LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) - An improvement in fuel efficiency caused one major automaker's car model to vibrate severely when in idle or traveling at low speeds, a lawsuit against the automaker said.
Linda Oakes filed the lawsuit on July 7 in U.S. District Court in California against Honda Motor Co. over its 2015 CR-V vehicle.
Honda advertised the vehicle as having high fuel efficiency with a new engine and transmission. However, the lawsuits said vehicle owners complained of “severe,” “extremely distracting,” and “nauseating” vibrations when in idle or at low speeds.
“Honda knew about the vibration before it began selling the 2015 CR-V and had several viable options for mitigating the problem,” the lawsuit said. “But modifying the CR-V would either have reduced its fuel efficiency or required Honda to install costly components to dampen the vibration.”
The lawsuit said customers would return days after purchasing the vehicle, but the company would refuse to fix the problem or offer a refund.
Oakes is seeking class action status for those who purchased the vehicle. She is also seeking more than $5 million in damages plus court costs.
Oakes is represented by Eric H. Gibbs, David Stein and Steve Lopez of Gibbs Law Group LLP in Oakland, Calif.
U.S. District Court for the Central District of California case number 8:15-cv-1076.