— A VW Front Assist class action lawsuit settlement has been reached between Audi, VW and owners of multiple models.
The Audi and Volkswagen automatic emergency braking lawsuit alleges the braking systems are dangerous because the systems can mistakenly activate suddenly while driving.
By agreeing to settle the Front Assist class action lawsuit, Volkswagen says in the agreement there is nothing wrong with the vehicles or the autonomous braking systems.
The automaker also says there are no defects in the systems and no laws or warranties were violated.
The automatic emergency braking lawsuit settlement agreement resolves four class actions consolidated into one.
- Dack v. Volkswagen
- Sharma v. Volkswagen
- May v. Volkswagen
- Pieras v. Volkswagen
Audi/Volkswagen Autonomous Braking System Lawsuit Settlement
Volkswagen Vehicles (Equipped with “Front Assist” Autonomous Braking Systems)
- 2019-2023 Volkswagen Arteon
- 2018-2023 Volkswagen Atlas
- 2020-2023 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport
- 2016-2017 Volkswagen CC
- 2016-2021 Volkswagen Golf
- 2016-2019 and 2022-2023 Volkswagen Golf R
- 2016-2019 Volkswagen Golf Sportwagen
- 2016-2023 Volkswagen GTI
- 2016-2019 Volkswagen e-Golf
- 2021-2023 Volkswagen ID.4
- 2016-2023 Volkswagen Jetta
- 2016-2022 Volkswagen Passat
- 2022-2023 Volkswagen Taos
- 2018-2023 Volkswagen Tiguan
- 2015-2017 Volkswagen Touareg
Audi Vehicles (Equipped with “Audi Braking Guard,” “Pre Sense Front,” “Audi Pre Sense City,” and/or “Turn assist” Autonomous Braking Systems)
- 2015-2020 and 2022-2023 Audi A3
- 2019-2023 Audi Q3
- 2013-2023 Audi A4
- 2013-2023 Audi A5
- 2013-2023 Audi Q5
- 2012-2023 Audi A6
- 2012-2023 Audi A7
- 2011-2023 Audi A8
- 2017-2023 Audi Q7
- 2019-2023 Audi Q8
- 2019-2023 Audi e-tron
- 2022-2023 Audi e-tron GT
- 2022-2023 Audi Q4 e-tron
The plaintiffs who sued contend the settlement provides substantial benefits to affected customers.
Audi/VW Extended Warranty
The settlement provides a short extended warranty for the automatic emergency braking systems.
The automatic emergency braking warranty extension will extend the new vehicle limited warranty by an additional 12 months or 12,000 miles from the expiration of the warranty.
However, Audi and VW owners will still be stuck paying something because the warranty extension covers only 75% of a covered repair by an authorized dealership.
"A Covered Repair is a repair or replacement (parts and labor) of a diagnosed and confirmed malfunction or failure of a Settlement Class Vehicle’s AEB system that resulted from failure or malfunction of the AEB system’s control unit, camera(s), radar, LIDAR, and/or sensors which enable automatic emergency braking functionality in Settlement Cass Vehicles." — VW automatic emergency braking lawsuit settlement
Also, keep in mind many of the Audi and VW new vehicle warranties expired many years ago considering some of the affected models go back to 2011.
If a vehicle's warranty has already expired as of the date of the class action notice mailing, the warranty extension will be only six months after the notice date.
Reimbursement for Audi/VW Autonomous Braking Repairs
The automatic emergency braking class action settlement also includes a possible partial reimbursement if the customer incurred expenses for past covered repairs which occurred before the class action settlement notice date and within 12 months or 12,000 miles (whichever occurred first) after the expiration of the new vehicle limited warranty.
However, the reimbursement is for only 75% of expenses for one covered repair.
The settlement agreement also says Volkswagen must include additional details on its website and other publications about the functions and limitations of the various automatic emergency braking systems.
According to the settlement agreement, the eight VW owners who filed the lawsuit will receive $5,000 each, and the attorneys representing those owners will receive $2,250,000.
Those eight customers are: Neeraj Sharma, Stephan Moonesar, Matthew May, Omar Oweis, Marcos Pieras, Linda Christian, Emily Dack, and Kim Hensley-Hauser.
The VW Front Assist class action lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri: Dack, et al., v. Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., et al.
The plaintiffs are represented by Bursor & Fisher, Walsh PLLC, Sauder Schelkopf LLC, Law Office of Adam R. Gonnelli, L.L.C., Berger Montague, PC, and Capstone Law APC.
