Das Thermofenster: Unzulässige Abschalteinrichtung im Wohnmobil

Volkswagen must take back T5

In a case we conducted, the Cologne Regional Court ordered Volkswagen AG to pay damages: The plaintiff can look forward to EUR 47,991.64 and return the motorhome equipped with the fraudulent EA189 engine to the Volkswagen Group (LG Cologne of November 19, 2020, case number 24 O 167/20).

The plaintiff had bought the Volkswagen T5 California 2.0l TDI of the Euro 5 emissions class in March 2015. In January 2020, the KBA published a recall for this model.

The vehicle indisputably has a thermal window, said the judges. The defendant Volkswagen AG did not contradict the claim that the thermal window leads to a shutdown or significant reduction of exhaust gas recirculation. In general, VW's statements seemed evasive and not very specific.

The thermal window in its design is not permitted

The Volkswagen AG stated hesitantly that exhaust gas recirculation only takes place depending on the ambient air temperature in a temperature range of about 3 degrees Celsius to over 35 degrees Celsius. However, she did not elaborate on this.

Instead, the car manufacturer resorted to general statements about the function and necessity of the thermal window. The court therefore found that even in this temperature range, the exhaust gas recirculation required to comply with the pollutant values was not carried out to its full extent.

The thermal window is not permitted in its specific form. The shutdown device is also not designed to protect the engine. The European standard clearly aims to accept immediate risks that affect the reliability of the engine and pose a danger when driving the vehicle as a reason for deviating from the standard. However, this does not apply if you want to prevent wear or contamination of the engine.

Otherwise the exception would become the rule.