More than 1,000 Australians are lining up to sue Volkswagen over its global emission-rigging scandal.
And the number could soon be much higher.
Volkswagen says more than 90,000 Australians have vehicles fitted with the engine software that cheats pollution tests.
Maurice Blackburn lawyers plan to lodge a class action against the auto giant in the Federal Court in Sydney in coming weeks.
The law firm's class actions principal Damian Scattini said the scandal affects the resale value of the vehicles and car owners might lose thousands of dollars in increased running costs.
"Some people are very furious," he said.
"This will go down as a classic case study in how to create a crisis and then go about mismanaging the fall out from that.
"It is unbelievable how badly Volkswagen has handled this."
Volkswagen has not yet indicated it has any plans to compensate customers, instead appealing to them wait for its German head office to produce a technical solution.
"Volkswagen currently wants its customers to suck up and accept that they'll do nothing about it," Mr Scattini said.
"Well that's not good enough and we won't let them get away with it."
There are numerous lawsuits in the US and across Europe against Volkswagen over the scam involving more than 11 million diesel cars equipped with software that switches engines to low-emissions mode during tests.
Livid car owners have taken to social media to complain.
"I bought a Golf on the basis that it was 'clean diesel' technology. I feel I was deceived and will never purchase a VW again," motorist Bill Grant wrote on the Volkswagen Australia Facebook page.
NRMA spokesman Peter Khoury wants the federal government to have more powers to step in and facilitate a recall rather than leaving it up to the carmaker.
"It is fundamental through this process now that the consumer be put first and that's both through the recall stage and whatever compensation process may have to be put into place here because people were duped," he told AAP.
Minister for Territories, Local Government and Major Projects Paul Fletcher said he expects Audi and Volkswagen will continue to work to ensure appropriate steps are taken to rectify the issue.
Meanwhile, Volkswagen faces multi-million dollar fines if an Australian Competition and Consumer Commission finds the carmaker breached consumer and safety standards.
Volkswagen plans to recall and refit up to five million affected vehicles worldwide, with the British arm of the car maker planning to recall 1.2 million cars.
It is already facing $US18 million in regulatory fines in the US.
Affected vehicles include VW cars and vans, Audis and Skoda cars made between 2009 and 2015.
