Photo: Porsche
Porsche is investigated by the KBA, Germany’s motor transport authority, regarding suspicions of software used to deceive emissions tests.
While the German sports car brand has not been accused of cheating per se, the KBA is reportedly attempting to discover if the engine control units of the cars made by the marque are operating differently on the dynamometer than on the road.
Wirtschaftswoche, a German newspaper, has noted that the country’s transport authority is investigating if the steering wheel position sensor is being used to help the car figure out if it is tested on a rolling road.
Government officials have not responded to the requests made by the media regarding comments on the matter, but we hope to learn more once the investigation is finished.
Porsche’s officials responded to the demand for comment submitted by Automotive News through an e-mail, which wrote that they can confirm that not a single model monitors steering movements to detect whether the vehicle is on a test bed or not.
Volkswagen’s “defeat device” operated like the one described above, and it was camouflaged within the ECU under the name of an “acoustic function.”
In the case of the cheat employed by the core brand of the Volkswagen Group, it helped the car’s engine figure out if it was being tested on a rolling road by monitoring if the steering is used at all, and if the ESP system is in the correct mode for dyno tests.
As you can imagine, Porsche’s V6 TDI engines were discovered to have a defeat device courtesy of their group partners, but other engines made by the Stuttgart carmakere did not have any issues.
It is unclear if the German transport authority is still focused on investigating older model V6 and V8 TDI units, or if it is analyzing any new engines from Porsche.
Wirtschaftswoche, a German newspaper, has noted that the country’s transport authority is investigating if the steering wheel position sensor is being used to help the car figure out if it is tested on a rolling road.
Government officials have not responded to the requests made by the media regarding comments on the matter, but we hope to learn more once the investigation is finished.
Porsche’s officials responded to the demand for comment submitted by Automotive News through an e-mail, which wrote that they can confirm that not a single model monitors steering movements to detect whether the vehicle is on a test bed or not.
Volkswagen’s “defeat device” operated like the one described above, and it was camouflaged within the ECU under the name of an “acoustic function.”
In the case of the cheat employed by the core brand of the Volkswagen Group, it helped the car’s engine figure out if it was being tested on a rolling road by monitoring if the steering is used at all, and if the ESP system is in the correct mode for dyno tests.
As you can imagine, Porsche’s V6 TDI engines were discovered to have a defeat device courtesy of their group partners, but other engines made by the Stuttgart carmakere did not have any issues.
It is unclear if the German transport authority is still focused on investigating older model V6 and V8 TDI units, or if it is analyzing any new engines from Porsche.
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