Ten carmakers sued
August 27, 2015
According to the class action lawsuit filed with the US District Court in Los Angeles, the charges were brought against carmakers BMW, Daimler, Fiat Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Nissan, Toyota and Volkswagen.
The group of 29 plaintiffs accuses them of using keyless ignition systems that are unsafe because they don't include safeguards to turn engines off if drivers forget to do so, thus continuing to emit deadly carbon monoxide.
"Drivers have parked their cars inside their garages and removed the keyless fobs, only to later discover that the engines never actually turned off," the complaint read. As a result, the exhaust gas, which is also called 'silent killer' due to its odorless and colorless nature, could fill "enclosed spaces and spread to the attached homes."
A keyless ignition lets a driver start a vehicle by pushing an on-off button, instead of inserting a key, once the vehicle senses the presence of a nearby electronic fob. However, vehicles are often left running after drivers take their electronic fobs with them, mistakenly believing that the engines will shut off.
Safeguards sought
The plaintiffs say the 10 automakers could have averted at least 13 keyless ignition-related deaths, and many more injuries, by installing an inexpensive feature to automatically turn off unattended engines. Moreover, they claim that the companies have long known about the risks of keyless ignitions, yet deceived drivers by marketing their vehicles as safe.
The lawsuit seeks an injunction requiring carmakers to install automatic shut-off features on all existing and future vehicles sold with keyless ignitions. It also seeks compensatory and punitive damages.
German premium carmaker Daimler on Thursday refused to comment, saying it hadn't formally received the lawsuit yet. Ford said it took customer safety "very seriously" and that its keyless ignition system had proven "safe and reliable." Other carmakers have also refused to comment.
The lawsuit was filed in the same federal court in Los Angeles where Toyota has defended against claims that its vehicles accelerated unintentionally. There, US District Judge James Selna in July 2013 approved a $1.6 billion (1.4 billion-euro) settlement to resolve claims that Toyotas lost value because of that defect.
uhe/cjc (Reuters, dpa)