Honda Civic Class Action Alleges Parking Brake Defect

A recent class action lawsuit claims that Honda Civic brakes are faulty and can result in the vehicle rolling away, creating dangerous situations.

Plaintiff Patrick Rojas says he purchased a 2016 Honda Civic in June 2016 for around $23,500.

In October 2018, Rojas allegedly drove his car to a local community college to attend class and parked it in the parking lot.

When Rojas returned from class, his Honda Civic had reportedly rolled 20 feet from its parking spot into a parked truck. As a result, Rojas’ vehicle reportedly suffered from a large dent over its front left wheel. Rojas claims that his car rolled from its parking spot due to a defect with the car’s brakes.

In November 2018, Rojas took his vehicle to be inspected by his local Honda dealership but the technicians were allegedly not aware of the issue happening with other cars and told him that a software update “may fix it.”

Despite the solution proposed by the Honda technicians, Rojas reportedly remains worried that his car may roll away again.

“To date, Plaintiff Rojas is afraid his Class Vehicle may roll away on its own again and cause damage to his vehicle and another vehicle,” the Honda braking class action lawsuit claims. “Plaintiff Rojas refuses to park in crowded parking lots in an effort to avoid having his Class Vehicle potentially roll into another vehicle and cause damage to his Class Vehicle.”

The defect allegedly stems from a problem with the Honda Civics’ shifter. The gear shift system allegedly only shifts into the intended gear some of the time and “randomly shifts to gears other than the one selected.” As a result, a parked car will allegedly shift out of park which causes it to roll away.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has reportedly received numerous complaints about the issue. Rojas argues that Honda must have been informed of these reports and therefore was aware of the issue.

Additionally, Honda reportedly recalled around 350,000 2016 Honda Civics due to the defect. Rojas claims that this recall is an indication that Honda is aware of the defect affecting their Honda Civic vehicles but the company continues to portray their cars as safe to customers.

In his Honda class action, Rojas argues that if he and other customers had been aware of the parking brake defect, they would not have purchased their Honda Civics or would not have paid as much for the vehicles.

Rojas seeks to represent a Class of consumers who purchased or leased a 2016 to 2018 MY Honda Civic equipped with a CVT transmission. He also seeks to represent a subclass of the same consumers from Florida.

The Honda braking class action lawsuit seeks compensatory damages, actual damages, exemplary damages, statutory damages, restitution, disgorgement, interest, court costs, and attorneys’ fees.

Rojas is represented by Rachel Soffin of Greg Coleman Law PC, Scott C. Harris of Whitfield Bryson & Mason LLP, and Bradley King of Ahdoot & Wolfson PC.

The Honda Civic Brake Defect Class Action Lawsuit is Rojas v. American Honda Motor Co. Inc., et al., Case No. 1:19-cv-21721-UU, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

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