Nissan Altima Defective CVT in 2019-2020 Models Class Action

Plaintiff Ariel Simpson owns a 2019 Nissan Altima with a continuously variable transmission (CVT), but at times, the complaint for this class action, when she is at a stoplight, she must press the accelerator all the way to the floor to get the car moving again. The complaint alleges she is just one of the people who own or lease a 2019 or 2020 Nissan Altima with a defective CVT. The defendants in the suit are Nissan of North America, Inc. and Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.

A class and five subclasses have been defined for this action:

• The Nationwide Class is all persons or entities who bought or leased a 2019 or 2020 Nissan Altima in the US.
• The Massachusetts, Maryland, Virginia, New Hampshire, and North Carolina Subclasses are all members of the above class who bought or leased a 2019 or 2020 Nissan Altima in these states, respectively.

A CVT is an automatic transmission that does not use conventional gears but instead “uses a segmented steel belt between pulleys that can be adjusted to change the reduction ratio in the transmission.”

But the complaint alleges that the vehicles at issue in this case have a defect that causes a delay in acceleration, either from a stop or while it is in motion. The delay may come with the sound of the engine revving as the driver presses the gas pedal or with “stalling, jerking, lurching, juddering, and/or shaking” and sometimes leads to the failure of the transmission. The complaint alleges that the cost of repairs is very high.

Nissan has known about the problem for a while, the complaint claims: “Nissan’s CVT has been plagued with the same or similar recurrent problems … for over a decade.” In fact, according to the complaint, it has extended warranties on earlier model-year vehicles, at least twice in response to previous class actions, but it has not done for the 2019 and 2020 model years.

It has issued technical service bulletins (TSBs) on the problem, along with two special tools and instructions on doing a fluid check. “On information and belief,” the complaint alleges, these things were necessary “because its CVTs are prone to leaking transmission fluid and their performance is extremely sensitive to the level of fluid present. Insufficient transmission fluid can cause belt slippage and, ultimately, transmission failure.”

In fact, the complaint asserts, one thing that can go wrong with the transmission is “the build up of metal debris that can contaminate the transmission.” It quotes a Nissan dealer as warning, “If you don’t change your 2019 Nissan Altima transmission fluid, your transmission will have broken metal shavings and alternative corrosive metal spread throughout the big components of your 2019 Nissan Altima.”

Article Type: Lawsuit
Topic: Automobile
Tags: Defective Automobile, Transmission