Volkswagen 3.0 TDI Settlement: Payouts, Repair, and Bosch Funds

The Volkswagen 3.0-liter TDI settlement, given final approval by U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer on May 17, 2017, required Volkswagen, Audi, and Porsche to buy back or repair roughly 83,000 diesel SUVs and sedans equipped with emissions-cheating software, and to pay cash restitution to owners and lessees. What each person received depended on the model year: 2009–2012 “Generation One” vehicles were eligible for a buyback, trade-in, or reduced-emissions fix, while 2013–2016 “Generation Two” vehicles were pointed toward a free approved repair plus a cash payment, with buyback available only if regulators failed to clear a fix in time.¹

Which Vehicles Were Covered

The settlement split affected vehicles into two generations because regulators concluded Generation One cars could not practically be brought back to their original certified emissions standards, while Generation Two cars were expected to be fixable.²

Generation One (2009–2012):

Volkswagen Touareg (2009–2012)
Audi Q7 (2009–2012)

Generation Two (2013–2016):

Volkswagen Touareg (2013–2016)
Audi Q7 (2013–2015)
Audi A6 (2014–2016)
Audi A7 (2014–2016)
Audi A8 and A8L (2014–2016)
Audi Q5 (2014–2016)
Porsche Cayenne (2013–2016)

What Generation One Owners and Lessees Received

Owners of 2009–2012 Touaregs and Q7s had three primary choices: sell the vehicle back to Volkswagen, trade it in toward a new vehicle, or accept a reduced emissions modification that would bring the car into compliance with less stringent standards than its original certification.¹

Under the buyback, Volkswagen paid the vehicle’s September 2015 NADA Clean Trade-In value plus a restitution payment. The restitution formula started at $5,155, added the difference between the vehicle’s September 2015 Clean Retail and Clean Trade values, and included applicable taxes, with a floor of $6,000. Any auto-loan balance exceeding the buyback amount was forgiven.¹ In practice, total buyback payments ran from $24,755 to $57,157, with cash on top of the vehicle value ranging from $7,755 to $13,880.⁴

Lessees could end their leases early at no cost and receive a restitution payment calculated at roughly half the owner formula, with a minimum of $3,000.¹ Owners who kept their cars and took the reduced emissions modification instead of a buyback received the free repair, cash compensation, and an extended emissions warranty.⁵

What Generation Two Owners and Lessees Received

For 2013–2016 vehicles, the settlement’s preferred outcome was a free emissions-compliant repair, not a buyback. Owners and lessees who agreed to the repair received a cash payment of at least $7,500, and could collect up to half of that payment shortly after final approval, with the remainder paid when the repair was completed.⁶ Depending on the specific model, cash payments ranged from $7,039 to $16,114.⁴

The buyback door stayed open on one condition. If regulators did not approve a repair by the applicable deadline, Generation Two owners gained access to the same buyback and trade-in options as Generation One, with total buyback values running from $43,153 to $99,862 per vehicle.⁷ The settlement also required Volkswagen to pay an additional $500 per vehicle for every 30-day extension of a repair deadline, and another $500 per vehicle if the approved repair reduced mileage, torque, or horsepower.⁴

While waiting for a repair, Generation Two owners were entitled to free oil changes and AdBlue (diesel exhaust fluid) refills, plus a loaner vehicle for any repair appointment lasting more than three hours.⁶

What the Emissions Repair Involved

Regulators approved fixes for every affected generation, though the process ran past the original target dates. For Generation 1.1 vehicles (2009–2010 VW Touareg and Audi Q7), the EPA and California Air Resources Board approved an emissions modification on May 18, 2018, letting those owners keep their vehicles with an approved repair rather than only a buyback.⁸ For Generation 1.2 vehicles (2011–2012 VW Touareg), the modification included new emissions control software, a new Selective Catalytic Reduction system, new cylinder pressure sensors, and, for 2011 models, a new NOx sensor.⁹

Generation Two fixes came in stages. Regulators approved repairs for Generation 2.1 SUVs (2013–2014 VW Touareg, 2013–2014 Porsche Cayenne, and 2013–2015 Audi Q7), requiring both software and hardware updates, and for Generation 2.2 SUVs (2015–2016 VW Touareg and 2015–2016 Porsche Cayenne), which needed only a software update.¹⁰ On December 18, 2017, regulators approved the fix for Generation 2.3 passenger cars — 2014–2016 Audi A6, A7, A8, A8L, and Q5 — which involved removing the defeat device software, installing compliant emissions software, and replacing certain hardware components including a lambda sensor.¹¹

Every approved modification removed the defeat device software and replaced it with software that keeps emissions controls active during normal driving. Vehicles that received the fix qualified for an extended emissions warranty covering the greater of 10 years or 120,000 miles from the original in-service date, or 4 years and 48,000 miles from the date of the modification.⁹

Additional Money From the Bosch Settlement

Robert Bosch GmbH, which supplied the engine management software used in the defeat devices, reached a separate $327.5 million consumer settlement, granted final approval on May 11, 2017. Of that fund, $113.3 million was allocated to 3.0-liter class members. Eligible owners received $1,500 each and lessees $1,200, paid automatically to anyone with an approved claim in the Volkswagen settlement.¹² Bosch did not admit wrongdoing.¹³

Recall Deadlines Built Into the Deal

The consent decree set recall targets that shaped how long buyback and repair offers stayed live. Volkswagen was required to reach an 85 percent recall rate for each generation by set deadlines: November 30, 2019, for Generation One, and May 31, 2020, for Generation Two. Missing those targets triggered additional payments into the environmental mitigation trust — $5.5 million per percentage point of national shortfall for Generation One and $21 million per percentage point for Generation Two, with separate California-specific penalties layered on top.⁵

If you own or leased one of the covered vehicles and did not act during the settlement window, check the official settlement site and the claims administrator’s records before assuming any option is still open; the deadlines above governed Volkswagen’s obligations to the government, and the individual claim window operated on its own schedule set by the class notice.¹

1
VW Court Settlement. 3.0L Settlement Notice
2
U.S. Department of Justice. Volkswagen to Recall 83,000 3.0-Liter Diesel Vehicles and Fund Mitigation Projects to Settle
3
VW Court Settlement. 3.0L Final Approval Consumer Notice
4
Keller Rohrback. Settlement Agreement Filed Volkswagen Audi Porsche 3.0-Liter
5
U.S. EPA. Volkswagen Clean Air Act Civil Settlement
6
Motley Rice. Volkswagen 3L Emissions Settlement
7
Car and Driver. Everything You Need to Know About the VW Diesel-Emissions Scandal
8
U.S. EPA. EPA and CARB Approve Emissions Modification Generation 1.1 SUV 3.0-Liter Subject Vehicles
9
VW Diesel Lookup. Emissions Disclosure 3L Gen 1.2
10
U.S. EPA. EPA and CARB Approve Emissions Fixes Audi Porsche and VW Diesel 3.0-Liter Sport Utility Vehicles
11
U.S. EPA. EPA and CARB Approve Emissions Fix Audi Diesel 3.0-Liter Diesel Passenger Cars
12
Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein. VW Bosch Final Approval Order
13
Autoweek. VW Diesel Owners Will Get Cash Compensation From Bosch Too