Volkswagen diesel settlement delayed one more week by judge

Next Tuesday was to be the day when owners of almost half a million Volkswagens and Audis learned the final terms VW would offer them to settle hundreds of lawsuits over its diesel-emission cheating software.

It won't be.

U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer gave Volkswagen and the EPA one more week to reach final agreement on the details of their settlement.

DON'T MISS: VW settlement with EPA announced over diesel emission scandal (Apr 2016)

The new date set by the judge, according to Reuters, is one week later: Tuesday, June 28.

The judge did not, however, delay the July 26 date for a final judicial hearing on the proposed settlement, meaning the period for public comment has been cut from five weeks to four.

The one-week delay in the release of the final terms came from the acting court-appointed mediator for the consolidated cases, former FBI director Robert S. Mueller.

2014 Volkswagen Passat TDI

It was due, the judge said, to the "highly technical nature of the proposed settlements in these complex proceedings."

The settlement is expected to include:

an offer by VW to buy back any of the 482,000 Volkswagen or Audi 2.0-liter TDI diesel vehicles involved, if the owners wish to sell;
a plan to modify those vehicles whose owners choose not to sell them back to Volkswagen;
a fund to be established by VW to make a payment—rumored to be $5,000—to owners who agree not to pursue further legal action, separate from the buyback offer;
a second fund to support undefined "appropriate remediation efforts" by VW to counteract the effects of the excess nitrogen oxide released by the vehicles.

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The Volkswagen diesel-emission cheating scandal broke in mid-September last year.

Within weeks, VW and Audi dealers had pulled all new and certified-used diesel vehicles from their lots. (Used diesels that are not manufacturer-certified can still legally be sold by dealers.)

Frustrated Audi and Volkswagen TDI owners have waited nine months to learn what will happen to their cars, which have lost significant value in the used-car market.

2015 Volkswagen Golf TDI SE

VW's initial proposal for a settlement was rejected in January for lacking detail on the emissions and performance modifications, and their effects, that would be required to bring the cars into compliance with regulations.

Hundreds of lawsuits were combined under Judge Breyer, who imposed an April deadline for VW, the EPA, and the powerful California Air Resources Board to come to an agreement on settlement terms.

That deadline was met after one extension, but only preliminary outlines were announced—with the final settlement to have been released June 21.

CHECK OUT: VW diesel buyback: what other automakers paid for used vehicles

After nine months, long-suffering TDI owners can probably endure an extra week of waiting before they learn the fate of their cars.

Not that they will have much choice.

The vehicles involved in the settlement to be announced on the 28th are: