Update: On October 19, 2023, Judge Gilliam of the Northern District of California issued an order largely denying Honda’s motion to dismiss plaintiffs’ complaint. In particular, Judge Gilliam found that plaintiffs have adequately alleged a defect within the Fast-Controller Area Network (“F-CAN”) of the class vehicles, which results in parasitic draining. The Judge further found that plaintiffs adequately alleged that Honda had knowledge of this defect prior to its sale of the vehicles, and consequently, plaintiffs can proceed with their consumer fraud claims against Honda.
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On May 18, 2021, a Honda CR-V owner filed a putative class action lawsuit on behalf of Honda vehicle owners and lessees, alleging that the automobile manufacturer sold over 2 million vehicles with a serious defect that can cause the car battery to prematurely drain, leading to the failure of safety functions. Filed in federal court in Iowa, the lawsuit seeks to represent all U.S. consumers who purchased or leased a 2017 – 2019 Honda CR-V or a 2016 – 2019 Honda Accord.
According to the lawsuit, the Honda vehicles fail to shut down properly after the car is parked and turned off, draining the battery. Left unrepaired, this defect results in the permanent destruction of the vehicle’s battery and other safety component failures, such as emergency hazard lights.
Honda knew about the defect and did not offer a reliable solution or issue a recall of the affected vehicles, the suit notes.
The complaint alleges that despite sharing internal Service Bulletins to its authorized dealerships concerning the defect, Honda merely instructed its dealers to update internal software and replace dead batteries in certain vehicles. But, according to the complaint, Honda already knew that these “corrective” actions would not solve the parasitic draining defect nor make the vehicles any more dependable for their owners.
The lawsuit cites more than 120 public complaints from the scores that were filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), all of which reference various issues related to the battery draining or engine stalling. Another complaint posted on carcomplaints.com details how a driver reported that her CR-V “completely stalled out again” while driving, “leaving [her] in danger of” getting hit by other vehicles.
The lawsuit alleges that Honda drivers believed the manufacturer’s claims of the vehicles being safe in the design and dependable. According to the complaint, “[h]ad the Plaintiff and other class members known of the defect at the time of purchase or lease, they would not have bought or leased the class vehicles or would have paid substantially less for them.”
Consumers who are interested in learning more about this class-action suit are urged to send their contact information to info@feganscott.com.