Subaru Hood Flies Open While Driving, Class Action Alleges

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Last week, a class action lawsuit was filed against Subaru of America Inc. alleging that a defect in certain models causes their hoods to spring open at high speeds.

Lead plaintiff Marion Hadley alleges in her class action lawsuit that the defect causes the hoods of certain Subaru models to fly open, resulting in cracked windshields and endangering the lives of drivers and passengers as well as diminishing the value of the vehicles.

Hadley alleges that 17 complaints about the alleged defect in Subaru’s B9 Tribeca model were made to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in 2006, but Subaru failed to respond.

“Despite longstanding knowledge of the defect through public complaints and internal testing, Subaru has failed to take responsibility for the problem, refusing to issue a recall and denying consumer requests to pay for necessary repairs occasioned by the defect,” says Hadley in her Subaru class action lawsuit.

According to the class action lawsuit, Hadley experienced the hood of her Subaru flying open while driving 65 miles per hour. She alleges that in addition to not being able to see the road, the hood also cracked her windshield and dislodged the rear view mirror. She says she made it to the side of the road where passing drivers helped her.

However, according to the Subaru class action lawsuit, when Hadley contacted Subaru about the accident, the automaker wouldn’t take responsibility for the alleged defect, and wouldn’t compensate her for the cost of repairs. According to Hadley, Subaru refused to even look at the vehicle.

Hadley alleges that her experience was not the only one. She claims that many complaints have been made online about the same alleged defect. In addition, her class action lawsuit notes that the NHTSA has 17 complaints about the 2006 B9 Tribeca describing a similar experience to the plaintiff’s.

“It is well known that car manufacturers, in general, and Subaru in particular, closely monitor NHTSA complaints, so there can be no doubt that Subaru has long known of this issue from the NHTSA website,” Hadley argues in her Subaru class action lawsuit.

In the class action lawsuit, Hadley alleges that Subaru actively concealed the alleged defect and failed to disclose that the alleged defect would diminish the value of the vehicle. She seeks certification of a nationwide and Pennsylvania Class of drivers who bought or leased the 2006 B9 Tribeca from Subaru.

According to the Subaru class action lawsuit, at least 18,000 of the class vehicles were sold by Subaru during that time. Hadley claims that the alleged defect violates the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, and constitutes a breach of express warranty and common law fraud. She asks the court to order Subaru to repair, recall and replace the class vehicles and extend their warranties, as well as pay any damages to the proposed Class.

Hadley is represented by Benjamin Elga, Taylor Asen, William H. Anderson and Charles J. LaDuca of Cuneo Gilbert & Laduca LLP.

The Subaru Hood Defect Class Action Lawsuit is Hadley v. Subaru of America Inc., Case No. 1:15-cv-07210, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.

UPDATE: On Sept. 1, 2016, the attorney for defendant Subaru said the parties agreed on the terms of a settlement and are working on reducing those terms to a written document. Since they have reached a settlement, the parties have asked the judge to cancel an upcoming status conference.