The Seat diesel scandal
In the Seat diesel scandal, affected customers can claim damages. How they defend themselves against illegal defeat devices, loss of value and driving bans. The revocation of the car loan is also an option for many consumers in the Seat emissions scandal.
Affected models in the Seat diesel scandal
Unlike the other manufacturers, Seat is very open about the emissions scandal and publishes clear information about the affected models on its homepage. 700.000 Seat vehicles are equipped with the EA 189 engine, which has been proven to have an illegal defeat device. Both 1.2 liters, as well as 1.6 and 2.0 liter engines are affected. Seat itself calls the following models:
This affects all Seat diesel models manufactured around 2010. In contrast, the wicked EA 189 engine is no longer installed in newer Seat models with the Euro 6 emissions standard. But instead the successor EA288, which also has an inadmissible defeat device.
Seat diesel also affected by recalls
All 700.000 Seat diesels, which have the EA 189 engine, are being recalled. Seat writes to the affected owners and asks them to come to the workshop. There, a software update is being applied to remove the illegal defeat device. This illegal defeat device detects when Seat diesel is on the test bench. The engine control system then switches to mode 1, in which particularly few nitrogen oxides are emitted. On the road, however, mode 2 is used, resulting in nitrogen oxide emissions well above the legal limit.
From a technical point of view, however, we do not recommend the software update. More and more drivers are reporting negative experiences they have had with the diesel update, be it VW or Mercedes. It is reported that the fuel and AdBlue consumption increases, the performance drops and the engine soots up. The latter is even logical – after all, manufacturers still claim that the illegal defeat devices are necessary to prevent engine sooting. After these are removed by the software update, it is probably expected that this will have an impact. Even if the manufacturers, including Seat, assure that the software update will not bring any deterioration in terms of fuel consumption, CO2 emissions, engine power, maximum torque and noise emissions.
Only about 100 are affected by the mandatory recall ordered by the Federal Motor Transport Authority.000 Seat diesel affected, but Seat itself speaks yes of 700.000 vehicles to receive the software update. Therefore, if you receive mail from Seat, you should carefully check whether your vehicle is part of the mandatory recall. Because you cannot refuse this one. If you refuse to have the software update installed, you can expect your diesel to be taken out of service. A voluntary measure, on the other hand, you can reject with a clear conscience without fear of acute negative consequences.
If you have received mail from Seat and are unsure how to proceed now, contact us! We offer a free, no-obligation initial consultation to go through the legal options with you and also work out how much you might be entitled to.
EA288 also contains illegal disconnect device
VW's successor engine EA288 also contains an inadmissible defeat device. First courts therefore award damages even for diesel models that have this newer engine. At Seat, the EA288 is used in the Leon III, the Ateca and the Alhambra II, among others.
A voluntary recall of SEAT diesels with the EA288 engine has been underway since the end of 2020. Vehicles are (still) to receive a software update on a voluntary basis.
Driving bans for diesel from Seat
An indirect consequence of the emissions scandal in general is driving bans. Suddenly, with the advent of the emissions scandal, driving bans are on the agenda, which Deutsche Umwelthilfe had called for years earlier. Partly, as in Stuttgart, diesel drivers are completely locked out of cities – including commuters and residents. In other cities, such as Hamburg and Berlin, only individual streets are affected so far. DUH has filed lawsuits in dozens of other cities. You have to expect more cities to introduce diesel driving bans.
Diesel driving bans generally affect diesels with the Euro 4 emission standard and worse. In all bish affected cities includes the driving bans but also Euro 5 diesel. And even driving bans for Euro 6 diesels are no longer completely out of the question after a ruling by an EU court and could be introduced if the air remains poor. 83% of all Seat diesels do not meet the Euro 6 emission standard and are therefore directly affected by driving bans.
Thus, the probability of being affected by driving bans is quite high for diesel drivers. Don't let this sit on your hands, take advantage of our free initial consultation to find out what you can do!
Legal protection insurance must pay
As part of the free initial consultation, we also submit a coverage request to your legal protection insurance company. If you want us to take action on your behalf, we will make sure that they cover the costs – the insurance companies are sometimes stubborn, but we will enforce your rights!
