Significant settlements secured in automobile fuel pump class action cases

Attorney Complaints
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Tom Methvin, Principal, Managing Attorney | Beasley Allen, law firm, GA

In recent years, significant settlements have been secured in automobile fuel pump class action cases, highlighting concerns over vehicle safety and financial impacts on consumers due to alleged manufacturer oversights.

In April 2020, Subaru initially recalled 190,000 vehicles for defective fuel pumps. Beasley Allen filed a class action that same month, arguing the recall was insufficient and more vehicles were affected. Subsequently, Subaru expanded the recall by adding 165,000 vehicles in a second recall. Further efforts led to an additional 170,000 vehicles being included in the settlement, followed by another 860,000 vehicles. In total, the settlement encompassed 1.3 million vehicles.

The lawsuit alleged that an impeller inside the fuel pump was made of inadequate material. This caused it to absorb too much fuel, deforming and failing to function properly. Issues with car acceleration and potential stalling or power loss while driving were cited as consequences. The supplier of these fuel pumps was Denso, which was also named as a defendant.

A tentative settlement agreement has been reached in the Mazda Fuel Pump Class Action case valued at approximately $78 million. Preliminary Approval for this case was filed on May 3, 2024.

The Honda Fuel Pump case is still in progress with discovery underway. The class size for Honda could potentially surpass those of Subaru and Mazda combined.

The Toyota Fuel Pump Class Action was resolved in 2022 with a settlement valued at over $289 million covering 6.5 million class members.

Demet Basar and Dylan Martin have led the approval process while Clay Barnett, Mitch Williams, Trent Mann, and Dee Miles provided legal expertise throughout these cases.