— A Subaru unintended sudden acceleration lawsuit has been in court five years and still has not been certified as a class action.
Two Subaru acceleration lawsuits were filed in 2020, one in May and one in September. Filed as proposed class actions, they were consolidated into one lawsuit in 2021.
The consolidated Subaru lawsuit alleges sudden acceleration problems occur in these vehicles:
- 2012-2018 Subaru Forester
- 2015-2019 Subaru Legacy
- 2015-2019 Subaru Outback
Subaru allegedly denies there are acceleration problems and the lawsuit says dealers are told to tell customers the vehicles are performing normally. The plaintiffs contend dealers typically tell customers no problems were found so Subaru doesn't have to pay for repairs.
This response supposedly occurs even when a vehicle is still under warranty.
According to the Subaru sudden acceleration lawsuit, the problems force owners to drive dangerous vehicles that could unintentionally slam into pedestrians and objects. And the lawsuit alleges the acceleration problems may occur even if a driver applies the brake pedal.
The plaintiffs claim Subaru sometimes blames the acceleration problems on floor mats that trap the accelerator pedals.
The proposed Subaru class action says no recall has been issued and the automaker won't reimburse customers for acceleration problems.
One plaintiff says her Subaru Forester suddenly accelerated and crashed into another vehicle. She says the incident occurred with her foot on the brake pedal, so she lost money by trading the Forester out of fear of sudden acceleration problems.
Another plaintiff asserts her Forester hit a fence when her foot was pressing the brake pedal, while two plaintiffs claim they were in a Forester when it accelerated, hit a guardrail and overturned. The two plaintiffs allege their Forester was totaled, they were injured, and it all occurred with the driver pressing the brake pedal.
According to the lawsuit, sudden acceleration problems are caused by the brake override system, the throttle body assembly and position sensor, and due to malfunctions of the circuit boards and powertrain control modules.
The five-year-old Subaru sudden acceleration lawsuit has seen several attorneys leave the case as others have entered.
According to Judge Sharon A. King, the plaintiffs have until April 4 to file their motions for class action certification, and Subaru has a deadline of April 14 to file its motion for summary judgment.
The Subaru sudden acceleration lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey: Weston, et al., v. Subaru of America, Inc., et al.
The plaintiffs are represented by Berger Montague PC, and Capstone Law APC.
