Yesterday, the Institute of Mobility and Transport (IMT), warned of the obligation of Volkswagen Group model owners affected by the software that changed the engine parameters, to repair their cars, otherwise they will be in an "irregular situation" and will leave of circulating power. More details here.
Today, DECO reveals that the owners of VW Group cars covered by the recall are dissatisfied with the changes made. The conclusions come from a study carried out by Portuguese, Spanish, Belgian and Italian consumer protection associations, involving a universe of 10,500 owners.
Bruno Santos, from DECO, in statements to Rádio Renascença, reveals that "there is a very large margin of dissatisfied owners because they saw their car deteriorate after this mandatory intervention".
More consumption, noise and less power
Complaints from some of the owners refer to increased consumption, loss of power and more engine noise after the repair operation. And despite the Volkswagen Group having committed to correcting the problem free of charge, the study also states that Portuguese owners end up spending, on average, 957 euros in arrangements consequences after the initial intervention.
The figures released reveal that 55% of respondents complain of increased consumption, 52% of lack of power and 37% of increased engine noise. About 13% of respondents, considering the state of the car after the intervention, ended up reverting their cars to the original software.
“It is time to move forward in the area of politics”, says Bruno Santos, with DECO having already got in touch with the Ministry of Economy, to cancel the mandatory intervention in the affected cars.
Bruno Santos also refers that "it is time for European governments to get involved and for the European Union to also give a signal", arguing that Portuguese and European consumers should have treatment equivalent to that of American consumers where, among the compensation measures, in addition to repair, it was possible to take back cars or terminate leasing contracts.