Incident: Porsche Recalls 22,000 Cars for Illegal Emissions Software.

Published Date: 2017-07-27

Postmortem Analysis
Timeline 1. The software failure incident of Porsche's emissions-controlling software recall happened in July 2017 as per the article published on July 27, 2017 [Article 61447].
System 1. Emissions-controlling software in Porsche Cayenne models [61447]
Responsible Organization 1. Porsche [61447]
Impacted Organization 1. Porsche [61447]
Software Causes 1. The software cause of the failure incident was the presence of illegal emissions-controlling software in 22,000 Porsche Cayenne models, which had a "warm up mode" that switched to a different mode during certain driving conditions, resulting in higher emissions [61447].
Non-software Causes 1. The failure incident was caused by illegal emissions-controlling software in Porsche cars, leading to a recall of 22,000 vehicles [61447]. 2. Volkswagen (VW) admitted in 2015 that some of its diesel cars were fitted with a "defeat device" to cheat on emissions tests, which was a separate issue from the Porsche software problem [61447].
Impacts 1. The software failure incident led to a recall of 22,000 Porsche cars to remove illegal emissions-controlling software, impacting the reputation and financials of the company [61447]. 2. Volkswagen, the parent company of Porsche, also had to refit almost a million more diesel cars in Germany due to the emissions scandal, further tarnishing the brand's image and incurring significant costs [61447].
Preventions 1. Implementing thorough software testing procedures to detect any illegal or non-compliant software functionalities before the vehicles are released to the market [61447]. 2. Conducting regular audits and inspections on the software code to ensure compliance with emissions regulations [61447]. 3. Enhancing transparency in the software development process to prevent the inclusion of unauthorized software features [61447].
Fixes 1. Porsche will recall 22,000 cars to remove the illegal emissions-controlling software, which is believed to quickly address the software problem [61447]. 2. VW will offer to refit almost a million more diesel cars in Germany to significantly reduce emissions, as part of their efforts to rectify the software issue [61447].
References 1. German magazine Der Spiegel [Article 61447]

