Dealer forcing me to upgrade ECM to fix TDI scandal Canada

I brought my car at the dealer this morning for the 45 000 KM service. I was told I needed to do an ECM update before March or I will not be eligible to be part of the settlement. I refuse to do it before doing some verification.

They also mention a letter or email being sent by VW Canada to owner, but I never received anything about this. I did received a letter about the upcomming settlement a while back, but that is it.

Any true to that?

VW SportWagen 2015 TDI

Thank you,

Dont Do it

Brother,

DO NOT have the fix completed until VW receives and approves your claim settlement.

At least here in the US, the language was very clear in my settlement documents, that VW will NOT pay restitution if your had the fix completed before they approved the settlement agreement. Plus owners have until Sept 2018 to have it done.

Canada may be different. Research it.

I did research it and found nothing. I am just hoping they are going to do it anyway. Anybody from canada receive an email or letter about this in canada?

This is what I found on the VW settlement web site. It does not mention anything about a date limit to do anything or being out of the settlement if I do nothing. The dealer was talking about the first part software fix.:



January 06, 2017
Corporate Statement issued by Volkswagen Group of Canada

On January 6, Volkswagen Group received approval from U.S. regulators, including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), for a two-phase emissions modification for model year 2015 Volkswagen and Audi 2.0L TDI vehicles with Generation 3 engines. Receiving this approval is an important step forward on our path to making things right.

These vehicles require a first part software and second part hardware emissions modification. This modification has been approved for customer vehicles that are on the road.

In keeping with the standard recall practice in Canada, the emissions modification approved by the EPA will be offered at no charge to Canadian customers with eligible vehicles. Customers will be contacted when there are details concerning the availability of the modification and do not need to take any action at this time.

Volkswagen Group continues to work with U.S. regulators to develop approved emissions modifications for other 2.0L and affected 3.0L V6 TDI vehicles as quickly as possible.

If you want your money - check on the claim part.

I can tell you that the fix on 2015's has little to no impact on driveability / MPG etc.

solid said:

I brought my car at the dealer this morning for the 45 000 KM service. I was told I needed to do an ECM update before March or I will not be eligible to be part of the settlement. I refuse to do it before doing some verification.

They also mention a letter or email being sent by VW Canada to owner, but I never received anything about this. I did received a letter about the upcomming settlement a while back, but that is it.

Any true to that?

VW SportWagen 2015 TDI

Thank you,

Click to expand...

There has been no court approved settlement in Canada, nor has VW started any updates in Canada. There is an approved phase 1 fix being applied in the US for 2015 (gen 3) TDIs, but it is only being done once the owner has applied and gone through a whole process to accept an offer.

Could the dealer be talking about an earlier ECM update, that has since been discredited as a deceptive attempt to address EPA concerns before Dieselgate news broke?

In either case, do not allow your dealer to update your ECM. You do not have to have anything done before March to be eligible for the settlement. Once the court approves the settlement (in March) and you have gone through the full process of submitting documents, being approved and accepting their offer (likely not until May earliest) then you will be able to have your car modifed (or bought back) and receive the appropriate benefit.

Update: Someone in the Dieselgate, The Canadian Edition thread (stickie) reports that they just received a letter offering the phase 1 fix for their 2015 TDI. He says the letter states that getting the fix will not affect their claim for modification or buy-back.

But be careful. If you have this fix done after the claim process has started then you will no longer be eligible for the buy back (see paragraph 4.7.4.2.of the agreement)

Regardless, you are not required to get this fix at this time to be eligible for the settlement.

Armby said:

Update: Someone in the Dieselgate, The Canadian Edition thread (stickie) reports that they just received a letter offering the phase 1 fix for their 2015 TDI. He says the letter states that getting the fix will not affect their claim for modification or buy-back.

But be careful. If you have this fix done after the claim process has started then you will no longer be eligible for the buy back (see paragraph 4.7.4.2.of the agreement)

Regardless, you are not required to get this fix at this time to be eligible for the settlement.

Click to expand...

Exactly as I though. The putting pressure act this morning was BS. They even told me they have done 10-12 other customer so far.

Thank you

solid said:

Exactly as I though. The putting pressure act this morning was BS. They even told me they have done 10-12 other customer so far.

Thank you

Click to expand...

sounds like a scam to me? why would getting an 'official fix' from a VW dealer make you ineligible for any VW-Canadian settlement and why would the government of Canada allow something like this to happen?

wouldn't fly 'round these parts, i assure you!

willie on the 'trust but verify' Gulf of Mexico

Someone posted the letter on the FB group, read it.. I don't see the big deal.

Basically if you get it done before everything is approved you can still choose buyback, buyback+trade, or fix.

If you wait till everything is approved you get to choose buyback, buyback+trade, or fix. If you choose fix you are locked in once they do the flash - this makes sense since they will be giving you a portion of the restitution (for stage 1).

All the letter is telling you is that there is no penalty for getting it done early, but getting it done after locks you in to the fix option - which is how it worked before. It's just really poorly worded.

I think it's just a way to get ahead of the rush - plus if you end up trading it in that part is already done for them when they go to resell them.

Maybe I'm interpreting it wrong, but...

That being said, I would wait till after March 4th when coverage kicks back in, just in case

[/QUOTE]
But be careful. If you have this fix done after the claim process has started then you will no longer be eligible for the buy back (see paragraph 4.7.4.2.of the agreement)

Regardless, you are not required to get this fix at this time to be eligible for the settlement.[/QUOTE]

Not entirely true (US claims). If an owner opts for the fix and gets Phase 1 completed; they will received 2/3rd restitution payment. If Phase 2 is completed by Sept 18, 2018, then the remaining 1/3 will be paid.

HOWEVER, if Phase 2 is not completed by Sept 2018 (lack of approved hardware solution), then the owner can sell it back to VW. (Not sure how they will calculate the value then)

For a 2015, you're supposed to get $7000 after having the fix applied. Half for phase 1, and the other half of the money after phase 2.

So, make sure you have something in writing confirming that you're going to get your money.

Mike_04GolfTDI said:

For a 2015, you're supposed to get $7000 after having the fix applied. Half for phase 1, and the other half of the money after phase 2.

So, make sure you have something in writing confirming that you're going to get your money.

Click to expand...

It's 2/3 for the SW flash, and 1/3 for the hardware (at least in the US).

So here's the deal.

If you get the phase 1 repair done before the court approves the settlement, you still have the option to choose a buyback after the settlement is approved.

If you get the phase 1 repair done after the court approves the settlement, you are then locked in to accepting the repair, and cannot change your mind and go for the buyback.

Court approval is expected at the end of March 2017.

So the dealer's advice seems good. Get the phase 1 fix done now so you can try it out before you decide what you want to do. After March, you'll have to pick one option and stick to it.

Thanks to the great warranty they're offering, keeping the car seems like a good option, unless there's some other car you'd prefer to buy.

We got the letter: http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=474395