Mar 20, 2022 | Archive
Owners and Lessees of 2019-2022 Volkswagen Atlas, Golf, Jetta, Tiguan and Taos Vehicles With Wiring Harness Defects May Have Legal Claims.
Owners and lessees of 2019-2022 Volkswagen Atlas, Golf, Jetta, Tiguan, and Taos vehicles should be aware that a class action lawsuit was filed on March 18, 2022 on behalf of a class of past and present owners and lessees of allegedly defective 2019-2022 Volkswagen Atlas, Golf, Jetta, Tiguan and Taos vehicles (collectively, the “Class Vehicles”) designed, manufactured, marketed, distributed, sold, warranted, and serviced by Defendant Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (“VW” or “Volkswagen”).
According to the class action complaint, VW has been aware that the subject Class Vehicles suffer from a dangerous manufacturing and/or design defect that causes the Class Vehicles’ door wiring harnesses to fail and results in, among other things, the Class Vehicles erratically applying the emergency brakes, opening and closing the windows, and displaying numerous error messages and emitting warning noise.
The wiring harness defect is, according to the complaint, a serious safety hazard that substantially increases the likelihood of a vehicle collision and injury to drivers, passengers and pedestrians, and prevents the vehicles from providing safe or reliable transportation.
Mar 9, 2022 | Archive
BMW Recalling Potentially 917,106 Vehicles – An Electrical Short Can Cause the PCV Heater to Overheat, Increasing the Risk of a Fire While Driving or Soon After Driving When Parked.
BMW of North America, LLC (“BMW”) is recalling certain 2008-2013 1 Series Coupe (128i); 2007-2013 3 Series Coupe (328i, 328xi, 328i xDrive); 2007-2010 X3 SAV (X3 3.0si, X3 xDrive30i); 2008-2013 1 Series Convertible (128i); 2006-2011 3 Series Sedan (325i, 325xi, 328i, 328xi, 328i xDrive, 330i, 330xi); 2006-2012 3 Series Wagon (328i, 328i xDrive); 2007-2013 3 Series Convertible (328i); 2006-2010 5 Series Sedan (525i, 525xi, 528i, 528xi, 530i, 530xi); 2006-2007 5 Series Wagon (530xi); 2007-2010 X5 SAV (X5 3.0si, X5 xDrive30i); 2006-2008 Z4 Coupe (Z4 3.0si); and 2006-2011 Z4 Roadster (Z4 3.0i, Z4 3.0si, Z4 sDrive30i) vehicles. The heater for the positive crankcase ventilation (“PCV”) valve may short circuit.
For more information about this recall, which potentially affects 917,106 BMW vehicles, please click NHTSA Campaign Number 22V119000.
How Do You Know If Your Vehicle Has Been Recalled?
Your vehicle MAY be involved in a safety recall which MAY create a safety risk for you or your passengers. If not repaired, a potential safety defect could lead to injury or even death. Safety defects must be repaired by a dealer at no cost to you. To find out if your vehicle is included in the recall, please use the NHTSA’s VIN Look-up Tool.
What Is A Vehicle Recall?
When a manufacturer or the NHTSA determines that a vehicle creates an unreasonable risk to safety or fails to meet minimum safety standards, the manufacturer is required to fix that vehicle at no cost to the owner. The fix, or repair, can be accomplished by repairing, replacing, offering a refund (for equipment) or, in rare cases, repurchasing the car/vehicle.
What Should I Do If My Vehicle Is Included In This Recall?
If your vehicle is included in a specific recall, it is very important that you get it fixed as soon as possible given the potential danger to you and your passengers if it is not addressed. You should receive a separate letter in the mail from the vehicle manufacturer, notifying you of the recall and explaining when the remedy will be available, whom to contact to repair your vehicle, and to remind you that the repair will be done at no charge to you. If you believe your vehicle is included in the recall, but you do not receive a letter in the mail from the vehicle manufacturer, please call NHTSA’s Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236, or contact your vehicle manufacturer or dealership.
For additional information about vehicle recalls, please click Vehicle Recall FAQs.
Source: U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
VEHICLE OWNERS AND LESSEES AFFECTED BY AUTOMOTIVE DEFECTS OR SAFETY RECALLS ARE ENCOURAGED TO CONTACT KEHOE LAW FIRM, P.C., [email protected], FOR A FREE, CONFIDENTIAL CONSULTATION AND NO-OBLIGATION EVALUATION OF POTENTIAL LEGAL CLAIMS.
Mar 3, 2022 | Archive
Honda CR-V (2017-2019) & Honda Accord (2018-2019) Vehicle Owners/Lessees Are Advised That The NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation Is Investigating Inadvertent Emergency Braking Incidents.
Inadvertent or unexpected activation of the automatic emergency braking system may cause rapid vehicle deceleration which increases risk of a collision.
The NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation (“ODI”) has received a total of 278 complaints (107 Honda Accord; 171 Honda CR-V) and several Early Warning Reports alleging inadvertent activation of the collision mitigation braking system (CMBS) in 2017-2019 Honda CR-V and 2018-2019 Honda Accord vehicles. The complaints allege braking incidents, some with large speed changes, occurring with nothing obstructing the vehicle’s path of travel.
