Honda Owners File Amended Class-Action Complaint Against Automaker for Infotainment System Defect
LOS ANGELES – This week Honda was hit with an expanded, amended class-action lawsuit detailing a severe widespread defect affecting the infotainment systems in 2018-2019 Honda Odyssey and 2019 Honda Pilot vehicles, according to Hagens Berman.
The suit states that the infotainment system – an integrated in-vehicle communication, navigation and entertainment system – behaves erratically, malfunctioning, freezing, and creating a safety hazard and distraction. The malfunctions have occurred almost immediately after plaintiffs purchased affected vehicles.
The defect can cause safety-related systems – including backup camera functions – to fail, and can cause the entire center console to go black or blue while the vehicle is in motion. Navigation and other dashboard features are also reportedly affected, shutting down completely while in use.
Honda agents, dealers and other representatives continue to fail to disclose the defect.
The new filing on June 10, 2019 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California names vehicle owners from 15 states, including Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Washington.
“Many of our plaintiffs have made repeated visits to dealerships to have extensive work done on their cars, only to be told there’s nothing else to be done, when the defect inevitably persists,” said Steve Berman, managing partner of Hagens Berman and attorney representing Honda owners in the class action. “Others have been told for months that an update or fix is forthcoming, to no avail.”
“We think Honda owners deserve more than lip service,” Berman added.
Since Hagens Berman filed its lawsuit, one owner sent video footage of the defect, showing the dashboard cutting out while he was operating the vehicle
Attorneys say Honda still has not acknowledged the defect’s severity or scope. The lawsuit states, “Honda has not found a solution to the infotainment system defect. Instead, Honda simply replaces defective parts with equally defective parts, thereby leaving consumers caught in a cycle of use, malfunction, and replacement. Honda has acknowledged in communications to its dealer network that a defect in the infotainment systems exists and that Honda does not yet have a fix.”
According to the lawsuit, Honda admitted to screen freezing and other software malfunctions in a 2019 Tech Line Summary Article, which acknowledges one manifestation of the defect and concedes there is no known fix.
The article states that an error message appears on the infotainment screen, and “[a]t the same time, the overhead screen freezes, but the audio keeps playing. So far, we know it’s software related, so don’t replace any components…”
Reports to NHTSA call the affected model “obviously flawed,” and cite instances of the entire dash turning off while driving, including the speedometer. “As soon as I drove off the lot, the car gave me an error,” another report to NHTSA reads.
The lawsuit against Honda seeks both monetary reimbursement for those who purchased or leased an affected Honda Odyssey or Pilot, and also seeks action from the court barring Honda from continuing to sell vehicles with the defective infotainment system.
Find out more about the class-action lawsuit against Honda.
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About Hagens Berman
Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP is a consumer-rights class-action law firm with nine offices across the country. The firm’s tenacious drive for plaintiffs’ rights has earned it numerous national accolades, awards and titles of “Most Feared Plaintiff’s Firm,” and MVPs and Trailblazers of class-action law. More about the law firm and its successes can be found at hbsslaw.com. Follow the firm for updates and news at @ClassActionLaw.
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