Software Taxonomy of Faults

Category Option Rationale
Recurring one_organization, multiple_organization (a) The software failure incident having happened again at one_organization: - Porsche, a luxury marque, is facing a software problem related to illegal emissions-controlling software in its 3-litre Cayenne models [61447]. - The allegations about Porsche's software first emerged in a German magazine, indicating a potential recurrence of software issues within the organization [61447]. (b) The software failure incident having happened again at multiple_organization: - Volkswagen, Porsche's sister firm, admitted in 2015 to using a "defeat device" in some of its diesel cars to cheat on emissions tests, indicating a similar software failure incident at another organization within the same group [61447]. - VW announced plans to refit almost a million more diesel cars in Germany, showing a widespread impact of software-related issues across multiple organizations [61447].
Phase (Design/Operation) design (a) The software failure incident related to the design phase: The article mentions that Porsche was forced to recall 22,000 cars to remove illegal emissions-controlling software that was allegedly designed to cheat on emissions tests. The software in question had a "warm up mode" that would switch to a different mode when the car encountered bends or slopes, resulting in higher emissions. This design of the software was intended to deceive emissions requirements [61447]. (b) The software failure incident related to the operation phase: The article does not specifically mention any failure due to contributing factors introduced by the operation or misuse of the system. Therefore, information regarding failure in the operation phase is unknown based on the provided article.
Boundary (Internal/External) within_system (a) within_system: The software failure incident related to the emissions-controlling software in Porsche cars was due to factors originating from within the system. The German government announced a recall of 22,000 Porsche cars to remove what was deemed illegal emissions-controlling software [61447]. The software in question had a "warm up mode" that was designed to comply with emissions requirements, but it was found that emissions increased when the car encountered bends or slopes, indicating a failure within the software system itself [61447]. The article also mentions that Porsche would bear the cost of the recalls for the affected models, further emphasizing that the issue was internal to the software system of the cars [61447].
Nature (Human/Non-human) non-human_actions (a) The software failure incident occurring due to non-human actions: The software failure incident in this case was related to illegal emissions-controlling software found in Porsche cars, specifically the 3-litre Cayenne models. The software was designed to switch to a different mode when the car encountered small bends or a slope, leading to higher emissions. This behavior was not explicitly programmed by human actions but was a feature of the software itself, indicating a non-human action contributing to the failure [61447]. (b) The software failure incident occurring due to human actions: The article does not explicitly mention any human actions contributing to the software failure incident.
Dimension (Hardware/Software) hardware, software (a) The software failure incident related to hardware: - The recall of 22,000 Porsche cars was announced by Germany's transport minister to remove what he deemed as illegal emissions-controlling software [61447]. - The software issue in the Porsche Cayenne models was described as having a "warm up mode" that was suspected to be designed to comply with emissions requirements, but it would switch to a different mode resulting in higher emissions when encountering bends or slopes [61447]. (b) The software failure incident related to software: - The software problem in the Porsche cars was specifically mentioned as illegal emissions-controlling software, indicating a software-related issue [61447]. - German Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt mentioned that Porsche would need to bring the software into conformity with the law, suggesting a software-related non-compliance issue [61447].
Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) non-malicious (a) The software failure incident related to the emissions-controlling software in Porsche cars was non-malicious. The German government announced a recall of 22,000 Porsche cars to remove what was deemed illegal emissions-controlling software. The issue was related to the software's functionality, specifically a "warm up mode" that was designed to comply with emissions requirements but resulted in higher emissions during certain driving conditions. German Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt mentioned that there was no explanation as to why this software was in the vehicle, indicating that the software issue was not introduced with malicious intent [61447].
Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) poor_decisions (a) The intent of the software failure incident: - The software failure incident related to emissions-controlling software in Porsche cars was due to poor decisions made to cheat on emissions tests. The software included a "warm up mode" that was designed to comply with emissions requirements, but it would switch to a different mode when faced with bends or slopes, leading to higher emissions. This indicates a deliberate attempt to deceive regulators and cheat on emissions standards, reflecting poor decisions made by the company [61447].
Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) development_incompetence (a) The software failure incident related to development incompetence is evident in the case of Porsche's recall of 22,000 cars over emissions software. The German government announced the recall to remove what was deemed illegal emissions-controlling software from the affected 3-litre Cayenne models. The software in question had a "warm up mode" that was designed to comply with emissions requirements but switched to a different mode resulting in higher emissions under certain conditions. The Transport Minister highlighted the lack of explanation for why this software was in the vehicle, indicating a failure in professional competence during the development process [61447]. (b) The accidental aspect of the software failure incident is seen in the context of VW's admission in 2015 that some of its diesel cars were fitted with a "defeat device" to cheat on emissions tests. This deliberate act to deceive emissions tests was not accidental but intentional, showcasing a different type of failure compared to the incompetence displayed in the Porsche case [61447].
Duration temporary (a) The software failure incident related to emissions-controlling software in Porsche cars was not permanent but rather temporary. The German government announced a recall of 22,000 Porsche cars to remove what was deemed illegal emissions-controlling software. The Transport Minister mentioned that Porsche would quickly address the software problem, indicating that the issue was not a permanent failure but rather a temporary one that could be rectified through software updates [61447].
Behaviour crash, value, other (a) crash: The software failure incident related to the Porsche emissions-controlling software can be categorized as a crash. The article mentions that the German government announced a recall of 22,000 Porsche cars to remove what was deemed illegal emissions-controlling software. This indicates that the software was not performing its intended function, leading to the need for a recall [Article 61447]. (b) omission: There is no specific mention of the software failure incident being related to omission in the provided article. (c) timing: The article does not indicate that the software failure incident was related to timing issues. (d) value: The software failure incident is related to the system performing its intended functions incorrectly. The article mentions that the Porsche Cayenne had a "warm up mode" that was found to switch to a different mode when confronted with certain conditions, leading to higher emissions. This indicates that the software was not correctly controlling emissions as required by regulations [Article 61447]. (e) byzantine: There is no indication in the article that the software failure incident was related to the system behaving with inconsistent responses and interactions. (f) other: The software failure incident could be categorized as a compliance failure. The article highlights that the software in the Porsche Cayenne was designed to comply with emissions requirements but was found to switch modes under certain conditions, resulting in higher emissions. This failure to comply with regulations led to the recall of the vehicles [Article 61447].

IoT System Layer

Layer Option Rationale
Perception None None
Communication None None
Application None None

Other Details

Category Option Rationale
Consequence property (d) property: People's material goods, money, or data was impacted due to the software failure The software failure incident mentioned in the article relates to emissions-controlling software in Porsche cars. The consequence of this software failure is related to the recall of 22,000 Porsche cars to remove illegal emissions-controlling software. This recall would impact the company financially as they would bear the cost of the recalls for the affected 3-litre Cayenne models [61447].
Domain transportation (a) The software failure incident reported in the articles is related to the automotive industry, specifically affecting Porsche and Volkswagen cars due to illegal emissions-controlling software [61447]. The recall of 22,000 Porsche cars and the refitting of almost a million more diesel cars by Volkswagen highlight the impact on the automotive sector. (b) The transportation industry is directly impacted by the software failure incident as it involves the recall and refitting of cars to address emissions issues, affecting the movement of people and goods [61447]. (m) The software failure incident is not directly related to any other industry mentioned in the options provided.

Sources

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