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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.
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68 thoughts onNationwide Class Action Lawsuit Filed Over Subaru Eyesight Problems
My 2020 Subaru Outback works fine until I use cruise control, then it seem that it’s want to drive and not me, it constantly pulling from one side to the other, worse when passing and in curbs, several times it has just all of a sudden jerked car to the right side of road, almost causing wreck!
2020 Subaru Forester car drives great besides the eyesight. Randomly shuts off while driving, randomly slams on the brakes when their is no obstruction in view, randomly will slam on the brakes when a leaf blows the wrong way on the highway or road, slams on brakes when driving past cars that are about to merge onto highway or are pulling out of driveways. The eyesight feature which I do like for long road trips definitely has far more cons then pros. This is something that has almost caused me to wreck at least 2-3 times a week. Eyesight tech needs work before someone or myself is harmed by this faulty tech.
2018 Subaru Forrester brakes when backing out the driveway.
The lane assist and braking cause my 2021 Subaru Crosstrek pull to the left on the highway and slam me into the barrier for no apparent reason. Luckily I am okay but I will not be using eyesight again
I have a 2016 Forester as well, that eyesight has been going on and off for the last 2 months and they tell me it’s a camera malfunction that needs to be replaced, of course I’m out of warranty so I’m going to call Subaru America.
I am having problems with the eyesight randomly turning on and off in my 2019 Forester. Is there any recall or recourse for those who are affected?
My 2019 Subaru Forrester engine would stop completely and the sight Eyesight Off comes on. Usually happens while I’m at the traffic light. Then I have to put my car in park and turn it off and on again. But now I’m scared … what if turns off on the road while I’m driving.
This is happening to me too. Seems to be because of the glare off of other vehicles at lights. It’s super scary. Starts with a squealing alarm then I have to shut down the car and restart for it to work again. It worries me that it may happen on the freeway.
I have a 2015 Subaru Forester Premium with eyesight. The eyesight turns off randomly and does not turn back on unless I turn the car off and back on. I am afraid to use the eyesight because of this. When I called the dealership, they said there was no warranty but that I could bring it in to be looked at.
My story is so similar to everyone else’s here but I was lucky enough to be off the highway and traveling slowly.
I bought a 2019 Forrester Sport 5 days ago and after just a few days of driving I got an alert that eyesight had turned off and all the lane departure, check engine and collision lights on the dash lit up and the red BRAKE light lit up and would not go away. After some trouble shooting we cleaned the windshield very well and disconnected the batter for about 5 minutes. The car went back to normal for a couple minutes before all the lights on the dash turned back on and the brake re-engaged.
I have a 2019 Subaru Forester doing this exact same thing.
My wife and her sister were traveling in our 2019 Forester when the breaking system engaged causing the car to spin out hitting the concrete barrier. My wife’s seatbelt did not engage and none of the airbags deployed. My wife suffered severe trauma to her arm with nerve damage. Subaru of America investigated the system and found no faults? Of course!
The car has 20600 miles on it and has been in the body shop for the last 10 months. (Can’t get parts) The last estimate was over $22,000.00 in repairs.