Larger VW diesels had emissions cheat devices going back to 2009

Volkswagen's use of emissions cheating devices on its larger 3.0 liter diesel engine cars extends back five years earlier than originally reported, US regulators said Friday.

The Environmental Protection Agency said that officials from the Volkswagen group informed it that technology the EPA says is an illegal "defeat device" was on all model years for the larger engines since 2009, rather than just the 2014-2016 models, as originally reported.

That matches the timeline for use of the devices, software that masks high levels of poison gas emissions during tests, on the smaller 2.0 liter Volkswagen engines -- the original source of the burgeoning scandal that has overwhelmed the German auto giant.

The new report expanded the number of VW, Audi and Porsche 3.0 liter luxury cars involved in the problem to about 85,000 in the United States, compared to 10,000 in original estimates.

While Volkswagen has admitted that the illegal devices were on its smaller cars, it has not conceded that they are on the larger engines, despite the EPA's allegations.

The US agency said in a statement that in a meeting yesterday, "VW and Audi officials told EPA that the issues EPA identified in the November 2nd NOV (notice of violation) extend to all 3.0 liter diesel engines from model years 2009 through 2016."

EPA said it and the California state environmental agency, also involved in the probe, would further investigate.