Diesels suffer from high depreciation
Regardless of whether your vehicle is directly affected by the emissions scandal, has an illegal defeat device or is affected by driving bans – all diesels have one thing in common: an enormous loss in value! Dealers report that diesels are sitting in yards for longer than average and that they even have to offer high discounts to get rid of the diesels. Hardly anyone wants to buy a car that cannot be driven everywhere or that has a software update whose long-term consequences are not known. The prices for Diesel have fallen therefore substantially. Private sellers who want to sell their Seat diesel will notice this too.
Do not let this loss of value sit on you, but use your legal possibilities. You as a consumer have done nothing wrong and are now to pay for the emissions scandal and the cheating of the manufacturers? Not with us! We will explain to you in a free and non-binding initial consultation how things can now proceed and what you have to do to return the loss of value to the deceiving manufacturers.
Consequences of the Seat diesel scandal
As a result of the VW emissions scandal, VW had to pay a fine of one billion euros. In the USA, as much as 4.3 billion dollars were due after a settlement. Managers in the USA have also been sentenced to several years in prison, while the criminal investigation in Germany is still ongoing. Among other things, charges have already been brought against Martin Winterkorn.
The emissions scandal has already cost VW close to 30 billion euros. However, sales, especially at Seat, are not weakening, quite the opposite. Since 2010 Seat has been able to increase sales in Europe every year. Although it remained almost the same from 2015 to 2016, which may well be due to the Seat diesel scandal, it already rose sharply again in 2017 and reached a new record value in 2018. This is expected to be even exceeded in 2019 – consumer confidence in the Seat brand appears to be unbroken despite the Seat diesel scandal and new verdicts against the manufacturer every week.
Lawsuits against VW due to illegal defeat device
There are already several successful claims for damages by Seat owners. The courts refer to section 826 of the German Civil Code (BGB) and accuse Seat or. VW accused of immoral and intentional damage. Damages have already been awarded for the following vehicles: Alhambra, Exeo, Leon, Altea, Toledo and Ibiza. This means that damages have already been awarded for all models directly affected by the Seat diesel scandal. So the chances are very good.
Legal workup has also begun with regard to the newer EA288 engine. Here, the first convictions of Volkswagen AG for damages have already taken place.
HAHN Rechtsanwalte has been acting exclusively for consumers since 2001 and is one of the most successful law firms in the emissions scandal against VW, Audi, Porsche and Mercedes.
We always advise you personally, individually, case-related and without obligation!
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Claim damages from Seat
If your Seat is also equipped with an illegal defeat device, i.e. if you drive one of the above-mentioned models, then you have the right to claim damages. As the courts have confirmed, the manufacturer has intentionally and immorally harmed you and must make good the damage. By the way, this is true regardless of whether a vehicle was part of a mandatory recall or a voluntary recall – damages are regularly awarded for the latter as well. This means that if you are successful in your claim for damages, you will be refunded the purchase price you paid and in return you will return the tampered vehicle to Seat. Presumably, this will deduct from you a compensation for use, which is payable to the manufacturer. This is to compensate for the loss in value that the vehicle you are now returning has suffered during the time you have been driving it.
The bottom line, however, is that the repayment is usually clearly higher than the value you could sell the Seat Diesel for today.
Revocation of car loan – the alternative for financing
Even if you're not at all affected by the emissions scandal, there is a way to get rid of an unloved car – and on good terms. This doesn't even have to be a diesel, but due to the high depreciation, diesel drivers are naturally looking for options. The revocation joker is such a. You can use this once you have financed your Seat. More precisely, the dealer must have arranged the loan agreement for you along with the car. These two contracts are then considered to be linked and treated as an economic unit. Why this is important will be explained in a moment! The right of withdrawal is a consumer right, which means that in order to invoke it, you must have purchased the Seat as a private consumer. If this applies to you, send us your contract documents – we will check them free of charge! During a free initial consultation, we will explain whether you too can use the revocation joker and how high your potential claims are. During the contract review, we look to see if there are any errors in your loan agreement, for example, in the cancellation or revocation conditions. This happens more often than you think – about 90% of all auto loan agreements are flawed. And this means that you have a perpetual right of withdrawal. Normally, these contracts have a 14-day cancellation period. However, due to the mistakes made by many banks, you can still revoke the loan agreement years later. And since, as described above, the two contracts form a single economic unit, the purchase contract is also rescinded in the context of a loan revocation. That is, you return the car to the bank and receive a refund for the installments paid, including interest, as well as the down payment. Possibly a value substitute is deducted from you thereby.