Again? Lawsuit Says Audi Installed Defeat Devices on Gas Engines Too

Step aside, diesel owners – a new class-action lawsuit with up to 100 plaintiffs says Audi also installed "defeat devices" on gas engines to mask CO2 emissions. The lawsuit says illegal CO2 defeat devices were installed on Audi vehicles equipped with 8HP55 “AL 551” and DL 501-7Q “DL 501” transmissions, with the AL 551 transmissions manufactured by ZF Friedrichshafen.

The alleged device is hidden within the transmission control module (TCM) and uses a "warm up" mode that uses significantly less fuel and power, and therefore creates less CO2 emissions. It's perfect for those pesky emissions tests.

Once the driver turns the steering wheel by 15 degrees, the TCM switches to "road calibration" and starts spewin' the C02 and killing fuel economy. The class-action argues this reduces resale value and it a similar setup to the diesel defeat device Audi was caught using.

This covers almost the entire model lineup – S4, S5, A6, S6, A7, S7, A8, S8, Q5, and Q7.