Report: Calif. Finds More Emission Cheating Software in Audi Vehicles

The California Air Resources Board has identified suspicious software in an Audi vehicle that lowered its carbon dioxide emissions during regulatory tests but allowed higher levels under on-road conditions, Bild am Sonntag reported on Sunday.

The software is different from the cheater software Audi admits using in V-6 diesels to  reduce nitrogen oxide emissions during certification tests.

The Volkswagen Group unit also used the software in some of its European gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles equipped with automatic transmissions, according to the German newspaper. Its report says the system activates a more fuel-efficient gear-shifting pattern if it determines the steering wheel is not turned more than 15°, as would be the case during emission testing.

Bild says Audi stopped using the software in May, just before CARB discovered it in an older Audi model. The carmaker has suspended several engineers as a result of the issue, according to the report. Audi has declined to comment, citing its continuing negotiations with U.S regulators over a resolution to its NOx emission cheating.