A putative class action against Subaru of America, Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A, and Toyota Engineering & Manufacturing of North America alleges Toyota and Subaru sold vehicles with an engine defect that leads to sudden stalling and failure of engines.
The class action lawsuit alleges that the 2013 Toyota Scion FR-S, Subaru BRZ, and Subaru Crosstrek XV vehicles have defective valve springs that can increase the risk of a crash as a result of engines malfunctioning and stalling.
According to the Class Action Complaint, “excessive stress on the valve spring combined with the dispersion of impurity within the composition of the spring material leads to failure.” Subaru and Toyota began to instruct owners of the vehicles to contact Subaru or Toyota dealers to have the valve springs replaced, said they would fix the “engine stalling” and “risk of a crash” problems, and that they would replace all valve springs free of charge with new and improved ones.
However, the Complaint alleges the recall not only failed to remedy the hazard, but actually increases the risk of valve spring or other engine malfunction, and has increased the risk of vehicle crashes due to vehicles suddenly stalling.
The Complaint alleges the following cars have the defective feature:
- 2013 Subaru BRZ
- 2013 Subaru Crosstrek XV
- 2013 Toyota Scion FR-S
Legal claims
The plaintiffs raise assert claims for breach of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, breach of express warranties, breach of implied warranties, breach of express and implied warranties under the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act, and breach of the Consumer Legal Remedies Act. They also allege fraud, negligence, negligent misrepresentation, unjust enrichment, and promissory estoppel.
The lawsuit requests that Subaru and Toyota accept full liability for the allegedly defective valve spring and resulting losses, inequities, and damages. The lawsuit also seeks restitution, compensatory damages, civil penalties, and consequential damages.
Subaru and Toyota filed a joint motion to dismiss the lawsuit on September 10, 2020, but the Court has not ruled on it yet. The case is Nunez, et al., v. Subaru of American, Inc., et al., 1:19-cv-18303-JDW, in the District of New Jersey.
