The European Court of Justice (CJEU) on Thursday ruled illegal software fitted to Volkswagen diesel vehicles which deactivates the filtering of polluting emissions at certain temperatures, paving the way for compensation for affected customers.

"Software in diesel vehicles which reduces the effectiveness of the emission control system at normal temperatures during most of the year constitutes a prohibited defeat device," the EU's court ruled.

The software reduces or even completely deactivates the filtering when temperatures are below 15 and higher than 33 degrees Celsius (59 degrees Fahrenheit).

"Emission limits laid down at EU level must be observed even where those temperatures are significantly below 15 degrees Celsius," the court said in its rulings.

Austria's Supreme Court and two regional courts brought the case to the CJEU following complaints of buyers, who bought Volkswagen vehicles between 2011 and 2013.

In a reaction to the ruling, the German automaker insisted it meant the thermal windows used in its vehicles "remain permissible".

"They protect against immediate risks to the engine in the form of damage or accident," the company said.

"The exhaust gas recirculation of the EA189 vehicles affected by the proceedings is 100 percent active up to an outside temperature of 10 degrees Celsius and thus for most of the year," it added.

Volkswagen said it expected the ruling's impact to be "minor".

"National authorities and courts must still decide on a case-by-case basis whether a specific thermal window is permissible," it said.

"Civil law actions that base an alleged claim for damages on the existence of a thermal window will continue to be unsuccessful."

Several million vehicle owners could take action against the Wolfsburg-based group, said German lawyer Claus Goldenstein, who represents more than 45,000 complainants in the separate so-called "dieselgate" scandal involving Volkswagen.

"With today's decision, Volkswagen is once again caught up in the exhaust gas scandal," he said in a statement.

In the "dieselgate" scandal that broke out in 2015, Volkswagen has admitted tampering with millions of diesel vehicles to dupe emissions tests.

The scandal has since ensnared several top European carmakers and car part suppliers over their alleged roles in the development of the cheating software.

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