As of: February 22, 2024, 9:08 a.m
By: Lisa Mayerhofer
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The Department of Motor Vehicles has discovered an inadmissible shutdown device for emissions control in older BMW diesel cars.
(Archive image) © Robert Michael/dpa
The emissions regulations have become stricter.
Now the Department of Motor Vehicles has discovered an inadmissible shutdown device for exhaust gas purification in older BMW diesel cars.
The car manufacturer wants to cooperate.
Frankfurt – So now: The Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) has discovered inadmissible exhaust gas purification switch-off devices in BMW diesel models.
In Germany, around 33,000 cars are affected by the X3 SUV model, the Flensburg authority said in a statement on its website.
According to estimates, there could be 100,000 to 150,000 cars in Europe, a BMW spokesman said on Wednesday.
Exhaust gas manipulation of BMW diesel: hundreds of thousands of cars affected in Europe
However, BMW does not know how many of the cars are still on the roads, and so far there has only been an official decision in Germany.
However, the Munich car manufacturer wants to cooperate and has developed suggestions for hardware and software updates, according to the KBA.
The estimated 100,000 to 150,000 vehicles built between 2010 and 2014 across Europe will probably be updated from June 2024.
According to the KBA, there is a reduction in exhaust gas recirculation in vehicles when the air conditioning is switched on.
The KBA also announced that the reduction also applies to outside temperatures that are so far within the normal operating range that the rulings of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) indicate that this is inadmissible.
The vehicles thus impermissibly reduced the effectiveness of their pollutant reduction against nitrogen oxides.
In the wake of the VW diesel scandal, car manufacturers had long argued that limiting exhaust gas purification to a certain so-called thermal window was necessary to protect the engine.
Otherwise it could be damaged.
However, the ECJ recently tightened the interpretation of the emissions regulations in several decisions.
According to the KBA decision: BMW is examining options for objection
BMW was unable to provide any information about the costs.
It has not yet been decided how extensive possible updates will be.
The company also reserved the right to examine an objection to the KBA’s decision.
The group is of the opinion that the engine control system used for exhaust gas purification complies with legal requirements.
“Nevertheless, the company recognizes a potential problem with the durability of individual components of the exhaust gas purification system in the hardware of the vehicle model in question,” it said.
As a result of the ECJ decisions, the requirements for diesel vehicles are being re-discussed.
“A benchmark is applied retroactively to technologies that are up to 15 years old.”
With material from dpa and Reuters