Class Action Lawsuit Targets Automakers For Keyless Ignition Dangers
From ABC News
Ten of the world’s largest automakers are facing a consumer class action lawsuit filed early Wednesday morning in California on behalf of millions of Americans who own or lease vehicles equipped with keyless ignitions.
“We’re filing this litigation because we feel like we need to do so to protect millions of Americans who are driving vehicles that have a safety defect that can kill them,” said Martis Alex, a New York attorney with the law firm Labaton Sucharow, who is leading the class action lawsuit.
Keyless ignitions have become widely available in recent years. The technology allows drivers to start their engines with an electronic key fob and the push of a button instead of using a traditional physical key.
At issue, the driver can take the fob far away from the vehicle, such as to the bedroom, while inadvertently leaving the car running and emitting carbon monoxide for an indefinite period of time without the key fob present. This can become especially dangerous – even deadly – when the car remains running in garages attached to a home. The suit says 13 carbon monoxide deaths have been linked to the cars.
It seeks an injunction ordering Toyota, Ford, Nissan, Honda, BMW, Volkswagen, Bentley, Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai and Kia to install what it claims is an inexpensive automatic shut-down feature on all affected vehicles. The suit further alleges some automakers have begun installing the “auto-off” feature on newer model vehicles, while leaving older keyless ignition models without an automatic shut-down capability.
Read more in our daily News Update...
From ABC News
Ten of the world’s largest automakers are facing a consumer class action lawsuit filed early Wednesday morning in California on behalf of millions of Americans who own or lease vehicles equipped with keyless ignitions.
“We’re filing this litigation because we feel like we need to do so to protect millions of Americans who are driving vehicles that have a safety defect that can kill them,” said Martis Alex, a New York attorney with the law firm Labaton Sucharow, who is leading the class action lawsuit.
Keyless ignitions have become widely available in recent years. The technology allows drivers to start their engines with an electronic key fob and the push of a button instead of using a traditional physical key.
At issue, the driver can take the fob far away from the vehicle, such as to the bedroom, while inadvertently leaving the car running and emitting carbon monoxide for an indefinite period of time without the key fob present. This can become especially dangerous – even deadly – when the car remains running in garages attached to a home. The suit says 13 carbon monoxide deaths have been linked to the cars.
It seeks an injunction ordering Toyota, Ford, Nissan, Honda, BMW, Volkswagen, Bentley, Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai and Kia to install what it claims is an inexpensive automatic shut-down feature on all affected vehicles. The suit further alleges some automakers have begun installing the “auto-off” feature on newer model vehicles, while leaving older keyless ignition models without an automatic shut-down capability.
Read more in our daily News Update...