Volkswagen emissions FAQs

Any diesel vehicle manufactured by Audi, Porsche, Volkswagen, Seat or Skoda which contains either an EA288 or V-TDI engine is potentially eligible to join the group action. V-TDI engines include any 2.7l V6, 3.0l V6, 4.0l V8 and 4.2l V8 engines.

We are unable to take on new claims for EA189 vehicles. The deadline to join the group action for vehicles fitted with EA189 engines expired in 2018, and the case settled out of court in May 2022. 

If your vehicle has an EA189 engine, you may have received letters from your vehicle manufacturer about the “EA189 Service Action” or “EA189 NOx Issue”. The manufacturers have also assigned a code to the “fix”, and so you may find mention of the following service measure in your vehicle’s service records, depending upon which brand of vehicle you own:

Volkswagen vehicles - “23R7 service measure”

Audi vehicles – “23Q7 service measure”

SEAT – “23S1 service measure”

Skoda – “23R6 service measure”

If you have received any such correspondence or if any of the above service measures have been applied to your vehicle, you cannot join this claim.

This claim only relates to diesel vehicles.

We are bringing these claims on a 'No Win-No Fee' basis. This means that we will deduct up to 35% (inclusive of VAT) of your damages if the claim is successful, but if the claim is lost you will not have to pay anything. Our success fee, the insurance premium and the funders’ fees will never be more than 35% of your damages. The deduction from your damages is also dependent upon the number of clients who instruct us to act on their behalf, so it is possible that it may be less than 35%.

Leigh Day has been appointed as the joint lead lawyer in this group action. We will be bringing these claims on a ‘No Win-No Fee’ basis. This means that we will only deduct up to a maximum of 35% (inclusive of VAT) of your damages if the claim is successful, but you will not have to pay anything if the claim is lost. 
  
This is also the second major emissions case that Leigh Day has taken against the German car giant. In May 2022, we achieved a £193 million out-of-court settlement with the Volkswagen Group, for a group action that involved around 91,000 claims. Our firm is also now bringing similar emissions claims against Mercedes, BMW, Ford, Jaguar Land Rover, Vauxhall, Peugeot, Citroen, Renault, Nissan and Volvo.  

Leigh Day is one of the country's leading law firms, and is not a claims management company. We are the lawyers who take these matters to Court. Bringing group actions on behalf of consumers is one of Leigh Day's key areas of specialism, and we have been involved in many of the most important and cutting-edge group actions brought in the UK. Our expertise in holding corporations to account is unrivalled. 

All too often, large corporations profit at the expense of individuals and the environment. We have a history of holding these corporations to account, both in the UK and abroad. 
  
We are committed to achieving justice for all, including full, fair compensation, by providing first-rate legal advice. 

In February 2024, the Court approved a Group Litigation Order (“GLO”) which appointed Leigh Day as the joint lead solicitors in this group action. The GLO is awaiting final approval of the President of the King’s Bench Division of the High Court. 

A GLO is made when there are multiple claimants and defendants and the Order provides for the management of the claims that give rise to common or related issues of fact or law. In effect, the GLO allows the claims to be heard together, rather than on an individual basis, making it far more efficient. Amongst other things, the GLO:  

• establishes a framework for the management of the large number of claimants making a claim against Audi, Porsche, Volkswagen, Seat and Skoda as part of these proceedings. This includes setting out the common issues that the Court will determine under the GLO;  
• establishes a Group Register, which records brief details of the claims of all claimants who join the group action; 
• appoints lead solicitors to conduct the litigation on behalf of all claimants; and  
• provides a deadline by which all claimants must issue and serve proceedings to be added to the Group Register.  

1. The Lead Solicitors will establish a Group Register by March 2024, where the details of all claimants who wish to be part of the group action will be recorded. 
2. Any claimant who wishes to be part of the group action must serve proceedings on the defendants by 27 September 2024.  
3. All claims must be added to the Group Register by the end of January 2025. 

In May 2022, an out-of-court settlement was reached in the EA189 group action, with the Volkswagen Group agreeing to pay £193m to the claimants. No admissions in respect of liability, causation or loss have been made by any of the defendants in the group action as part of the settlement. 

Volkswagen has also settled proceedings relating to the EA189 vehicles in the US, Canada, Australia and Germany. 

Volkswagen has also settled US class action proceedings relating to some 3.0l Porsche Cayenne; Volkswagen Touareg, and Audi vehicles. 

You may have alternative sources of funding for your claim, other than the funding package we are offering. For example:  

• Legal expenses insurance. Many home insurance products include legal expenses insurance either automatically or as an optional add-on. You should contact your insurers to check. 
• If you are a member of a trade union, you should check whether the union will fund you. 

If you have such an alternative source of funding, then it may be cheaper for you to use it, rather than the funding package we are offering. We are not offering to act via such legal expenses insurance/union funding, so if you do wish to use it then you will need to instruct another firm. 

Yes, provided you bought an eligible vehicle, you can join this group action. The finance agreement should name you as the contracting party to the agreement. 

Yes, if the contract is in your name and the vehicle is an eligible vehicle, you can bring a claim. 

Yes, provided your vehicle is an eligible vehicle, you can bring a claim. However, the type of claim that we can bring on your behalf will depend upon who is named as a party to the agreement for the supply of the vehicle. 

Yes, provided your former vehicle is an eligible vehicle, you can still bring a claim.

Yes, provided all the vehicles you want to claim for are eligible to be included as part of the group action. If you want to claim for more than one vehicle, please answer “yes” to the question on the form which asks if you want to claim in relation to more than one vehicle, and then we will contact you separately to request further details about your additional vehicle/s. 

No, it does not matter where you acquired your vehicle, as long as it was acquired in England or Wales. 

You are also eligible to bring a claim against the manufacturer whether you bought your vehicle from a showroom, from a private seller or from an independent dealer. 

However, the type of claim we can bring will depend on the date of acquisition and from whom the car was acquired. Details of the different types of claims are set out in the sign-up documents. 

Yes, you will still be able to claim whether your vehicle was bought new or second hand, provided the vehicle is one that is eligible to be included in the group action. 

We have determined that the interests of people who acquired their vehicle in Scotland are better served by bringing their claims through the Scottish Courts. We recommend that you use a Scottish law firm that has expertise in this area. 

You can contact the Law Society of Scotland who may be able to help to find a suitable lawyer. Time limits apply to claiming but we are unable to advise you on the time limits applicable in Scotland. 

If you purchased/leased your vehicle in Northern Ireland and the vehicle was delivered to/collected from the same location, then you will fall outside the claim that Leigh Day is bringing. 

The reason for this is that we consider that the law of Northern Ireland is likely to be held to apply to your claim and we therefore advise you to instruct solicitors in Northern Ireland instead. We recommend that you seek such advice from solicitors in Northern Ireland without delay as there may be time limits that apply to your claim.  

Unfortunately, we are unable to act on your behalf if you currently live outside the UK. 

Yes. Affected vehicles which were leased or purchased from Motability are eligible to join the claims.  

There are a number of possible legal claims a vehicle owner could pursue in relation to their vehicle. It may be that, as a result of how you leased your vehicle, we only advise you to pursue some types of legal claims, and not others. If you have your Motability documents, please keep these somewhere safe until we request a copy. 

If we find that your vehicle isn’t affected, or for some other reason isn’t eligible to join the claim, we will contact you to inform you, and then cancel our legal agreement with you. You will not be required to pay us any money for the work we have already done in these circumstances.