Renault will recall 15,000 cars after detecting high levels of emissions

It seems that the dieselgate that affected the giant Volkswagen just a couple of months ago has not yet seen its final chapters.

Now it is Renault that finds itself involved in a similar case, announcing the recall of 15,000 cars after detecting high levels of polluting emissions.

For the time being, this development is limited to French territory, where French Environment Minister Ségolène Royal announced this Tuesday that the French manufacturer will recall 15,000 cars in the coming days following a series of meetings between the authorities and the brand.

Renault has thus committed to having 15,000 vehicles equipped with diesel engines pass through the company’s workshops to verify, adjust and confirm that the particle and gas filtration systems are working correctly. As is usual with recalls, this process will not cost customers anything.

Nevertheless, Renault stresses at all times that the French manufacturer has not committed any fraud or deception, since no malicious software has ever been detected like the one that came to light in the Volkswagen case. According to Renault, all of the brand’s vehicles are type-approved, which means that under type-approval conditions (laboratory conditions) the models from the diamond-badged firm comply with current anti-pollution regulations.
It is not yet known which models are affected by the recall
This measure comes just days after Renault announced the launch of a plan to reduce pollution for all vehicles of the brand, whether models yet to be launched or vehicles already on the road. Suspicions arose when, a few days ago, agents from the French Competition and Fraud Commission were gathering information at Renault’s offices in Paris, after detecting high pollution levels in the Espace and Captur models.

However, it is currently not known which vehicles will be recalled, as the minister has not provided further details. The operations carried out on the vehicles that go through the workshops will take approximately half an hour, as it is, in principle, a reprogramming of the control software of the catalytic converters.

Initially, it appears that when the ambient temperature is below 17º or the catalytic converter temperature exceeds a certain threshold, the system stops working, causing momentary emissions to exceed the limits. It is also not known whether the affected engines have been fitted to other brands, since some of Renault’s diesel engines are also used in models from Dacia or Mercedes-Benz.

Source | lefigaro.fr