— A Honda soy-based wiring lawsuit accuses the automaker of building its Honda Accord and other models with soy-based wiring that keeps rabbits and other varmints fat and happy.
Filed by lead plaintiffs Greg Delaney, Daniel Dobbs and Sean Rickard, the Honda soy wiring class-action lawsuit alleges owners are stuck paying for repairs because the automaker refuses to fix the cars under warranty.
The lawsuit claims the “environmentally friendly” soy-coated wiring not only makes a great chew toy for rabbits, but the plaintiffs say mice, rats and squirrels find the soy wiring tasty.
Mr. Delaney says his 2014 Honda CrossTour wiring was shredded by a rabbit, a rabbit found in the engine compartment by a Honda dealer. Delaney says the dealer provided a photo of the rabbit enjoying the soy wiring for lunch, but the dealer refused to cover the repairs under warranty, which left Delaney paying $765 for the repairs.
Mr. Rickard said a rabbit was found under his Honda Accord, a rabbit that was caught chewing the power steering wiring closest to the ground. Rickard had to pay a $500 deductible toward a $1,400 bill after the dealership said nothing was covered under warranty. A few days later another bunny got hungry and had snacked on the wiring.
Plaintiff Dobbs says the wires in his 2012 Honda Accord were chewed after the car had been parked for hours. The Accord had to be towed about 80 miles to a dealership that made Hobbs pay to replace the wiring. Months later, Mr. Dobbs had to pay Honda again to replace the wiring, at which time Honda also wrapped the wires in a "mouse-deterrent" tape.
The lawsuit names the Honda Accord and other 2012-2015 Honda vehicles, with the Accord seemingly a favorite of animals.
"The 2015 Honda vehicles have a "green" product that consist of fuel lines and various wiring that has a soy based composition. Rodents are eating the fuel lines and wiring because of the soy based ingredient. I know of numerous vehicles that have leaked gasoline due to the damage caused by rodents." 2015 Honda Accord owner / Joelton, Tennessee
"The soy products now used to create the wire insulation concerns me a great deal. This weekend my wife was driving our car, a 2010 Honda Accord, and while on the road the car started to shake and stutter violently, and would not accelerate. After having our car towed to the dealership, there was evidence that a rodent of some type had chewed on the cables. Not only did this make the car unstable to drive on the road, but there was a threat of electrical fire because the wire's insulation was chewed away by a small animal that was attracted to the soy-based food source in the wires." 2010 Honda Accord owner / Henrico, Virginia
The plaintiffs claim all Honda does to fix the alleged problem is sell a special tape to wrap the wiring and protect it from rodents and other animals. However, owners say Honda refuses to pay for repairs because the soy-based wiring isn't a safety defect.
The lawsuit alleges Honda owners shouldn't get stuck with paying for repairs, and then also get charged for the tape applied to the wiring.
The Honda soy wiring lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California - Daniel Dobbs et al v. American Honda Motor Company, Inc.
The plaintiffs are presented by the Katriel Law Firm.
