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Volkswagen Is Being Sued by New Jersey, the State Wants Compensation for Owners

Volkswagen is facing the fourth lawsuit from a US State, as New Jersey has filed a legal action in court against the company.
Volkwagen TDI badge and brand logo 1 photo
Photo: Volkswagen
Volkswagen and its premium branches are accused of perpetrating a massive fraud on consumers and violating state clean air laws. The case against Volkswagen is growing by the day, as the company admitted last year that it installed "defeat devices" on the ECUs of their vehicles fitted with diesel engines so that they could trick emission tests.

Around 580,000 diesel vehicles sold by the Volkswagen Group in the United States of America since 2008 generate up to 40 times higher emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx gas) than the permissible limit.

According to Automotive News, the state of New Jersey also seeks financial compensation for consumers. The other three states that are suing Volkswagen are Texas, New Mexico, and West Virginia. California has its legal battle with Volkswagen through its Air Resources Board, and the Department of Justice also filed a lawsuit against VW.

Since Nitrogen Oxide has been proven to be related to respiratory illness, the German company and its premium subdivisions could receive a severe financial penalty from US courts.

Even if Volkswagen does win some of the lawsuits filed against them, the company could still get a significant sentence in one of the other legal actions started against them.

Over 500 civil lawsuits have been consolidated in California against Volkswagen, and 48 US State Attorneys General are investigating the company.

The worst problem Volkswagen is facing at the moment is getting its proposed fixes approved by government authorities. If the fix suggested by Volkswagen is not approved, the company's sales would significantly be affected, and the fines against the company could rise even further.

After all, some US states want to make Volkswagen pay for every day they breached their Clean Air Act. More days of delay will increase Volkswagen's penalty.

The other issue with Volkswagen's fix for its diesels is that it needs to reduce the emissions of the TDI engines without affecting performance, fuel economy or reliability.

If either of those characteristics is affected by the fix, the company faces class-action lawsuits that could be filed by affected owners upset that the performance of their vehicles will not be the same as promised and advertised.

In some cases, customers bought the diesel models made by Volkswagen and its divisions counting on the fact that the performance and fuel economy figures were better than those of the competition.
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About the author: Sebastian Toma
Sebastian Toma profile photo

Sebastian's love for cars began at a young age. Little did he know that a career would emerge from this passion (and that it would not, sadly, involve being a professional racecar driver). In over fourteen years, he got behind the wheel of several hundred vehicles and in the offices of the most important car publications in his homeland.
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