DVSA Vehicle safety knows all about the problems and are actively gathering evidence right now

I had a long conversation with DVSA/DFT - They were very informative and included these statements:

 "We are well aware of the issues of cars stalling"

"We are in no doubt that there is an issue"

"international vehicle standards in DFT are asking Skoda owners with this problem to complete the on-line safety defect report"

 

Help them to help us - if we don't give them the evidence they need, they are not going to be in a position to help.

The form is on the .gov website here:

https://forms.vosa.gov.uk/Vsdr/create

Get your car log book out and click the link.

Done today.

Edited 10 October, 20178 yr by janesdsg

On 10/2/2017 at 13:35, S00perb said:

DVSA Vehicle safety knows all about the problems and are actively gathering evidence right now

I had a long conversation with DVSA/DFT - They were very informative and included these statements:

 "We are well aware of the issues of cars stalling"

"We are in no doubt that there is an issue"

"international vehicle standards in DFT are asking Skoda owners with this problem to complete the on-line safety defect report"

 

Help them to help us - if we don't give them the evidence they need, they are not going to be in a position to help.

The form is on the .gov website here:

https://forms.vosa.gov.uk/Vsdr/create

Get your car log book out and click the link.

Unfortunately the DVSA current position is that an emission fault that triggers limp mode whilst in motion is not considered a safety issue as the powers that be think the car can be brought to a halt safely. I doubt whether any of them have been in  a car when it happens at 70 mph in lane 3 of a busy motorway, which has been reported - the Facebook group shows lots of correspondence with DfT/DVSA/VCA/IVS and comments - quite depressing as they will probably only react to the issue when somebody gets killed.

47 minutes ago, WestWalesAndy said:

Unfortunately the DVSA current position is that an emission fault that triggers limp mode whilst in motion is not considered a safety issue as the powers that be think the car can be brought to a halt safely. I doubt whether any of them have been in  a car when it happens at 70 mph in lane 3 of a busy motorway, which has been reported - the Facebook group shows lots of correspondence with DfT/DVSA/VCA/IVS and comments - quite depressing as they will probably only react to the issue when somebody gets killed.

 

They are taling cars stalling in front of lorries extreamly seriously. I have had it happen far too often for it not to be related to the fix.

If you don't help them with evidence they can't possibly help the owners.

 

31 minutes ago, S00perb said:

 

They are taling cars stalling in front of lorries extreamly seriously. I have had it happen far too often for it not to be related to the fix.

If you don't help them with evidence they can't possibly help the owners.

 

Have you joined the Facebook group The Volkswagen Diesel Customer Forum (Emissions Scandal) ? They have been promoting people suffering limp mode in dangerous situations to contact IVS/VSB. I do not think stalling has been focused on. If you have experienced any part of DfT showing an interest in stalling as a safety issue could you post your experience there? It should encourage others to submit their experiences

Sorry, don't and won't do facebook.

2 minutes ago, S00perb said:

Sorry, don't and won't do facebook.

 

OK. Can I mention your contact with them on FB? Which department did you talk to and did you get anything in writing?

Just now, WestWalesAndy said:

 

OK. Can I mention your contact with them on FB? Which department did you talk to and did you get anything in writing?

Would be far better if you got them over to a more utilitarian platform and got them to join Briskoda.

All I am trying to do is get people to use the reporting tools provided by DVSA so they have the evidence to get something done.

 

4 minutes ago, S00perb said:

Would be far better if you got them over to a more utilitarian platform and got them to join Briskoda.

All I am trying to do is get people to use the reporting tools provided by DVSA so they have the evidence to get something done.

 

Probably, but the FB group is predominantly VW and Audi as they had the fix earlier and contains a lot of naive owners who probably should never have bought a diesel in the first place. I have been promoting the official safety defect reporting route. DfThave received enough limp mode reports to come up with an official response. Officially limp mode is not dangerous. I presume that if they took the opposite view it would open the floodgates to all sorts of awkward consequences for DfT. Stalling must be different if it results in no ability to manoeuvre.  What it somebody from IVS you spoke to?

 

4 minutes ago, WestWalesAndy said:

...........  What it somebody from IVS you spoke to?

Not sure what that means

I spoke to someone at the vehicle safety branch in Bristol.  They are definitely aware and want the evidence to be able to do something.

 

4 hours ago, S00perb said:

 

Not sure what that means

I spoke to someone at the vehicle safety branch in Bristol.  They are definitely aware and want the evidence to be able to do something.

 

Sorry.  Too many acronyms in government. IVS is the International Vehicle Standards division of DfT.  They worry about standards and safety, apparently for cars certified by bodies other than our VCA, Vehicle Certification Agency.  It is not easy to know who is responsible for what. VSB are supposed to capture data and VCA and IVS should monitor it, especially if there are concerns about compliance to type. One notable development is an apparent update of the update for the VW and Audis and no sign that this update was approved by the German KBA. It would be worth knowing if Skodas get a newer version of the updates too, because if the first software update fix needed VCA approval, so should the subsequent ones

If there are government bodies holding information on the details of the update, I wonder could Freedom of Information procedures be used to get access? Could be an interesting thing to chase up.