Of the 278 complaints, 6 allege a collision with minor injuries. The affected vehicle population is estimated at 1,732,000.
Inadvertent or unexpected braking activation while driving can cause unexpected speed reductions that can lead to increased vulnerability to rear end impact collisions. The complaints allege that the inadvertent braking events occur without warning and randomly.
ODI has opened the Preliminary Evaluation to determine the scope and severity of the potential problem and to fully assess the potential safety-related issues.
Owners & Lessees of Honda CR-V (2017-2019) & Honda Accord (2018-2019) Vehicles
Honda CR-V (2017-2019) and Honda Accord (2018-2019) vehicle owners and lessees are encouraged to contact Kehoe Law Firm, P.C., [email protected], for a free, confidential consultation and no-obligation evaluation of potential legal claims.
Feb 27, 2022 | Archive
Owners and Lessees of Certain Hyundai & Kia Vehicles May Have Legal Claims.
If you have owned or leased any of the following Hyundai or Kia automobiles, please CLICK HERE to contact Kehoe Law Firm, P.C.:
Hyundai Azera (2006-2011); Hyundai Elantra (2007-2010); Hyundai Elantra Touring (2009-2011); Hyundai Entourage (2007-2008); Hyundai Genesis (2015-2016); Hyundai Genesis G80 (2017-2020); Hyundai Santa Fe (2007, 2016-2018); Hyundai Santa Fe Sport (2013-2015, 2017-2018); Hyundai Santa Fe XL (2019); Hyundai Sonata (2006); Hyundai Tucson (2014-2021).
Kia Cadenza (2017-2019); Kia K900 (2016-2018); Kia Optima (2013-2015); Kia Sedona (2006-2010); Kia Sorento (2007-2009, 2014-2015); Kia Sportage (2008-2009, 2014-2021); Kia Stinger (2018-2021); 2020 Kia Telluride (2020).
A class action lawsuit filed on February 25, 2022 in federal court against Hyundai Motor Company, Hyundai Motor America (collectively, “Hyundai”) and Kia Corporation and Kia America, Inc. (collectively, “Kia”) has alleged that Hyundai and Kia sold the aforementioned vehicles (the “Class Vehicles”) knowing that the automobiles were defective, prone to electrical short-circuits, and posed an unreasonable risk of non-collision engine fires.
According to the class action complaint, the Class Vehicles contain a defective Hydraulic Electronic Control Unit (“HECU”) in the Anti-Lock Brake System (“ABS”) which can short circuit and ignite, presenting consumers with an unacceptable risk of engine fire while driving or even when the car is parked and turned off.
The complaint alleges that moisture can accumulate within the HECU (a/k/a the ABS control module), which maintains an electrical charge even when the vehicle is off. Moisture entering the electrified ABS control module, allegedly, can form a short circuit, increasing the chances of spontaneous fire eruption in the vehicle’s engine compartment.
Owners & Lessees of the following vehicles are encouraged to contact Kehoe Law Firm, P.C., [email protected], for a free, confidential consultation and no-obligation evaluation of potential legal claims:
Hyundai Azera (2006-2011); Hyundai Elantra (2007-2010); Hyundai Elantra Touring (2009-2011); Hyundai Entourage (2007-2008); Hyundai Genesis (2015-2016); Hyundai Genesis G80 (2017-2020); Hyundai Santa Fe (2007, 2016-2018); Hyundai Santa Fe Sport (2013-2015, 2017-2018); Hyundai Santa Fe XL (2019); Hyundai Sonata (2006); Hyundai Tucson (2014-2021).
Kia Cadenza (2017-2019); Kia K900 (2016-2018); Kia Optima (2013-2015); Kia Sedona (2006-2010); Kia Sorento (2007-2009, 2014-2015); Kia Sportage (2008-2009, 2014-2021); Kia Stinger (2018-2021); 2020 Kia Telluride (2020).
Feb 24, 2022 | Archive
Owners and Lessees of Nissan Maxima (2019-2021), Nissan Sentra (2020-2021), Nissan Versa (2020-2021), Nissan Rogue Sport (2017-2021), Nissan Altima (2019-2021), Nissan Kicks (2020-2021), Nissan Rogue (2017-2020), Nissan Armada (2021), Nissan Leaf (2018-2021), Nissan Murano (2019-2021), and Nissan Titan (2020-2021) Vehicles May Have Legal Claims.
On February 15, 2022, a class action lawsuit was filed against Nissan North America, Inc. and Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. (collectively, “Nissan”) in federal court on behalf of all persons who currently or formerly owned or leased any Nissan brand light vehicle equipped with a Continental ARS410 radar sensor, including the following: Maxima (2019-2021), Sentra (2020-2021), Versa (2020-2021), Rogue Sport (2017-2021), Altima (2019-2021), Kicks (2020-2021), Rogue (2017-2020), Armada (2021), Leaf (2018-2021), Murano (2019-2021), Titan (2020-2021) (the “Class Vehicles”).
