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.
Consumers say that Subaru vehicles equipped with EyeSight driver assist technology pose serious and deadly problems due to defects in their components in a nationwide class action lawsuit filed in New Jersey federal court.
The lead plaintiffs, all current and former Subaru owners, say that EyeSight technology suffers from a number of dangerous vehicle safety defects. These defects allegedly cause the lane assist function in Subarus to engage without reason, as well as the automatic braking system. Their class action lawsuit contends that the carmaker knew of these defects, but still sold the cars, touting their safety and reliability.
Lead plaintiffs Laura and James Sampson say that they purchased a new 2017 Subaru Outback limited in their home state of Illinois. They say that they depended on Subaru’s claims that the car was reliable and safe when making their purchase, but began to experience problems with the EyeSight driver technology within the first year. They allege their vehicle would stop abruptly, even though there were no obstacles, while they were backing out of their driveway and that their complaints were “brushed off” by the dealership.
Lead plaintiffs Anthony Ventura and Joanne Fulgieri Ventura of New York say that they decided to lease a 2020 Subaru Forester based on claims made about the car’s safety; however, they too allegedly ran into problems with both the lane assist technology and braking, including the car slowing significantly despite no obstacles.
Pennsylvania plaintiff Elizabeth Wheatley says that she purchased a new 2019 Subaru Crosstrek in 2018. The class action lawsuit says that Wheatley experienced the vehicle’s brakes suddenly engaging without reason on several occasions. Wheatley says her concerns were also dismissed by the Subaru dealership.
Lead plaintiff Shirley Reinhard, who is also representing her deceased husband Kenneth Reinhard, claims that the EyeSight defect caused their certified pre-owned 2015 Subaru Outback to get into a severe accident that caused the car to roll four times. Reinhard alleges that the couple had brought the Subaru in prior to the accident after experiencing problems with the braking system, but the dealership refused to do a repair.
The class action lawsuit alleges that the EyeSight system suffers from defects that affect the vehicles’ lane assist technology and braking. The technology includes cameras and sensors mounted on the front and back of the vehicles.
The components that make up the EyeSight technology are not calibrated correctly, allege the plaintiffs, and also have other issues that cause them to malfunction. In addition, Subaru allegedly failed to properly test the technology to ensure it was safe for motorists.
The plaintiffs seek to represent a nationwide Class of consumers who purchased or leased any 2013 to 2021 Subaru with the allegedly defective EyeSight technology.
Do you own a Subaru with EyeSight technology? Have you had trouble with the automatic brakes or lane assist functions? Tell us about it in the comment section below!
The lead plaintiffs are represented by Russell D. Paul, Amey J. Park, Abigail J. Gertner, and Natalie Lesser of Berger Montague PC, and Steven Weinmann, Tarek H. Zohdy, and Cody R. Padgett of Capstone Law APC.
The Subaru EyeSight Defect Class Action Lawsuit is Sampson, et al. v. Subaru of America, Inc, et al., Case No. 1:21-cv-10284-RMB-KMW in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.
Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:
Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Subaru vehicle data collection class action lawsuit investigation
May 17, 2024 | Legal News
68 thoughts onNationwide Class Action Lawsuit Filed Over Subaru Eyesight Problems
2021 Crosstrek, eyesight deactivates when cruise control is on, starts breaking on its own on the freeway. People behind me almost rear ended me and flashed their brights at me. Driving from WI to Chicago. Happened many times along the four hour drive. Lane assist was useless eyesight would deactivate as soon as I turned it on. I have 2400 miles on my car.
Driving in the passing lane, EyeSight detected a crash when no obstacles were in front of me. Nearest car was over 500 yards away. Emergency breaking was applied and engine shut off. EyeSight errors flashed don’t he screen. At least a dozen cars behind me struggled to avoid a pile up. I don’t know how I’m alive.
My 2020 Impreza year is doing the exact same thing. And of course the dealership says it’s not throwing any codes so I must be doing something wrong. This is 2nd time I’ve taken it in.
I have a 21 Outback. The eyesight in my Outback just turned off about a month ago and I took it up to the dealership to have it serviced and the mechanic says that they are not sure what is wrong. They ordered a new camera and sent me home with the eyesight not working. They called me when the new camera came in and I went back to the dealership. They supposedly put the new camera in and it still wouldn’t work. They said they were going to call the Subaru tech support to see if they could help them out. So they sent me home again with the eyesight not working. I didn’t hear anything from them for about a week and half, so I called them. They said that the tech support told them to take the camera out of a used Subaru outback of the same year that they know works and put it in mine and see if it fixes it. They told me they would call me once they get a trade-in. Needless to say, its been about another week or so and I have not heard from them and my car’s eyesight is still not working. I plan on calling the dealership and demanding that they fix this problem or I want a different vehicle.
2015 Forester. Purchase certified pre-owned. My Eyesight system warning lights came on after having the vehicle for less than a year. The dealer said cameras need replacing. That’s 2500 bucks. No thanks. I drove away and have been looking for another solution.
I have a 2021 Outback that regularly breaks as if I am about to hit something when there is nothing there. I also do not use the lane assist as this also likes to try to put me into oncoming traffic.
My 2019 forester braked with no vehicle in front of me..very scary.
I own a legacy ’21 premium model. I think it’s perfect..so far. Have done 6000mls. If coming up around a bend to a set of traffic lights it’s hard for the technology to lock onto a car fast enough, im sure it would brake in time but I just brake myself if I’m unsure. It’s easy to do-just move my foot onto the brake pedal and apply enough pressure to slow the car down to a stop.
On August 8, 2021 my Forester 2020 lane assist gently moved my car after turning R at a traffic light. It went into the L lane where it scraped another car. I jerked it back to my proper lane and we both pulled over to assess the damage. It was minimal, but the owner of the other car charged me $400 to have it buffed and to avoid both of us claiming with insurance. (it was below the deductible anyway) It was horrible, I had no idea what was happening.
I have a brand new 2021 Subaru Forester purchased in NJ at the end of May. The automatic breaking locked up today on route 9. Fortunately, no one close enough behind me. The next closes vehicle was probably about 40-50 yards out.