Should I avoid Volkswagen Group cars?

Good morning,

I've been thinking about buying a second hand Volkswagen Passat (2011 to 2013), but I've been reading bad things online about the NOx fixes causing terrible problems with performance drops and fuel economy deteriorating. What do you know about these issues? (yes I know the company line is that there is no drop in performance or fuel economy, but it will say that - no reason to believe a company that would do such things as intentionally cheat on the emissions tests in the first place).

Should I avoid cars that require the NOx fixes?

Thanks,

Steve

Steve Baker (Wicklow)

May 2017 Filed under: recall

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Expert answer

Hi Steve,

Generally speaking, no you shouldn’t avoid, but of course it’s not that simple. You’re quite right, Volkswagen does claim, and presumably would claim, that its updates do nothing to alter engine performance. There is some back up to this claim, though, as the fixes had to be approved and signed off on by the German federal transport authority, which at least gives some independent oversight to the process.

Now, there have been some reports in the press about issues with the updates, such as higher CO₂ emissions and a degradation in fuel economy, but those are as yet unverified. I think, in general, you should be fine buying a Volkswagen car that has to be recalled, though, if it turns out there are any issues, they will simply have to be brought back in again and fixed, but fixed better this time.

Neil Briscoe - Complete Car Advisor
@neilmbriscoe