Karina Basso  |  June 5, 2015

Category: Consumer News

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Mazda class action lawsuitOn June 2, a U.S. federal judge trimmed a proposed putative engine defect class action lawsuit against Mazda Motor of America Inc., tossing plaintiffs’ claims of state consumer protection law violations and breach of implied warranties, though the court will allow breach of express warranty claims to proceed in this suit. The Mazda engine defect class action lawsuit alleges the automaker purposefully concealed a known engine valve defect in certain Mazda vehicles from consumers.

According to court reports, U.S. District Judge Freda L. Wolfson granted a majority of Mazda’s action to dismiss the engine defect class action lawsuit, which included five consumer fraud and warranty claims against Mazda stemming from the automaker’s announcement that some Mazda vehicles contained engines featuring faulty continuous variable valve timing assembles. This engine valve defect allegedly leads to partial or total engine failure.

Based on Judge Wolfson’s decision, three of the claims from the Mazda class action lawsuit were totally dismissed, while claims of Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act and breach of express warranties were only partially dismissed.

According to the judge’s June 2 order:

“Count 1, violation of the NJCFA, and Count 5, fraudulent concealment, are dismissed in their entirety without prejudice; Count 4, breach of implied warranty is dismissed in its entirety. In addition, Count 2, violation of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, and Count 3, breach of express warranty, are dismissed except with respect to Plaintiff’s claims resulting from the extended warranty on the VVT assembly.”

This Mazda engine defect class action lawsuit was originally filed in August of last year by lead plaintiff James Stevenson, who alleges he bought a 2008 Mazda CX-7 from a New Jersey car dealership back in 2009. According to his class action lawsuit, he claims that at the time he bought his vehicle the Mazda representative concealed facts about the engine valve defect. Stevenson further alleges that although the engine defect is covered under the Mazda vehicle warranty, Mazda allegedly refused to  repair the faulty continuous valve timing assemblies that eventually causes the engine’s timing chain to loosen and/or detach.

In response to these allegations, Mazda filed a motion to dismiss Stevenson’s engine defect class action lawsuit in November of last year, claiming that the automaker was not aware of the engine valve defect at the time the plaintiff bought his vehicle and that Stevenson has not provided evidence to the contrary. The automaker further states that five consumer reports concerning the alleged engine defect filed with the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration does not constitute solid proof that Mazda was aware of the defect.

In their motion to dismiss the Mazda engine defect class action lawsuit, the defendant argued that all of Stevenson’s warranty claims should be dismissed, as the plaintiff’s vehicle issues first occurred 3,500 miles after the Mazda warranty mileage limit. This fact, Mazda claims, refutes the plaintiff’s argument that when his car exhibited the engine-valve failure  in November 2013 that the automaker owed Stevenson coverage due to the warranty agreement.

In response to Mazda’s motion to dismiss the engine defect class action lawsuit, Judge Wolfson agreed with the car maker’s arguments and tossed all claims, save for those based on the extended warranty of the Mazda engine valve’s timing assembly.

Stevenson is represented by Mitchell Breit of Simmons Hanly Conroy LLC, T. Christopher Tuck of Richardson Patrick Westbrook & Brickman LLC, and Terry W. West and Bradley C. West of The West Law Firm.

The Mazda Engine Defect Class Action Lawsuit is Stevenson v. Mazda Motor of America Inc., Case No. 3:14-cv-05250, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.

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25 thoughts onMazda Engine Defect Class Action Survives Partial Dismissal

  1. Natisha Mason says:

    I bought a 2015 Mazda CX-9 in 2019 , the car ran pretty good until 7/21. I was driving on a busy high way when my engine light suddenly came on and the car completely stopped! I was scared to death . I had the car towed to Mazda and they are saying it’s a faulty water pump and that the water pump mixed water into the engine and that I need a brand new engine totaling $8,619.00. I am still paying off the loan on this car , I’m livid!!! Has anyone successfully sued them?

