Honda Odyssey Class Action Lawsuit Dismissed


Honda Odyssey 9-speed transmissions reportedly have flaws that cause several safety issues.

July 24, 2021 – A Honda Odyssey class action lawsuit was dismissed after minivan owners “failed to adequately claim a transmission defect.”

The Honda class action lawsuit alleges that there are flaws in 2018-2019 Honda Odysseys equipped with 9-speed ZF automatic transmissions, which allegedly suffer from the following issues:

“[R]rough, delayed, or sudden shifting, or failure to shift; Grinding or other loud noises when switching; hard engagement of gears; sudden or severe accelerations / decelerations; and sudden loss of power. “

According to the plaintiffs, the Odyssey minivans operate erratically and cause safety problems for drivers and passengers.

The class action lawsuit states that Honda fitted the minivans with the 9-speed transmissions to allegedly improve fuel economy. But plaintiffs claim this came at a high cost of transmission issues that Honda was unable to fix.

The Honda class action lawsuit alleges Odyssey drivers having problems turning, changing lanes, threading into traffic and accelerating from stops.

Plaintiffs claim a driver can do anything to operate the minivans correctly, but the Odyssey transmissions allegedly prevent the vehicles from operating safely.

Honda Odyssey class action dismissed

Judge Beth Labson Freeman dismissed the class action lawsuit, but said the plaintiff could amend and re-file some of her claims.

Honda argued that all plaintiffs’ claims should be dismissed because the claims are based on the presence of a transmission failure, but plaintiffs allegedly do not adequately allege a defect.

In its motion to dismiss, Honda said the symptoms described by the plaintiffs were not symptoms of a defect, but “expected side effects of the fuel-efficient design of the transmission.”

Honda also told the judge that plaintiffs must claim what the defect is, but instead, plaintiffs allegedly only make a “final claim” that there is a defect and its alleged symptoms.

According to the judge, she agrees with Honda that the plaintiffs are only alleging symptoms of a defect and that Honda has not “properly informed Honda what exactly it must defend”.

Judge Freeman said the Honda Odyssey class action lawsuit related to technical service bulletins (TSBs) related to software repairs on other vehicles equipped with the same transmissions.

However, the lawsuit does not allege a “malfunction in the operation of software or an electronic control unit” in a 2018-2019 Odyssey.

Judge Freeman said some of the bulletins referenced in the lawsuit have directed dealers to update transmission software in the past.

“Plaintiffs do not argue, however, that these are the same parts in the vehicles of the class that are afflicted by the” design defects that cause the transmission to exhibit the alleged symptoms. ” – Judge Freeman

That was enough for Honda’s class action lawsuit to be dismissed, but the judge said plaintiffs could amend their lawsuit.

However, certain claims have been unconditionally dismissed, including claims of alleged violation of the implied warranty under Florida law, violation of the Michigan Consumer Protection Act, and violation of the South Carolina Manufacturers, Distributors and Dealers Acters

The Honda Odyssey class action lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California: Browning et al., V. American Honda Motor Co., Inc., et al.

The plaintiffs are represented by Capstone Law APC and Berger Montague PC.

Comments are closed.