Opel becomes more and more entangled in Dieselgate - Recall of over 400,000 vehicles worldwide due to illegal defeat devices.
It had already been clear for several years that Opel was also involved in Dieselgate and had sold vehicles that emitted many times more exhaust gases due to illegal defeat devices and thus no longer complied with legal requirements.
As early as 2016, a television documentary revealed evidence of the use of a defeat device (so-called thermal window). A recall by the German Federal Motor Transport Authority, which is responsible for the vehicles, did not initially take place. Opel considered the thermal window to be legal. Instead, they offered customers so-called "voluntary" software updates.
Subsequently, however, three more defeat devices were found by the “Deutsche Umwelthilfe” (an environmental NGO) after various tests. A mandatory recall by the Federal Motor Transport Authority, by contrast, did not take place until 2018, shortly after Opel's business premises were searched by the public prosecutor's office. The vehicle types recalled were the Opel Insignia, Cascada and Zafira from the 2013 - 2016 model years.
Now, however, Opel's involvement in Dieselgate has once again increased significantly. On February 17, 2022, there was once again a mandatory recall by the Federal Motor Transport Authority. Affected are more than 400,000 vehicles worldwide of the models Insignia, Corsa and Astra from the years of manufacture 2013 - 2018, in which 1.3- and 1.6-liter engines are installed. Opel has announced that it will take action against the official recall but has already failed in an interim legal protection procedure in the second instance (OVG Schleswig Az. 5 MMB 3/19), so it can be assumed that the recalls will continue.
Consumers throughout Europe are now likely to receive mail from their responsible Federal Motor Vehicle Offices in the following days, ordering mandatory recalls. Affected vehicles are likely to lose significant value as a result. In addition, anyone who does not have the ordered software updates installed on their vehicle risks having their vehicle immobilized.
We have already explained here that the software updates themselves usually contain illegal defeat devices and also have an impact on the service life of the vehicle. We therefore recommend that purchasers of the affected vehicles seek legal advice in this regard.