Skoda Recall - Information & Updates

The 'dieselgate' emissions scandal takes another turn: US buyers get compensation but Aussie buyers still left waiting.

While 299,000 vehicles have been recalled around the world, it affects only 7181 Volkswagens and 85 Skodas in Australia.The diesel vehicles affected are VW Golf, Jetta, Passat, Tiguan and Transporter, and Skoda Octavia and Superb built between 2009 and 2011.VW Group Australia spokesman Karl Gehling says there have been no incidents of diesel leaks reported here."We are proactively contacting owners of vehicles covered by this recall and directing them to take their vehicle to the nearest dealer for the affected parts to be replaced," he says.The fault occurs at certain engine revs where there is excessive vibration causing a crash in the injector line. This can lead to a fuel leak and although diesel fuel is less flammable than petrol, there is still an increased risk of fire in the engine bay.The company has not issued a safety recall in Australia since 2007.

Australian customers are still yet to be contacted by Volkswagen, Audi and Skoda three weeks after the dodgy diesel scandal broke.It could take up to a year for more than 90,000 Volkswagen, Audi and Skoda diesel cars in Australia to be upgraded with software or expensive mechanical changes to ensure they don’t cheat emissions tests.Volkswagen in Germany says it is close to finalising the fix for 11 million cars sold globally from 2008 to 2015, but it is still too early to determine how performance and fuel economy will be affected on each model.A News Corp Australia investigation has found that while the troubled German car maker has finally published a list of the models affected locally, customers are yet to receive any formal notification and dealers say they only have the same information released to media.Furthermore, emissions targets set for state and federal government fleets over the past six years are likely to have been breached because certain Volkswagen diesel cars bought by government agencies or staff emit more pollution than claimed.“Government fleets around Australia will have purchased some of these vehicles as part of the push to lower the overall emissions of their fleets,” a senior government fleet manager told News Corp Australia on condition of anonymity.“The cars would have been selected based on the information on the (Green Vehicle Guide rating labels) and all the procurement decisions would have been made in good faith,” said the government fleet manager.The source said there would likely be no ramifications but, he added, “Volkswagen’s deliberate actions have let the states down and possibly caused them to fail to reduce vehicle emissions”.awyers weigh in on VW diesel scandal

US owners of VW cars with diesel engines that can cheat emissions tests have already been given $500, but local owners still have no compensation.

Huge recall program set to start as soon as this month, to be completed by December 2016.

How do you think VW is handling the diesel recall? Tell us in the comments section below.

It has taken three long weeks but a recall has been formally issued for 91,000 cars with dodgy diesels.

Cars from Audi and Skoda, the sister brands to Volkswagen, are poised to be added to the recall of almost 26,000 Volkswagen vehicles in Australia announced overnight.Audi is expected to announce this afternoon that 6267 cars will be recalled, comprising A1 and A3 models powered by 1.4-litre and 1.8-litre engines with seven-speed DSG automatic gearboxes, built between July 2008 to July 2011. Concerned owners can contact Audi on the customer service number: 1800 502 834. A batch of about 1746 Skoda vehicles made from 2009 to 2011 with DSG gearboxes will likely be added to the recall of Volkswagen cars. An official announcement from Skoda is due this afternoon. With a further 2800 diesel cars being inspected for injector faults, the latest fix brings the tally of recalled Volkswagen Group vehicles to nearly 37,000 in Australia.Volkswagen had been criticised by the peak consumer body in Australia, the ACCC, and the Australian Automobile Association for being too slow to react to customer concerns over a wide range of mechanical defects. After recalls in North America and China for unrelated issues with DSG gearboxes, Volkswagen finally issued a recall in Australia after a fortnight of unprecedented pressure from disgruntled customers.The vehicles affected were built between June 2008 and September 2011 and include the Golf hatchback, the Jetta sedan, the Polo hatchback, the Passat sedan and wagon and the Caddy van. The automatic DSG gearbox will be inspected and if needed repaired on that batch of vehicles.The recall follows years of customer complaints that reached new levels in the past two weeks after the Victorian coroner’s inquest into the 2011 death of a Volkswagen driver was announced -- even though the findings were yet to be handed down and the car in that incident was not deemed to have suffered a mechanical fault.Complaints highlighted in the past fortnight included engines that conked out, high oil use, and gearbox reliability issues. Several customers reported having their engines and/or gearboxes replaced while others complained about the  $5000 to $10,000 expense of fixing these parts once the warranty had expired.However Volkswagen is still yet to issue an official recall for vehicles that some customers claim decelerate suddenly. The company says anyone experiencing that fault or any others to contact their local Volkswagen dealer.  Volkswagen Australia has set up a dedicated customer service line to answer customer queries -- 1800 504 076.