliminate the NOx.

This marks the first time Volvo has faced accusations of "dieselgate" cheating.

The scandal erupted in 2015 when German giant Volkswagen admitted to installing defeat devices into 11 million diesel cars worldwide, and has since ensnared a string of other car makers.

But the Swedish car maker, owned by China's Geely, was quick to reject allegations of software trickery. Higher emissions in cold temperatures "do not mean an illegal defeat device" is built into a car, a Volvo spokesman told AFP.

Rather, "every internal combustion engine" has a so-called "protection function" that reduces exhaust treatment in cold weather to prevent damage to the motor from condensation and ice formation, he added. "All vehicles" were "licensed according to legal stipulations by the authorities," the spokesman said.

The fallout from the dieselgate saga has so far cost 12-brand behemoth VW over 30 billion euros ($33 billion) and swept it into a massive push towards electric motors. And sales of diesels have tumbled in Germany, as drivers fear being shut out from city centres by court-ordered bans aimed at tackling air pollution.

Nitrogen oxides are estimated to cause thousands of premature deaths in Germany each year. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the gases aggravate asthma and bronchitis symptoms and are linked to cardiovascular and respiratory disease.



AFP/The Local
news@thelocal.se
@thelocalsweden

[jonnyu]

I've seen several independent emission tests being done to a lot of cars including Volvo, BMW, Audi, etc and Volvo has high emissions but not as reflected on this report.
Volvo is in fact one of the car brands that has higher emissions than a few competitors and they never tried to masked this in any way like VW did with the dieselgate scandal.
Today, VW still uses defeat mechanisms to cheat emission controls in brand new models.

[Clan]

Originally Posted by volvo s60 2001

Volvo denied cheating after German environmentalists claimed their investigation showed that Volvo SUVs released up to 12 times the amount of nitrogen oxides allowed in the EU.


The similarities to "dieselgate" in 2015 are striking considering that DUH claims to have discovered an illegal measuring device in the car.
Researchers at the DUH group "discovered, what is in our view, a clearly illegal defeat device when measuring exhaust from a Volvo XC60... in real on-road driving", they said in a statement.

So-called defeat devices manage car engines to allow higher emissions out on the road than under test conditions.

At temperatures between nine and 22 degrees Celsius (48-72 Fahrenheit), the Volvo's diesel motor emitted four times more harmful nitrogen oxides (NOx) than allowed under "Euro 5" standards, DUH said.

That grew even higher, up to almost 12 times, when an external temperature sensor was cooled to between -4C and 0C, the group added.

"Vehicles with such high real emissions cannot be allowed to keep polluting the air in our inner cities," said DUH director Juergen Resch, calling for "hardware refits" with new catalytic convertors to eliminate the NOx.

This marks the first time Volvo has faced accusations of "dieselgate" cheating.

The scandal erupted in 2015 when German giant Volkswagen admitted to installing defeat devices into 11 million diesel cars worldwide, and has since ensnared a string of other car makers.

But the Swedish car maker, owned by China's Geely, was quick to reject allegations of software trickery. Higher emissions in cold temperatures "do not mean an illegal defeat device" is built into a car, a Volvo spokesman told AFP.

Rather, "every internal combustion engine" has a so-called "protection function" that reduces exhaust treatment in cold weather to prevent damage to the motor from condensation and ice formation, he added. "All vehicles" were "licensed according to legal stipulations by the authorities," the spokesman said.

The fallout from the dieselgate saga has so far cost 12-brand behemoth VW over 30 billion euros ($33 billion) and swept it into a massive push towards electric motors. And sales of diesels have tumbled in Germany, as drivers fear being shut out from city centres by court-ordered bans aimed at tackling air pollution.

Nitrogen oxides are estimated to cause thousands of premature deaths in Germany each year. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the gases aggravate asthma and bronchitis symptoms and are linked to cardiovascular and respiratory disease.



AFP/The Local
news@thelocal.se
@thelocalsweden

it's not very scientific is it , maybe the egr cooler was blocked or some other fault ... volvo do not do cheating they pioneer this kind of work ...

[volvo s60 2001]

Originally Posted by Clan

it's not very scientific is it , maybe the egr cooler was blocked or some other fault ... volvo do not do cheating they pioneer this kind of work ...

Well, I posted it just to be seen and what the people think about this.
The funny thing is that they claim this "cheating device" affect only XC60. I assume they haven't tested any other model and make their conclusion only from one tested car.

[PaulBendall]

Interesting and thanks for sharing. I certainly hope this doesn't turn out to be true (I would have expected something before now if it were). The reason I came to Volvo was because of dieselgate in the VAG group. I'd previously had a number of Audi and VW diesels based on the MPG and claimed emissions.

Paul

[Daveh1000]

Originally Posted by PaulBendall

Interesting and thanks for sharing. I certainly hope this doesn't turn out to be true (I would have expected something before now if it were). The reason I came to Volvo was because of dieselgate in the VAG group. I'd previously had a number of Audi and VW diesels based on the MPG and claimed emissions.

Paul

Myself as well moved not just because of dieselgate but the way VAG handled it after

[VOLVOL0VER]

I don't buy it! This is not true! Volvo isn't VW. Volvo has my faith that this is just an attempt to stain Volvo's reputation. This is outrageous.

[Bendolfc]

Got to love these poorly written articles that tell us nothing.

So what car was it, presumably one pre ad blue so a well known issue for lots of manufacturers. Curious as to why it goes on about E5, is it from 10 years ago?

[deepsix]

I note it with an open mind and take into account that Volvo is one of the few successful brands doing very well year on year especially compared to the German manufacturers of late.
In truth what brand actually acheives it's quoted emission figures?
Cynical or not????

[dchbrown]

They tested a car outside the lab environment and found it was different? Of course it was, and it was much worse when tested in more extreme temperatures? I say click bait/no news.