A federal class action claims
Nissan has sold cars with defective delta stroke sensors, a brake
mechanism, since 2004
In their suit, filed in U.S.
District Court in San Francisco, Brandon and Erin Banks say that a
defect in the delta stroke sensor, an electronic component that
controls critical safety aspects of braking, causes drivers to lose
braking ability without warning.
The plaintiffs claim that as a
result of the defect, Erin Banks drove through a red light at a
busy intersection with her two small children in the
car.
"Despite applying the brakes in a
manner reasonable anticipated to bring the vehicle to a complete
stop, she frighteningly and dangerously went through the
intersection," the suit alleges.
The suit seeks to represent all U.S.
consumers who currently own Nissan products with the allegedly
defective component and those who previously owned one, excluding
those who claim to have suffered personal injuries as a
result.
Nissan
Armada
The Banks, who live in Placer
County, Calif., say they bought a 2004 Nissan Armada in October 2006, when the truck
had about 23,000 miles on the odometer. They also purchased a
Nissan extended warranty that covered the vehicle for 75,000
miles.
On Feb. 24, 2011, as Erin Banks
approached a red light at 40 miles per hour, she applied the brakes
but the vehicle did not slow down. She pumped the brakes but still
coasted through the intersection, the suit says.
The Armada was taken to Future
Nissan in Roseville, Calif., and inspected. A service technician
advised that the vehicle had displayed a test code which indicated
a failure of the deltra stroke sensor in the ABS control
unit.
The technician said he had seen the
problem in a number of other vehicles, the suit charges, and said
that Nissan had issued an update but that vehicles were being
return for repairs even after the update had been
applied.
$1,000
bill
The only way to fix the problem was
to replace the sensor at a cost of more than $1,000, the technician
advised, but the dealership declined to do so under warranty and
referred Banks to Nissan's customer hotline, the suit
stated.
After numerous phone calls, Nissan
declined to pay for the replacement, allegedly stating that the
warranty had expired and implying that Banks was not a "loyal"
Nissan customer based on the number of non-Nissan vehicles he had
owned.
Banks then spent $967 to have the
sensor replaced at his expense.
The suit quotes Nissan Technical
Service Bulletin NTB06-040 which describes the problem and outlines
steps to remedy it.
Banks charges that he would not have
purchased the Armada or the extended warranty had he known of the
safety hazard allegedly posed by the faulty sensor, and charges
that Nissan denied customers information that could have affected
their safety and that of others on the road.
The suit seeks damages, legal fees
and injunctive relief.
Suit Charges Nissan Covered Up Brake Defect Since 2004
Faulty sensor in ABS control unit endangers motorists, suit alleges...
