I had a meeting with engineers from Wolfsburg on March 1. The fix for the EA189 1.6TDI engines was not approved by the KDA until 13th December 2016, so no 1.6 TDI could be fixed until after then. Basically the fix involves reducing NOx without any effect on power, torque, fuel economy or CO2. But reducing NOx means increasing soot, which has to be burned off in the DPF and requires additional fuel. To do this without affecting power, torque, fuel economy or CO2 the software changes the injection pattern, so fuel is now pre-injected, followed by a main injection, followed by a 2nd main injection. Obviously, for this to work, the injectors have to be in tip top condition and the EGR valve stem must not be won. Problems have arisen when injectors were old, dirty or worn and where the EGR valve stem was worn. But, out of 480,000 fixes applied so far, there have only been 3600 complaints and out of them 60 per cent were noise related and 35 per cent were complaints about poorer fuel economy and EGR problems. Only 150 cases of problems after the fix remain outstanding. £62 is buttons for this work. Pay up and don't complain. But scream very loudly indeed if it doesn't work.

I thought EGR replacement up to around 50,000 miles should be FoC up to the point when I had the meeting with the Volkswagen engineers and they explained what they are doing. It remains true that EGRs on EA189 1.6 TDI seem to have a remarkably short life compared to EGRs on other engines. All the figures mentioned are whole of Europe, not merely UK. The total fixes required in Europe are about 11,000,000 worldwide, 8,500,000 in Europe and 800,000 in the USA.