Angry Canadian Volkswagen owners want settlement over high-polluting vehicles

Canadian Volkswagen owners are upset and frustrated, hoping the company will make good on its promise to compensate them for emission-cheating vehicles with a settlement similar to the one reached earlier this summer with U.S. customers.

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U.S. owners of roughly half a million TDI diesel vehicles that were made between 2009 and 2014 learned in late June that Volkswagen will either buy back their cars at "fair value," according to U.S. deputy attorney general Sally Yates, or will have the option of having them fixed. Car owners may also receive between $5,000 US and $10,000 US each in additional compensation.

The deal, which includes a $2.7 billion US fine, is worth about $14.7 billion US. The settlement must still be approved in federal court.

After the U.S. settlement was reached, Volkswagen Canada issued a statement to say that the deal would factor into similar negotiations north of the border, but noted that "settlement details coming out of the U.S. court proceeding may not apply to Canada."

The statement said, "Our hope is to provide remedies to Canadians on pace with U.S. customers."

At the time, the company said it expected to have news for Canadian drivers of two-litre TDI vehicles by July 29.

But earlier this week, a spokesman for the company confirmed that Volkswagen Canada filed an update in Ontario Superior Court to say that "discussions are ongoing," and as they continue it will abide by a court order not to divulge information about the talks.

"It remains our primary goal to reach terms that treat our valued Canadian customers fairly," Thomas Tetzlaff told CBC News in an email on Wednesday. "We will share more information as soon as we're able."

Slow progress angers owners

That response incensed Canadian customers, who were hoping for news of a deal last week.

"We heard the [U.S.] court ruling, they are going to buy them out, and then you go to the VW Canada website and they say 'we are continuing talks and what happens in the States isn't necessarily going to happen in Canada,'" Vince Lamanna told CBC News Friday.

"It's just nonsense."

Tetzlaff declined CBC's request for an interview, but said Friday that court dates are scheduled for Oct. 18 and Dec. 19 and 20. 

"The parties are aiming to report on the 2.0L TDI issues at this time," Tetzlaff said Friday in an email. "In the event that a settlement agreement in Canada is reached earlier, the parties will advise the court and request an earlier appearance."

'This is absolutely horrible'

Canadian customers were shocked when they heard that vehicles were installed with what are known as "defeat devices" that allow them to pass emissions tests but then spew up to 40 times the allowable level of pollutants in actual road use.

Lamanna has driven diesels for the better part of 30 years, and always looked forward to new models coming to the market. He bought his Jetta in November 2013 and learned of the defeat devices through media reports in September 2015.

"I like the way the car drives, but from an environmental point of view this is absolutely horrible," Lamanna told CBC. "We're not talking a couple of points that we're polluting, we're not talking 10 per cent versus 12 per cent. It's 40 times."

If he had a compensation cheque in his hands from Volkswagen, he'd head straight to a General Motors dealership and buy a Volt, he said.

For now, the Stoney Creek, Ont., resident has no choice but to drive the car, particularly because his commute is about to get longer when his office moves to Oakville, Ont., more than 36 kilometres away.

"I really wish I was in a financial position to drive my car up [to Volkswagen head office], I would sign the ownership and I would leave it at the front desk with my key," he said.

'I'm very angry'

Resident Graeme Young feels much the same as Lamanna.

Young has been driving Volkswagens since 2004. He bought his current vehicle, a 2014 Passat TDI, in August two years ago

When he first heard about the emissions issue, he figured that the company would "sort it out," and was heartened when he heard of potential buybacks south of the border.

Like other VW owners who have written to CBC and are complaining to online forums, he was disappointed to hear the company's statement from late July.

"I'm very angry with them at this point because they are not treating us fairly," Young told CBC. "We've had no real updates whatsoever."

He's already racked up 91,000 kilometres on his car due to a 150-kilometre round-trip journey from his home in Cobourg, Ont., to work in Belleville, and the mileage piles up every day.

He's concerned about what that might mean for a buyback.

"If there's a potential buyback, there will be an adjustment for mileage," Young said. "So the longer Volkswagen waits, the more mileage we have, the more risk of an expensive repair and the less money we'll get from a buyback."

'I believed in this brand'

Alex MacPherson felt duped when he found out the company had installed a cheater system in vehicles such as his Jetta. 

"I believed in this brand … I bought this car for a reason. It doesn't feel great as someone who is Earth-conscious to know it is putting out more pollutants than necessary," McPherson told CBC. 

He was disappointed that the company has pushed back news of a Canadian deal.

"We can't keep driving these and feel good about ourselves. So something needs to be done and I just want an answer.… It's not about the initial mistake — it's what you do to make things better."

CBC News attempted to speak to general managers of Toronto-area Volkswagen dealers, but those interview requests did not receive immediate responses.

Meanwhile, owners are starting to band together as they wait for news. A Facebook group called Canadian VW TDI Owners popped up this week, and owners are also airing their grievances on a forum called Dieselgate.