Porsche Squealing Brakes and Secret Warranties Class Action

Are squealing brakes a problem in a new vehicle? This class action brings suit against Porsche Cars North America, Inc. for noisy brakes, with the complaint speaking of “the amount of negative attention the noise from the Subject Brakes attracts… Additionally, the defect draws the attention of officers of law enforcement agencies, who associate brake squeals with high-speed driving and racing.” The complaint also claims Porsche follows the unlawful practice of issuing “secret warranties” for some vehicle problems.

The Subject Vehicles in this case are Porsches “with factory-installed high-friction brakes which make an extremely loud squealing noise[,]” such as the 2018 Porsche Cayenne leased by plaintiff Eliza Minassian in this case. It claims that Porsche has been making and selling such vehicles since at least 2013.

The complaint contends that “Porsche knew or should have known [the brakes at issue] are defective because Porsche has internal procedures of testing their new vehicles and their equipment for extended periods of time, in various conditions, before mass production and distribution of the vehicles.”

In fact, the complaint claims that Porsche posted a video on January 26, 2018 that claims “the brake squealing is a ‘misunderstood noise’ and due to a distribution of energy as opposed to a malfunction.” However, an authorized Porsche dealer told Minassian the noise was due to brake dust, which is not discussed in the video.

Also taken up by the complaint is the issue of “secret warranties,” which violate California’s civil code. Secret warranties occur when an automaker “establishes a policy to pay for the repair of [a] defect without making the defect or the policy known to the public at large.” The company therefore only offers warranty for the defect if the customer complains about it first. In effect, the complaint says, the automaker therefore only has to reimburse “those customers who complain loudly enough.”

The complaint implies that Porsche has such a secret warranty in the case of the Porsche brakes. It claims that dealerships also covered up the problem by systematically refusing to document visits … with the subject complaint[,]” thereby “depriv[ing] [owners and lessees] of their lemon law righs by distorting the Subject Vehicles’ repair histories.”

The complaint alleges that hundreds of people have complained of the squealing brake problem and that the value of the Subject Vehicles have therefore fallen significantly.

The complaint alleges breaches of warranty and violations of the law prohibiting “secret warranties,” among other things.

Two classes have been defined for this action:

• The National Class for this action is all persons and entities in the US who bought or leased, or will buy or lease, one of the Subject Vehicles in this case.
• The California Class is all persons or entities who bought or leased, or will buy or lease, one of the Subject Vehicles in this case.

 

Article Type: Lawsuit
Topic: Automobile
Tags: Brakes, Defective Automobile, Secret Warranties