Honda Sued over False Mileage

[poita]

Now this has happened it's set a precedent for other car owners, and manufacturers to keep note of.

Could become a very costly exercise for them!

http://smh.drive.com.au/motor-news/w...203-1qw79.html

A woman in the United States has been awarded damages after her Civic failed to get the mileage promised.



Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Douglas Carnahan ruled that the car maker did mislead Heather Peters and awarded her $US9,867 ($A9,254.80) - much more than the couple of hundred dollars cash that a proposed class-action settlement is offering.

''At a bare minimum Honda was aware ... that by the time Peters bought her car there were problems with its living up to its advertised mileage,'' Carnahan wrote in the judgment.

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Honda disagrees with the judgment and plans to appeal the decision, company spokesman Chris Martin said in a statement.

Peters, a former lawyer, said she is renewing her legal licence after a 10-year lapse so she can represent other Honda owners who have the same problems she did.

''Wow! Fantastic. I am absolutely thrilled,'' she said when informed her of the judge's decision.

''Sometimes big justice comes in small packages. This is a victory for Honda Civic owners everywhere.''

Carnahan included in his 26-page decision a long list of misleading representations by Honda that he said Peters had correctly identified. Among them were that the car would use ''amazingly little fuel'', ''provides plenty of horsepower while still sipping fuel'', and that it would ''save plenty of money on fuel with up to 50 mpg during city driving.''

''Actual performance of plaintiff's vehicle did not live up to these standards,'' he said.

He noted that when she began receiving much less than the advertised mileage, ''she knew she had a problem.''

Peters opted out of the class-action lawsuit so she could try to claim a larger damage award for her 2006 Honda Civic's failure to deliver the 50 mpg that was promised.

The proposed class-action settlement would give aggrieved owners $100 to $200 each and a $1,000 credit toward the purchase of a new car.

Peters hopes to inspire a flood of small-claims lawsuits by the other 200,000 people whose Honda Civic hybrids are covered by the proposed settlement.

If all 200,000 owners sued and won in small claims court, she said, it could cost Honda $2 billion.

Peters launched a website, DontSettleWithHonda.org, and said she was contacted by hundreds of other car owners seeking guidance on filing small claims lawsuits if they opted out of the class-action case.

But legal experts say it's unlikely that many owners would take the small-claims route because of the time and energy involved in pursuing such lawsuits.

Carnahan found that Honda did commit fraud, but he could not find intentional fraud and thus did not award punitive damages. Most of the damages Peters was awarded were for extra money spent on fuel, both in the past and future, the cost of the car battery, and the decrease in the car's value because of its problems.

A judge in San Diego County is due to rule in March on whether to approve Honda's class-action settlement. Members of the class have until February 11 to accept or decline the deal.

Warning: This is an Old Thread This discussion is older than 120 days. information contained in it may no longer be current . Please think of the children before resurrecting this ancient thread!

[Vectracious]

big precedent set there.... but the goverment tests that the figures are based on (here in Oz anyway) are rubbish and nowhere near realistic - don't they do it on a dyno anyway?

[JohnBu]

don't they do it on a dyno anyway?

Down a 100km hill....

To Honda's and every other manufacturer's defence, the way you drive and where you live makes a big difference to fuel consumption.

But the fuel consumption guide, should be used a guide only.... everyone knows it's going to be 20%+ more in the real world.

[JohnBu]

actually read this intelligent comment posted at 03 February 2012 9:59am here http://www.carsguide.com.au/news-and...a3_sp20_review

lazy ass motoring journalist.

[metry]

actually read this intelligent comment posted at 03 February 2012 9:59am here http://www.carsguide.com.au/news-and...a3_sp20_review

lazy ass motoring journalist.

put a smile to my face. everyone knows that you can never get the fuel consumption promised by the dealer.

my 79 lancer says 30mpg but a get around 22. mums 2008 lancer promised 8.4s or something but we get 10-11. the astra gets 10-11

[nick_sixx]

The VXR claims ~9.5 from memory. Real world is 11.5-12.3 depending on how much highway driving I do (which is about 200km every 8 weeks...not much)

[poita]

can't remember where I saw it, but manufacturers have a 28% allowance on figures.

dont quote me on it though lol

[metry]

can't remember where I saw it, but manufacturers have a 28% allowance on figures.

dont quote me on it though lol

i always thought whats quoted on the car for fuel economy is a mix of city and highway driving? correct me if im wrong. but your probably right that theyre allowed some sort of allowance because every one drives their cars differently.

[2002_XC]

i always thought whats quoted on the car for fuel economy is a mix of city and highway driving? correct me if im wrong. but your probably right that theyre allowed some sort of allowance because every one drives their cars differently.

They used to provide 3 figures, city, highway and a mix... not sure if they still do though

[poita]

These are the new ones in Australia



http://www.environment.gov.au/settle...ide/label.html