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Bosch and Its Employees Warned Volkswagen About Diesel Defeat Devices As Early as 2007

Just like we suspected, the Volkswagen TDI emissions scandal goes much deeper than originally thought. While the EPA and several other organizations from across the world continue to investigate, new information suggests Volkswagen was warned about its problematic systems as early as 2007.
Bosch and Its Employees Warned Volkswagen About Diesel Defeat Devices As Early as 2007 1 photo
Photo: Volkswagen
German magazine Bild am Sonntag cites insider as saying VW's internal investigation found a letter from parts supplier Bosch. Way back in 2007, the company warned against the use of illegal defeat devices but got no reply from VW.

Last week, Bosch also confirmed that its components are found at the center of the TDI scandal, namely the injection system and urea exhaust treatment.

Of course, by admitting this Bosch is trying to wipe its hands clean of the incident. Volkswagen will take the brunt of the responsibility and blame, but we don't think their suppliers are 100% innocent.

The story could send echoes of the Takata airbag scandal that also rocked the automotive industry, causing tens of millions of recalls. Of course, Takata made the faulty airbags, but automakers knew they were causing deaths years before deciding to do anything. If the letter sent in 2007 proves to be true, it means Bosch kept silent for seven years.

According to a separate story from Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, another warning came in 2011 from one of Volkswagen's own engineers. Once again, they chose to ignore it.

About Ulrich Hackenberg and Wolfgang Hatz

As you may have heard, Audi development boss Ulrich Hackenberg and Audi engine boss Wolfgang Hatz are reportedly quitting. Why? Bild am Sonntag tells a very interesting story that starts in 2005. At the time, VW brand chief Wolfgang Bernhard decided he wanted the core TDI brand to become available in America. However, the only way to do that was to install a costly AdBlue system.

Bernhard left the company before it could happen in January 2007, but Martin Winterkorn became the boss of the entire group that year. He reportedly asked Audi development boss Ulrich Hackenberg and Audi engine boss Wolfgang Hatz to move to VW’s Wolfsburg and pursue his TDI dreams.

Don't believe the official statements just yet!

Many local representatives were quick to tell their customers that the TDI scandal only concerns US-market cars or that the EA189 engines are to blame. But something just doesn't add up at the moment.

For example, the Euro 6 engines are not affected, according to Volkswagen. But the 2015 Golf is supposed to have the same EA288 four-cylinder turbodiesel as its European counterpart. So why is the EPA investigating it?

In addition, the much smaller 1.2 TDI and 1.6 TDI are now being probed. The last time we checked, neither of those were available stateside. We don't even know how they're going to fix it. Remember, some models tested were 40 times over the legal limit. 40% would have been something to work with, but when a single Jetta TDI puts out as much NOx as 40 regular cars, serious doubts begin to emerge.
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About the author: Mihnea Radu
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Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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