Volkswagen Vento 1.5 diesel recalled

Volkswagen India will be recalling 3,877 units of the Vento 1.5 TDI due to inconsistent Carbon Monoxide emissions

In light of the international Volkswagen diesel engine scandal, Volkswagen India had earlier stated that it had voluntarily recalled its 1.2 litre, 1.5 litre, 1.6 litre and 2.0 litre engined models to incorporate technical updates for the aforementioned engines as announced by Volkswagen AG for European markets despite all its cars meeting BS IV emissions norms in India.

Now though, Volkswagen has issued a recall for its 1.5 litre engined Vento mid-size sedan. The same engine also powers the Polo, but in the Vento the diesel engine is tuned to develop more power which is rated at 103bhp of max power @ 4,400 rpm and 250Nm of peak torque @ 1,500 rpm in contrast to the Polo diesel’s 89bhp @ 4,200 rpm and 230Nm @ 1,500 rpm.

The recall has been made as the engine has been found to produce inconsistent Carbon Monoxide emissions which sometimes exceeded the threshold limits during the Conformity of Production (COP) tests conducted by the ARAI. In this regard, Volkswagen India has also with temporarily withheld sales of the manual gearbox version of the Vento diesel.

All other Volkswagen diesel models seem to have passed ARAI tests and are deemed roadworthy, this includes the Vento 1.5 diesel with the DSG automatic gearbox as it is only the manual diesel model that has been found to produce inconsistent Carbon Monoxide emissions. VW claims that this problem of inconsistent NOx emissions is not related to its international diesel emissions scandal.

However, the Volkswagen Polo GT TDI that is powered by the same 103bhp spec version of the 1.5 litre diesel engine as in the Vento along with the same five-speed manual gearbox has not been subjected to the recall.

The company has stated that it is currently analyzing the issue and will come up with a technical solution that it will suggest to the ARAI. Once these measures are approved by the appropriate authorities, they will be incorporated in both new and current models of the Vento 1.5 TDI.

VW India will recall 3,877 Vento 1.5 TDI models in relation to the issue.

Also read: Volkswagen India clarifies its position in the emissions scandal