  2. Maryam says:

    We have a 2012 Mazda CX9 that just ran into the same issue. The check engine light came on. The car started overheating, and locked up while I was driving. We had it towed to the Mazda dealership we normally get it serviced at. Turns out the water coolant was running into the oil. They said we can either pay to have the whole engine replaced or replace the timing belt and the water pump. They lied and said it’s not a common issue. Our car has 111K miles on it.

    1. Kela p says:

      So what can we do about this.. it is still happening to other Mazda owners and it happened to me this year! I dont think it’s fair that they know it’s a bad design and did not even warn or told owners we need to check the water pump… to avoid this catastrophic event!

      1. Danielle K says:

        Agreed. Happened to me too. 2007 Mazda 3. Timing chain issue with total engine failure at 124k. I’m thinking maybe someone who kept full records of timely oil changes might have a shot a this.

  3. Rhonda perry says:

    2011 cx9water pump engine failure! Ford motors or Mazda needs to make these engine failure from faulty water pump s fright!

  4. Keara says:

    This is crazy, I guess I must be in a different year bracket. I have an 06 mazda 6 I paid 300 dollars for because the guy I bought it from couldn’t get the check engine light off. I’ve been driving it over a year now and the worst problem I’ve had is my transmission hose blew off and I lost all my fluid. Replaced it and it’s doing fine. Yes the car rattles a bit. Yes my code reader tells me there’s something up with the VVT solenoid. Yet, I have driven this car at least 2-3 times the average driver. I keep up on my fluid changes. Replace worn out hoses. This car rides.

  5. Shelia Jackson says:

    We bought a 2010 Mazda CX-9. I haven’t had this car 6 months. It has less than 120,000 miles. Just a little over 100,000. My husband checked the coolant one night and noticed it was low after he had put in coolant a couple of days before. He realized that the coolant was mixing with the oil!! We found out that the water pump was bad and the engine is probably shot too!! The water pump is in the engine!! This is a nightmare!!

    1. Kela p says:

      So what did you guys do about this issue .. some recompensation needs to happen for this known issue of a bad engine design.

  6. Tiffani says:

    I had a 2011 Mazda cx9 no engine light came on or nothing driving to.work only a year after purchasing the vehicle used on a 20 thousand dollar loan it caught on fire with me in the car j losg a 3 thousand dollar deposit and a year worth of payments! And had no transportation for months

  7. Rand Kuhlman says:

    I also have a 2007 CX-7 AWD I bought used with multiple issues, including damage to the engine and turbocharger resulting from timing chain slippage. Can anyone give me information about Mazda’s liability, if any, for this defect? I have received notices to bring the vehicle to a local dealer to replace the defective Tacata airbags and the defective front-end ball joint components but nothing about the timing chain issue, which is reputed to result from defective AC compressors seizing up at highway speeds. Any information on this issue would be much appreciated!

  8. Christine Fabre says:

    Mazda were always aware of the problems as a in house email was sent to all Mazda staff insisting that all staff lie that there is no problems at all.
    Mazda are thieves and crooks but karma will prevail

    1. Tash says:

      Are you 100 percent sure on this
      If so is there anywhere online or any documentation to prove this the reason I’m asking is because I have have serious issue with Mazda that I have not had taken care of yet I was driving my vehicle that kind of fire of a 2015 Mazda three grand touring model

      It was a horrendous experience and trying to find any attorney and Newfoundland Canada is hard for this type of situation and I only have a limited amount of time left to find one so I’m building my own case until I do so is anybody aware of any of these type of issues

      And it was a horrendous experience

  9. Diana Garcia says:

    I’m currently experiencing the same issue and I’m so stressed out. I own a Mazda CX-7 2007, which I still owe $7,000 and I can’t afford to fix it or sell it. I have been reading so much in reference to this VVT issue. Why hasn’t Mazda made a recall on these freaking cars?

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