Suits & Settlements: The Car Pro Legal Roundup

In this week’s Suits & Settlements, you’ll find the following reports:

• Lawsuit Claims Honda Camera Failure Disables Driver-Assistance Features
• Ford's 5.0-Liter V8 Lands in Federal Court
• Customer Wins Settlement After Technician Takes Mercedes to Sports Bar.
• Judge Tosses Warranty Extension Class Action Against FCA

Lawsuit Claims Honda Camera Failure Disables Driver-Assistance Features.  Honda is facing a proposed class-action lawsuit in California federal court alleging certain vehicles contain a defective windshield-mounted front-facing camera that can disable multiple advanced driver-assistance and safety systems, according to Law360. The complaint alleges the camera defect can simultaneously trigger failures in features such as collision mitigation braking, adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assist and traffic sign recognition, while illuminating numerous warning messages on the instrument panel. Plaintiffs claim the malfunction leaves drivers without safety systems they expected to be available and forces them to pay for expensive camera replacements and recalibration. The lawsuit further alleges Honda knew or should have known about the issue through consumer complaints, warranty claims and dealership service records but failed to adequately disclose the alleged defect or provide a permanent remedy. The complaint seeks class-action status, damages and other relief on behalf of owners of affected vehicles. Honda has not publicly responded to the allegations or admitted wrongdoing. The case is the latest in a growing wave of litigation involving camera- and sensor-based driver-assistance technology as automakers increasingly rely on sophisticated electronics to operate critical safety features that many consumers now consider standard equipment.

Ford's 5.0-Liter V8 Lands in Federal Court. Ford Motor Co. is facing a proposed class-action lawsuit alleging certain F-150 pickups equipped with the 5.0-liter "Coyote" V8 engine suffer from excessive oil consumption that can lead to reduced performance and potential engine damage, according to court filings. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, covers certain 2018 through 2020 F-150 models and alleges the engines consume oil at an abnormally high rate because of a defective oil control system. Plaintiffs claim the defect allows engine oil to enter the combustion chamber, where it is burned instead of lubricating internal engine components, potentially leading to carbon buildup and premature engine wear. The complaint further alleges Ford knew about the issue through customer complaints, technical service bulletins and warranty claims but failed to adequately disclose the alleged defect or provide an effective repair. The lawsuit seeks class-action status on behalf of owners from multiple states and requests damages for repair costs, diminished vehicle value and other losses. Ford has not yet responded in court to the allegations. The case adds to a growing number of lawsuits involving alleged engine defects in late-model pickups and highlights the increasingly common use of consumer class actions to challenge vehicle durability and warranty issues.

Customer Wins Settlement After Technician Takes Mercedes to Sports Bar. A Tennessee Mercedes-Benz dealership has agreed to pay $20,000 to settle a dispute after one of its service technicians allegedly took a customer's vehicle on an unauthorized trip to restaurants and a sports bar while it was in the shop for repairs, according to WREG News. The incident occurred at Mercedes-Benz of Collierville, a suburb of Memphis, after the customer received GPS alerts showing her vehicle had left the dealership. Police later located the vehicle at a local sports bar, where they arrested a dealership technician on a theft charge after determining he did not have permission to use the vehicle. The customer subsequently filed a civil lawsuit against both the technician and the dealership, alleging unauthorized use of her vehicle and other damages. Under the settlement, the dealership agreed to pay the customer $20,000 to resolve the civil claims, while the criminal case against the former technician remains separate. The case drew widespread attention after the customer alleged dealership representatives initially asked her to drop the criminal charges and later promoted dealership specials on social media referencing the incident. The lawsuit serves as a reminder that dealerships can face civil liability for the actions of their employees when customers entrust vehicles to them for service and repairs.

Judge Tosses Warranty Extension Class Action Against FCA. Stellantis subsidiary FCA US has defeated a proposed class-action lawsuit accusing the automaker of failing to extend vehicle warranties to account for time owners' vehicles spent in dealerships undergoing covered warranty repairs, according to Law360. The plaintiffs argued that warranty periods should have been paused or extended while their vehicles were out of service for covered repairs, claiming they lost valuable warranty protection through no fault of their own. However, a federal judge in Detroit dismissed the lawsuit after ruling the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate they suffered any actual financial injury as a result of the alleged practice. The court concluded that without evidence of a measurable economic loss, the drivers lacked standing to pursue their claims. The decision did not address whether FCA's warranty practices were appropriate or whether warranties should be extended during lengthy repairs, focusing instead on the plaintiffs' inability to show they were financially harmed. FCA denied the allegations throughout the litigation. The ruling underscores a key principle in consumer class actions: dissatisfaction with a manufacturer's warranty policy alone is generally not enough to sustain a lawsuit unless plaintiffs can establish a concrete financial injury resulting from the challenged conduct.

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