Status: 23.09.2021 11:52 a.m.
Protection of the vehicle – this is VW’s argument in favor of a device that switches off exhaust gas cleaning beyond certain temperatures. An opinion by the European Court of Justice’s Advocate General calls this thermal window illegal.
Volkswagen is threatened with defeat at the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in the legal dispute over allegedly breach of contract defeat devices. In an opinion, the European Court of Justice’s advocate general classified the thermal windows used at Porsche and VW as illegal. Exhaust systems in which the exhaust gas cleaning process is stopped outside a specified temperature range and above a certain altitude violate European laws, said Advocate General Athanasios Rantos in his closing argument.
VW had argued that these systems were used to protect the vehicle. According to the ECJ, the software allowed higher nitrogen oxide emissions if it was colder than 15 or warmer than 33 degrees Celsius or the car was driven at an altitude of more than 1000 meters.
“Thermal window for driving conditions not representative”
Specifically, it concerns three cases before Austrian courts, in which cars were equipped with software that allows more nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions in a certain thermal window.
Rantos concludes that these thermal windows represented a shutdown device. The systems are not representative of the actual driving conditions, since in Austria and Germany as well as other EU countries it has been on average well below 15 degrees Celsius in recent years and cars are often driven at altitudes of more than 1000 meters. According to the Advocate General, the thermal window does not fall under the exception provided for equipment intended to protect the engine from damage. The facility is particularly gentle on attachments, the functioning of which does not affect the protection of the engine.
The judges at the ECJ often follow the line of argument of the Advocate General, but are not bound by it. A judgment can be expected in the coming months.
Judgment on illegal software
In December 2020, five years after the diesel scandal at Volkswagen, the judges had already issued a groundbreaking verdict on the use of emissions software in diesel cars. They decided that the general ban on software for manipulating exhaust emissions would be undermined if it were possible through exceptional regulations to protect the engine from dirt and wear.
The manufacturers exploited loopholes in EU law by reducing or completely switching off the exhaust gas cleaning of diesel engines at cool temperatures. Almost all car manufacturers use thermal windows and argue for it with engine protection.