Honda class action claims speaker defect in certain vehicles

Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.

Honda class action lawsuit overview:

• Who: Plaintiff Alec Plotts filed a class action lawsuit against Honda Motor Co. Inc.
• Why: Certain Honda vehicles allegedly contain a speaker defect that causes unpredictable popping sounds that can distract drivers and pose a safety risk.
• Where: The Honda class action lawsuit was filed in California federal court.

Honda Motor Co. Inc. is facing a class action lawsuit alleging some of its vehicles have a speaker defect that causes loud and unpredictable popping or crackling sounds from the speaker system even when the sound system is turned off.

The alleged speaker defect also causes no sound to be emitted from the speaker system when audio should be playing, according to the Honda class action lawsuit.

Plaintiff Alec Plotts says the Honda speaker defect may affect the following vehicles:

• 2020-2021 Honda Pilot (all except LX)
• 2020 Honda Passport (all except Sport)
• 2021 Honda Passport
• 2020 Honda Odyssey (all except LX)

Because the speaker defect occurs “abruptly and unpredictably,” drivers may become startled and distracted, which poses a safety risk, the Honda class action lawsuit states.

Plotts says he needed to pull over and shut off his vehicle on multiple occasions to get the annoying cracking and popping to stop. He says he would not have purchased his 2020 Honda Pilot EX-L vehicle, or would have paid less for it, if he had known about the Honda speaker defect.

Honda class action says automaker knew of speaker defect, continued to sell affected vehicles

Honda has allegedly known about the speaker defect based on customer complaints and its own investigations into the issue yet the automaker continued to sell the affected vehicles, according to the Honda class action lawsuit.

Plotts points to several Technical Service Bulletins documenting the issue and a class action settlement involving a similar speaker defect in 2018-2019 Honda Odyssey, 2019 Honda Pilot and 2019 Honda Passport vehicles.

The Honda class action lawsuit cites numerous consumer complaints with the NHTSA that state that the startling popping noise is often followed by the information system going completely blank for a period of time. 

“No speedometer information, no telephone, no back-up camera,” one complaint states. 

Despite knowledge of the speaker defect, Honda has not yet figured out how to repair the issue.

“Instead, Honda simply replaces defective parts with equally defective parts, thereby leaving consumers caught in a cycle of use, malfunction, and replacement,” the Honda class action lawsuit says.

Honda recently settled a class action lawsuit alleging the infotainment system in some of its vehicles had a defect causing it to frequently freeze, crash, and fail to connect to devices.

If you own a vehicle that you believe has a safety defect and you are outside of the warranty period, you believe the defect should be covered by the warranty and it’s not or you or a family member have been injured by a safety related defect, you may qualify to join a defective vehicle safety recall class action lawsuit investigation.

Plotts is represented by Trinette G. Kent of Lemberg Law LLC.

The Honda Class Action Lawsuit is Alec Plotts v. American Honda Motor Co. Inc., Case No. 2:22-cv-04529, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:

• Mercedes-Benz defective Burl Walnut trim class action settlement
• Volkswagen and Audi Takata airbags defect $42M class action settlement
• Mercedes-Benz, Sprinter $789M BlueTEC emissions class action settlement
• TK Holdings occupant safety systems direct purchasers antitrust $84M class action settlement