That's precisely the problem: the software is able to detect when a test is going on, cuts power and reduces the emissions to acceptable levels. When the test is not going on, the car will run with the advertised horsepower, but the associated emissions will be above what's allowed by the test.dans79 wrote:huh?Tim.Wright wrote:I think you will find that adding a defeat device in the code is breaking the law in a big way.
I don't do emissions tests, but the one time I saw them being done, the actual emissions coming out of the tail pipe where being tested, not data from the ecu. I find it damn hard to believe the ecu can tell when its emissions are being tested.
It would be actually very simple to design an algorithm for a standarized test since it is done through specific actions in a very specific procedure. The defeat device would inmediately activate when the ECU measured when the gears, revs, etc. would go through that very precise procedure. I think I'm correct to assume these tests are done in a garage and not on the open road; the latter would inmediately solve the problem.
What I don't know is if the EPA does not monitor ECU data at the same time. On the hand I want to say it's obvious they haven't done that, on the other hand it would be too appaling they leave such a weakness open in very tightly controlled test. Either they aren't reading the ECU data, or the data gets transferred around a secondary ECU.
