The offer – which also includes three years of free roadside assistance – is a goodwill effort by the company that has angered some car owners who paid extra for the vehicles to be environmentally conscious without losing power.
Volkswagen is working on a fix for the cars, which are equipped with software that activates pollution controls during government tests and turns them off while on the road. The US Environmental Protection Agency says the cars emit 10 to 40 times the allowable amount of harmful nitrogen oxide while being driven, the Associated Press reported.
"We are working tirelessly to develop an approved remedy for affected vehicles," Michael Horn, VW's US CEO, said in a statement. "In the meantime we are providing this goodwill package as a first step towards regaining our customers' trust."
Next year, the company will start recalling 8.5 million 2009-2015 model year cars with the software across Europe. It says about 11 million cars worldwide have the software.
Accepting the gift cards does not eliminate the chance of owners suing Volkswagen or forcing them into arbitration, said company spokeswoman Jeannine Ginivan.
On top of the gift cards, Volkswagen already is offering $2,000 to current VW owners to trade in their cars for new vehicles.
