VW, Audi offer online check if vehicle has trick software

Volkswagen and its Audi subsidiary said Friday that customers in Germany can now go to their websites to see if their vehicles are among those installed with software that the company says was used to manipulate United States emissions testing.

Volkswagen said customers in Germany could enter their car's serial number on the www.volkswagen.de/info website to see if their car is affected. Audi said customers could do the same on its www.audi.de site.

VW said the search tool is being integrated into national sites worldwide and will be available on those sites shortly. Audi said the function will be extended worldwide over national Audi sites this week.

Customers can also go to dealers to check on their vehicles using the serial number. Volkswagen and its brands say they will present a technical fix to authorities in October.

The company has said that 11 million diesel vehicles from several of its 12 brands had engines fitted with software that can help them cheat through emissions tests. Those include five million Volkswagen passenger cars; 2.1 million Audis; 1.8 million Volkswagen commercial vehicles; 1.2 million Skodas; and 700,000 vehicles made by Spain-based SEAT.