Liviu Marcus
As a common ground, manufacturers and dealers are guaranteed that even all of their vehicles disseminated to consumers are safe to drive. Vehicles sold to consumers by manufacturers and dealers are expected to be safer to drive.
It does not happen by default. That is why manufacturers are undertaking the repair campaigns of their cars as a routine habit. Nonetheless, there are well-hidden defects often encountered in many cars that prevent the manufacturer from ever disclosing this information, and over the years this has resulted in class action suits.
In the last decade, we’ve witnessed a number of class action lawsuits over defective vehicles, being one of the most popular cases leading the headlines in this area.
Popular Class Action Lawsuits Over Defective Vehicles
Ford now has an airbag class action lawsuit against the company after it was found that the defective airbags were not swapped out in the 2022 Ford Maverick by the company. This same again was a critical issue when it came to both the driver and passenger security.
Honda Motor Co. is faithfully in the same condition as Ford as a result of the suspicion that the stalling of Honda Pilot, Honda Odyssey, Acura TLX, and Acura MDX halted when it reached a complete stop.
In 2022, Toyota was affected by class action lawsuits with multibillion USD claims due to production of emissions, which these vehicles: Prado, HiLux, and Fortuner produced between 2015 and 2020, due to faulty diesel particulate filters. Our planet is in a ramshackle climate situation, and this dirty business only makes the case even worse.
Automakers are supposed to tell the public if they detect any product defect during normal testing of their products.
Nissan North America has to pay the highest compensation it ever paid – $231 million – in an auto defect case involving 2004 Infinity QX56.
What is a Defective Vehicle?
This is a question often asked by the car buyer before the purchase and the manufacturer has to define what are the points that constitute a defective product.
According to DueJustice.com, a defective product in a vehicle is designed for a specific purpose, usually safety, but malfunctions. Common vehicle defects include:
- Battery issues
- Seat belts
- Airbags
- Tires
- Steering wheel issues
- Braking system failure
- Malfunctioning fuel systems
- Door latch failures
- Helmets
- Lights
How to Identify Vehicle Defects
It is not unusual for your vehicle to develop a fault. But if the problem persists, then your vehicle may be defective. You may also notice some issues with the car, which may not be the case with similar models manufactured by other brands.
Here are some ways to discover if your vehicle is defective:
Airbag Indicator
Airbag failure to deploy is dangerous. It can result in the death of the vehicle occupants. Defective airbags can also deploy unnecessarily, causing injuries.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimated that standard functioning airbags save more than 50,000 people’s lives yearly.
Airbags are designed to deploy during crashes to prevent the upper part of the body from hitting the vehicle’s interior, such as the steering wheel.
They are designed to work with the seat belt.
If your airbag is defective, you will likely see an alert on your dashboard. This signifies your airbag will not deploy during crashes.
Faulty sensors, defective electrical components, and severed wiring are some of the leading causes of airbag defects.
The listed vehicles by NHTSA pertaining to Takata airbag defect can be found on these website address. You can select whether your vehicle is on the recall list or not; the website will then show you whether or not it is eligible for the recall.
An airbag problem was found to be a result of ordinary airbags not working when heat and humidity alternating for a certain period.
Unusual Fuel and Oil Consumption
Every vehicle has a stipulated fuel and oil consumption rate. If your vehicle is consuming more than normal, and there are no leaks or damaged parts, then there is probably a defect.
The cause of the abnormal consumption could be a faulty pump or a defect in the engine.
If a defect causes the issue, the consumption will continue no matter how much fixing you do on the vehicle.
Some Toyota vehicles with excessive oil consumption defects include:
- 2007-2009 Camry
- 2007-2011 Camry Hybrid
- 2007-2008 Solara
- 2009-2011 Corolla
- 2009-2013 Matrix
- 2006-2008 Rav4
- 2007-20010 Scion Tc
- 2008-2015 Scion Xb
In 2017, VW came to the public attention announcing that 281,000 vehicles were recalled because of a failure in the fuel pump. The affected cars are Volkswagen Passat CC which is the luxury sedan model produced by Volksvagen between 2009 – 2016, and Passat & Passat Wagons made by the same company between 2006 – 2010.
For instance, in 2019, EPA required Volkswagen to change its fuel economy figures again on eight Audi, Bentley, and Porsche models after the investigation indicated that the company used a special software to overclaim the miles-per-gallon figures.
Excessive Noise
A car having some problems will make extra sounds when the engine is started. It could be by sound components from around the engine, for instance, a heat pump. Such occurrence might just interfere with the charging process.
Another assumption is that this issue can also be from a problematic steering wheel. He may see a problem with the steering wheel while controlling it.
In the last survey, 13,000 trucks and SUVs electric maker Rivian in 2022 recalled cars with steering wheel defect. The company acknowledged the fact that drivers would most likely experience unusually high levels of lightning, vibroacoustic resonance, or noise from the front suspension.
Faulty Software
Automakers deploy software to improve drivers’ overall experience. These sophisticated technologies improve safety, infotainment, and luxury experience.
Software is responsible for monitoring critical functions of the car and alerts whenever there is an abnormality.
Faulty software could cause injury, instead of protecting the driver and other car occupants.
Such defects may cause brake failure, airbag failure, unplanned interruption of battery power supply, disabled electronic stability control system, and unexpected engine shut-off.
BMW, for instance, has issued a voluntary recall for more than 14,000 vehicles from the iX, i4, and i7 lineups (2022-2023 model year), due to concerns over the electronic software controls inside the batteries.
The automobile company stated that the faulty software may cause an unplanned power supply interruption, increasing the risk of a crash.
