Volkswagen emissions scandal: Renault to recall 15,000 cars

Renault will recall and fix 15,000 cars after tests revealed high levels of emissions from some of its models.

An official statement from Renault reveals that the affected engine is the 108bhp dCi engine found in the Renault Captur. It is being recalled "to address an error in the engine's calibration unit", with no further engines affected.

Read our full review on the Renault Captur

Renault was also quick to add: "Renault Group vehicles are not equipped with fraudulent software or systems designed to bypass the emission control system", and that the recall was a "known issue that was corrected on production vehicles from 4th September 2015."

It is understood that the filtration system of certain models did not work above certain temperatures or below 17deg C. The group also denies early reports that some 700,000 cars would be subject to a software update in relation to the ongoing emissions scandal.

Police raided several Renault facilities last week, in a move understood to be in connection to the Volkswagen emissions scandal.

The raids, which took place at Renault's headquarters, the Renault Technical Centre in Lardy and the Technocentre in Guyancourt, were first reported by local unions, but have since been confirmed by Renault. In a statement, it said that investigators wanted to check the equipment used at its factories.

Several computers belonging to company directors are said to have been seized.

The CGT Renault union suggested that the raids “are linked to the consequences of the Volkswagen rigged-engines affair”, and confirmed that the raids had targeted engine control units.

Renault subsequently revealed that prior to the raids, the UTAC (the French homologation authority) had already been testing Renault vehicles, with four of 25 models being examined before the new year. It said that the testing enabled "the French public authorities to initiate productive discussions with Renault's engineering team".

According to Renault, these latest police raids are part of "additional on-site and material investigations, in order to definitively confirm the first findings resulting from the analysis of the independent technical commission".

Despite such scrutiny, Renault says it is confident its cars will pass the tests without issue. It currently has the support of the French Agency for Energy and Climate (DGEC) and states that these on-going tests provide it with an opportunity to improve the Renault Emissions Plan.

Renault was one of a number of vehicle manufacturers to welcome more stringent test procedures in the wake of the emissions scandal, which broke last September.