Audi’s Deadline For Removing All Illegal Diesel Software Is This Month

Audi is nearly out of time regarding the removal of illegal software from diesel vehicles, as per the deadline imposed by Germany’s KBA motor vehicle authority.

The KBA warned Audi that it would face penalties if the automaker fails to remove the software before September 26, as reported by Bild am Sonntag. According to Autonews Europe, a KBA spokesman was approached yet did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In order for Audi to fully comply with the KBA, they will have to remove software from thousands of diesel vehicles with V6 and V8 TDI diesel engines – or pay no less than 25,000 euros ($27,500) for each car still equipped with an illegal device.

Last year, Germany’s transport ministry said that the KBA detected illegal emissions software in 127,000 Audi models equipped with new Euro 6 diesel engines, where 77,600 of those cars were in Germany. Meanwhile, an Audi spokesman said that the automaker was inching closer to upgrading the remaining 8% of cars in need and that the task would be completed by the KBA deadline – whether they succeed or not, remains to be seen.

Also read: New 2020 Audi S6 Avant Will Make You Yearn For A Big, Diesel Wagon

Back in 2016, it was reported by Reuters that Audi were the ones who created these so-called defeat devices in 1999, many years before its parent company Volkswagen used them to cheat during diesel emissions tests. The decision to install the software allegedly came six years later, after VW engineers failed to bring nitrogen oxide emissions below legal thresholds.