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A group of consumers says that Honda CR-V and Accord vehicles are affected by a parasitic draining defect that causes electrical components to draw down the battery – even when the car is turned off.
Lead plaintiffs Andre Cruz, Mitchell Bryon Pazanki, Dayane Tessinari, and Fernanda Nunes Ferreira lodged a nationwide class action lawsuit in Florida federal court Tuesday. They say that Honda knew of the parasitic draining defect that leaves owners of 2017-2019 CR-Vs and 2016-2019 Accords with unexpectedly dead batteries.
Each of the plaintiffs claim that the batteries in their Honda Accords or CR-Vs failed prematurely due to the alleged battery defect.
Parasitic draining allegedly occurs when electrical components in a vehicle fail to shut down once the vehicle is parked and turned off, which in turn allows the components to continue consuming power from the battery. The vehicle safety defect can leave motorists stranded, potentially in dangerous situations, say the plaintiffs who also point out that the problem can affect emergency hazard lights and headlights.
The plaintiffs say that even replacing the battery does not cure the defect.
“Repeated draining of a vehicle’s battery progressively weakens a battery until ultimately the battery fails and needs to be replaced,” explains the class action lawsuit. “Even prior to complete failure of a battery, excessive draining can cause electrical components of the vehicle such as hazard lights, headlights, and taillights to fail without warning, including when the vehicle is being driven.”
The class action lawsuit contends that car owners should expect their batteries to last approximately six years or more. The parasitic draining defect allegedly affecting Honda Accord and CR-V vehicles results in a much shorter battery life.
The plaintiffs say that they and other consumers would not have purchased or paid as much for their Honda Accord or CR-V vehicles had they known about the battery defect. They allege that the carmaker knew of the parasitic draining defect, but hid the problem from the public.
Indeed, Honda was hit with a parasitic draining defect class action lawsuit lodged in Iowa federal court in May of this year.
The plaintiffs in this class action lawsuit allege that Honda touts the CR-V and Accord as safe and reliable vehicles. In total, the carmaker has sold and leased millions of these vehicles that allegedly suffer from the parasitic drain defect, they say.
In addition to the plaintiffs’ experiences, the class action lawsuit points out consumer complaints lodged with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration over Honda CR-V and Accord batteries. The plaintiffs accuse Honda of violating state consumer protection laws and federal warranty laws, as well as fraud and unjust enrichment, by knowingly selling cars with the parasitic draining defect.
The plaintiffs seek to represent Honda CR-V and Accord owners and lessees nationwide, along with a Florida subclass.
The class action lawsuit wants to hold Honda responsible for the expenses suffered by Accord and CR-V owners, along with statutory and civil penalties, and attorney and court fees.
Do you own a Honda CR-V or Accord? Have you had issues with the battery? Tell us about it in the comment section below!
The lead plaintiffs are represented by Mark. J. Dearman and Eric S. Dwoskin of Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP, and Marc A. Wites of the Wites Law Firm.
The Honda CR-V, Accord Defect Class Action Lawsuit is Cruz, et al. v. American Honda Motor Company, Inc., Case No. 0:21-cv-61130-XXXX in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
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190 thoughts onHonda CR-V, Accord Parasitic Draining Defect Alleged In Class Action Lawsuit Over Batteries
This is happening to my 2019 Honda Civic. I bought it new, at 30,000 miles I started getting error codes and my battery would die, leaving me stranded. Took it to the dealership, nothing wrong. Having my car jumped every morning for work and continual error code, we went back to the dealership. They said a bad cell and replaced the battery under the vehicle warranty. Less than 12 months later, I’m having the problem again. The dealership will not warranty the battery since they replaced it under the vehicles warranty and now my vehicle is out of warranty. This seems to be an ongoing issue with this car! Something is draining the battery down when it’s turned off and sits overnight.
I have a 2018 Honda CRV. My battery has died 3 times in the past 2 months (2 times in the last 2 days). Last week, after having my car in for a seatbelt buckle recall they did a check and said everything including the battery were in the green – good condition. The next day my battery was dead as well as the following day. Today they changed my battery. Let’s see what happens.
Haven’t been able to use 2018 Honda CRV since March. We bought the car new- has 60,000 mi. We were in Florida vacationing and the car kept going dead. Everyday!!! We replaced the battery and it still kept happening. Took it to a reputable repair shop in Ft Myers- after several days and then letting it sit over the weekend, they told us there was a 30 amp draw and couldn’t figure out why it was happening- even after resetting everything. Had it towed from there to Ft Myers Honda dealership. They said it started and nothing was wrong.
2018 CR-V. Repeated battery failures & battery replacements. Only 23,500 miles. Infuriating! Please add me to your lawsuit.
We have a 2017 CRV, owned since new with ~60,000 miles. In September of 2021, the battery died, and we got it replaced at Autozone. Just last month, in February of 2023, it died again, and Autozone went good on their warranty and replaced it, although they were puzzled by the seemingly high level of charge. The dealer had indicated it was the battery, but it was not good to see the conflicting reports from Autozone. In any event, they replaced it and I figured that was the end of the story… oh contraire, this morning, March 14, 2023. It wouldn’t start again, and is so bad that I cannot even jump it. This is too much of an issue to keep going like this. Please include me in this class action suit.
2019 crv exl. I am on my third battery. the last two have been AAA. It happens every winter. Its either daily, every other day, or in some cases multiple times a day. I make sure to turn the lights to off and unplug the cord to the car play. Its infuriating.
2018 honda.dead battery 3 times in last 2 weeks. Lights were not left on during these 3 instances. Replaced battery and 5 days later battery was completely drained again. Once again no lights were left on.
I have a 2016 Honda CRV Touring model bought new in WPB , FL. Since 2016 I am on my 3rd battery. I have gotten stranded many times. I ended up purchasing an expensive battery charger to feel safe.
My battery was dying exactly like the others. I shut everything off, park the car and go do my errands. One time it was only sitting 15 minutes and would not start. Once I left it at airport parking and got home from a late flight and it would not start. Also happened on road trips.
I have a 2016 Honda CRV. I have had parasitic draining on my batteries and replace the battery three times. I am over the 3-year warranty but under the $36,000 mile warranty. I took it to dealership and had to replace the gauge control module they said was causing the parasitic draining. 2 months later after driving my car every day and having to charge my battery almost daily and three batteries later I had to take it back to the dealership. The dealership said they could not find the problem and contacted the text support engineers and then we’re told that it was the keyless access control unit causing the parasitic draining. I contacted Honda consumer affairs and at first they were nice but when the diagnosis came back they started recording each call and kept telling me I’m out of warranty. I paid $770 for the gauge control module replacement with now they want $705.00 and my CRV has 34,000 miles on it. I’m just wondering what next because I can’t keep taking my car to dealership every 2 months to replace every electrical component in it. What recourse do I have to ensure my Honda will be fixed correctly. I cannot afford to be broke down out in the middle of nowhere.
This is my second CR-V with this issue (I guess you could say you would think I would learn my lesson). I currently own a 2019-CRV. Last February (2022) I had to replace the battery. That battery didn’t even last a year so we replaced it again at the end of January (2023). Luckily we didn’t have to pay for the replacement battery because it was still under warranty. In the last week, my battery (which is less that 1 month old) has now been dead twice when I went out to start my car.