Honda Fuel Pump Recall Lawsuit
In May of 2020, American Honda Motor issued a recall of certain models of Honda and Acura vehicles for possible fuel pump failure. The worldwide recall affected an estimated 1.4 million vehicles manufactured between 2018–2019, about 140,000 of them in the U.S. In March 2021, the recall was expanded to encompass additional vehicle models and years of both Honda and Acura. The total number of Honda and Acura vehicles in the U.S. recalled for the fuel pump issue is estimated at over 600,000.
Recent lawsuits against Honda allege that the manufacturer knowingly sold cars with faulty fuel pumps. A failed fuel pump can endanger the physical safety of all in and around the car. Moreover, the defective fuel pumps decrease the value of the car below that which buyers would reasonably expect and were led to believe before purchase.
What is the Honda lawsuit about?
Active lawsuits against Honda accuse the company of deceptive trade practices, of breach of warranty, of a negligent recall, and of fraudulent omission. This litigation demands that Honda pay damages along with other forms of restitution. Drivers filed a class action complaint in Alabama federal court May 13, 2020.
All cars equipped with a faulty Denso fuel pump are at risk of fuel pump failure. This is due to a defective design. The pump’s impeller—a spinning piece that generates negative pressure to pull fuel from the gas tank through the fuel lines and fuel filter and into the fuel injectors of the engine—is made of a plastic material that absorbs fuels and becomes warped.
A warped impeller makes the fuel pump inoperable and may also cause damage to other parts of the engine. A failed fuel pump can cause vehicles to suddenly stall, sputter, and even shutdown the engine while driving. In addition of risks of bodily harm or death in the case of a crash, fuel pump failure may leave drivers and passengers stranded with no transportation.
Faulty Denso fuel pumps have prompted several automakers to recall their vehicles, including Toyota and Subaru. The auto parts manufacturer itself, Denso, recalled more than 2 million defective units in April 2020.
What vehicles are affected?
Though Honda has already recalled nearly 2 million vehicles worldwide in two separate recalls due to the known Denso fuel pump defects, more models may be affected. Recent lawsuits allege that the faulty Denso fuel pumps are present in vehicles Honda manufactured as far back as 2013.
The models include:
Acura
- 2018-2019 NSX
- 2019-2020 RDX
- 2019 RLX, 2019 RLX Sport Hybrid
- 2019 ILX
- 2019-2020 MDX Sport Hybrid
- 2019-2020 TLX
Honda
- 2018-2020 Accord
- 2018-2020 Civic Hatchback
- 2018-2019 Civic Type R
- 2019 Fit
- 2018-2019 HR-V
- 2019-2020 Insight
- 2019 Accord Hybrid
- 2019 Coupe, Coupe Si
- 2019 Sedan, Sedan Si
- 2019-2020 Insight
- 2019 Odyssey
- 2019 Passport
- 2019 Pilot
- 2019 Ridgeline
Protecting drivers
If you have been injured or defrauded by an automaker, you may be eligible for compensation. For victims of corporate fraud, abuse, or malfeasance, legal action can offer both a remedy and a way to hold wrongdoers to account. With offices in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, Seeger Weiss LLP has represented thousands of people fighting against corporate misconduct for more than two decades.
Among its victories, it negotiated on behalf of car owners the world’s largest consumer auto industry class-action settlement in history: over $21 billion from Volkswagen after the automaker equipped “clean diesel” cars with devices to cheat emissions standards tests. Seeger Weiss currently represents thousands of drivers in active litigation against carmakers GM, BMW, Mercedes, Toyota, and Subaru, among others. The firm is investigating similar fuel pump failures in Toyota and Subaru vehicles.