The Volkswagen Group of America (VW) submitted a recall plan to the California Air Resources Board (ARB) on Friday, responding to the violations described in ARB’s 18 September 2015 letter to VW concerning illegal defeat devices in 2-liter diesel-powered vehicles, model years 2009-2015.
The submission of the plan triggers a review by ARB of up to 20 business days of all elements of the plan. Based on ARB’s review, VW may be required to revise and resubmit all, or specific elements of the recall plan. ARB will also consult with US EPA during this process to develop a national recall plan.
Required elements of a recall plan include, but are not limited to, the projected timeline of the full recall process from initiation to completion (including how owners are located); the content of a company’s communications with them about the recall; and a plan for following up on the progress of the recall campaign. The recall plan must set out the projected time to fix each vehicle.
The remedy proposed in the recall must not only fix the violation in question, it must also address the safety, drivability, vehicle durability and fuel efficiency of the cars involved.
Separately, Volkswagen has won the approval of Germany’s KBA for fixes for more than 90% of the affected cars, including models with 1.6 liter and 2 liter engines. Technical solutions for 1.2 liter vehicles will be presented by the end of the month, VW says.