According to the class action complaint, the defendants wrongfully and intentionally concealed, and continue to conceal, from the pre-purchase/lease transaction to the present day, one or more defects in the Class Vehicles’ Forward Emergency Braking (“FEB”) system that can cause it to falsely engage or otherwise not work as intended.
Allegedly, the FEB defect causes, among other things, (1) the Class Vehicles to detect nonexistent obstacles, thereby automatically triggering the brakes and causing the Class Vehicles to abruptly slow down or come to a complete stop with no actual need to do so and/or (2) the FEB system to deactivate itself, thereby distracting the driver and rendering the FEB system disabled and useless. The FEB system, according to the complaint, is not a safety feature, as Nissan has claimed, but rather an unpredictable and unreasonable safety hazard.
Further, the FEB defect, allegedly, can cause the Class Vehicles to stop without warning during normal and intended vehicle operation, thus posing an unreasonable safety hazard to drivers, passengers, other motorists, and pedestrians.
Owners and Lessees of Nissan Maxima (2019-2021), Nissan Sentra (2020-2021), Nissan Versa (2020-2021), Nissan Rogue Sport (2017-2021), Nissan Altima (2019-2021), Nissan Kicks (2020-2021), Nissan Rogue (2017-2020), Nissan Armada (2021), Nissan Leaf (2018-2021), Nissan Murano (2019-2021), and Nissan Titan (2020-2021) vehicles are encouraged to contact Kehoe Law Firm, P.C., [email protected], for a free, confidential consultation and no-obligation evaluation of potential legal claims.
Feb 22, 2022 | Archive
FTC Received 2.8 Million Fraud Reports From Consumers In 2021
Federal Trade Commission data shows that consumers reported losing more than $5.8 billion to fraud in 2021, an increase of more than 70 percent over the previous year.
The FTC received fraud reports from more than 2.8 million consumers last year, with the most commonly reported category once again being imposter scams, followed by online shopping scams.
Prizes, sweepstakes, and lotteries; internet services; and business and job opportunities rounded out the top five fraud categories.
Of the losses reported by consumers, more than $2.3 billion of losses reported last year were due to imposter scams (up from $1.2 billion in 2020), while online shopping accounted for about $392 million in reported losses from consumers, up from $246 million in 2020.
Consumer Sentinel Network 2021 Data Book
In 2021, the Consumer Sentinel Network took in over 5.7 million reports, an increase from 2020. – Fraud: 2.8 million (49% of all reports) – Identity theft: 1.4 million (25%) – Other: 1.5 million (27%)
In 2021, people filed more reports about Identity Theft (25.0% of all reports), in all its various forms, than any other type of complaint. Imposter Scams, a subset of Fraud reports, followed with 984,756 reports from consumers in 2021 (17.2% of all reports). Credit Bureaus, Information Furnishers and Report Users (10.3% of all reports) rounded out the top three reports to Sentinel.
Fraud
There were over 984,000 imposter scam reports to Sentinel. Seventeen percent of those reported a dollar loss, totaling over $2.3 billion lost to imposter scams in 2021. These scams include, for example, romance scams, people falsely claiming to be the government, a relative in distress, a well-known business, or a technical support expert, to get a consumer’s money.
Of the nearly 2.8 million fraud reports, 25% indicated money was lost. In 2021, people reported losing more than $5.8 billion to fraud – an increase of $2.4 billion over 2020.
The median loss for all fraud reports in 2021 is $500. Among the top 10 frauds reported, the median individual losses were highest in these categories: – Investment Related ($3,000) – Foreign Money Offers and Counterfeit Check Scams ($2,000) – Business and Job Opportunities ($1,991)
Telephone was the method of contact for 36% of fraud reports with a contact method identified. Nine percent of those reports indicated a money loss – but that 9% reported an aggregate loss of nearly $692 million, and a $1,200 median loss.
Bank transfers and payments accounted for the highest aggregate losses reported in 2021 ($756 million), followed closely by Cryptocurrency ($750 million), while credit cards were most frequently identified as the payment method in fraud reports.
Of people who reported their age, those aged 20-29 reported losing money to fraud in 41% of reports filed with the FTC, while people aged 70 – 79 reported losing money in 18% of their reports and people 80 and over reported it in 17% of their reports. But when they did experience a loss, people aged 70 and older reported much higher median losses than any other age group.
Identity Theft
Government Documents or Benefits Fraud tops the list of identity theft types reported in 2021. The FTC received 395,948 reports from people who said their information was misused to apply for a government document or benefit, such as unemployment insurance.
Military
Military consumers reported over 110,000 fraud complaints, including 44,039 imposter scams that reportedly cost them over $103 million in 2021.
Top States
The states with the highest per capita rates of reported fraud in 2021 were Georgia, Maryland, Delaware, Nevada, and Florida. For reported identity theft, the top states in 2021 were Rhode Island, Kansas, Illinois, Louisiana, and Georgia.
Source: FTC.gov
