Earlier this month VW announced a voluntary recall in India for cars equipped with the EA 189 diesel engine and the car maker will begin intimating owners from the first quarter of 2016.
VW has revealed that the 1.5-litre and 1.6-litre engines will now get a ‘flow transformer’ in addition to the software update. A flow transformer is basically a mesh grill that will be fitted in front of the air mass sensor and we firmly believe that it will restrict the amount of air that flows to the engine. To compensate for reduced air inflow, the software update will most likely be carried out to reduce the amount of fuel. This will even out the air-fuel mixture before it hits the cylinder.
So what’s in it for you as an owner of any of the 1.5-litre and 1.6-litre recalled cars? As a rule of thumb, the reduced fuel input can only translate to reduced power and we are convinced that there will be a drop in engine response and fuel efficiency. But this can only be quantified after the job is carried out on the affected cars.
VW will eventually get their act together and have its questioned engines in line with the Euro4 standards but some owners might have to put up with the new characteristics of their engine.
