New Emissions Cheating Device Found On Audis With Automatic Transmissions

The Dieselgate is far from over but, apparently, the VW Group's illegal practices when it comes to emissions certification were not confined to diesel-powered models.

According to today's edition of German newspaper Bild am Sonntag, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) discovered a similar software in an automatic transmission Audi last summer.

The device, which was not the same as the one behind last year's diesel emissions scandal, was used in diesel and gasoline-powered cars not just in the US but Europe, too, fitted with a certain type of automatic transmission.

If the steering wheel did not turn, it 'detected' laboratory testing conditions and activated and a gear shifting program that produces less carbon dioxide. If, however, the steering wheel was turned by more than 15 degrees, it reverted the change pattern back to normal.

The automaker reportedly stopped using the software in May 2016, just before CARB discovered the infected car, and many engineers related to the issue have since been suspended.

When contacted by the publication, neither CARB nor Audi officials were available for comment.