Volkswagen Piston Defect and Excessive Oil Consumption Missouri Class Action

This Missouri class action concerns the 2.0-liter turbocharged engines in certain 2012-2017 Volkswagen or Audi vehicles. The complaint alleges they have a defect in the pistons, piston rings, or piston heads that causes the engine to consume excessive amounts of oil and that can eventually damage the pistons and lead to engine failure.

The class for this action is all persons or entities in Missouri who bought or leased a class vehicle.

The complaint alleges that the piston rings in the vehicles do not sit properly in the grooves of the piston heads, which means they cannot properly seal off the combustion chamber from the parts of the engine that need oil. The vehicle therefore consumes an excessive amount of oil, the complaint claims, but the problem doesn’t end there.

The complaint says, “The Piston Defect also results in the shrapnel of the fragments of the piston rings and/or minute pieces of the piston head circulating throughout the engine, damaging other engine components. For example, cylinder scoring is a frequent result of the Piston Defect.” This can lead to high costs for the repair or replacement of damaged parts or even of the entire engine.

Worse yet, the piston problem is a safety issue, because, the complaint alleges, when pistons suddenly fail, the engine can immediately lose power: “[A] sudden loss of power can prevent the driver from accelerating or maintaining speed, controlling the steering wheel or engaging the brakes, all of which drastically increase the risk of collisions.”

Also, because the pistons are actually damaged by the defect, the complaint claims, piston fragments can circulate throughout the engine and fuel system, causing even more damage.

The complaint alleges that Volkswagen knew of the piston defect at least as early as 2012, and possibly knew or should have known about it even earlier, but has not warned consumers about it. Instead, the complaint alleges that Volkswagen has misrepresented or concealed it.

In fact, in October 2013, Volkswagen released a Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) called “Engine Oil Consumption Too High” about the piston issues in the 2.0T engines. It has also issued other TSBs on the issue, including one that talked about metal debris. The complaint therefore alleges that the company knew long ago about the piston problem and the extent of the damage it could cause.

Also, car manufacturers are supposed to stay in close contact with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to identify possible defects in its vehicles. From this source, too, the complaint claims, Volkswagen should have known about the piston problems. “However,” the complaint alleges, “Volkswagen America failed to act on that knowledge by warning customers.”

Article Type: Lawsuit
Topic: Automobile
Tags: Defective Automobile, Oil Use or Consumption, Piston Rings