Second Class Action Fuel Pump Lawsuit Filed Against Subaru

The owner of a Subaru Outback in Hawaii filed a fuel pump lawsuit in federal court last month claiming the automaker’s latest recall to address the faulty equipment is too limited and doesn’t include all of the vehicles affected – including his.

It is the second lawsuit filed against Subaru over its handling of the defective fuel pumps so far this year. Both cases aim to be class action suits representing thousands of owners of Subarus equipped with Denso fuel pumps that have not been included in the auto giant’s recall.

The fuel pumps are known to malfunction, causing the cars they are installed in to ride rough or stall out, sometimes in the midst of driving and to the point they cannot be restarted.

Fuel Pump Problems

In cars that run on gasoline, the fuel pump moves the gas from the tank to the engine using an impeller, which rotates just beneath the pump to draw the liquid fuel in. If the fuel pump doesn’t work properly, the engine might not get enough gas, causing it to sputter and stall.

Denso is the auto parts manufacturer that supplied the fuel pumps to Subaru, among other car companies. On April 24, it issued a safety recall of more than two million of the pumps saying the impellers were of low-density and therefore at risk of becoming cracked or deformed. The parts were produced between September 1, 2017 and October 6, 2018, the company reported.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s report about the Denso recall, “an inoperative fuel pump may result in … vehicle stall while driving at low speed and, in rare instances, a vehicle stall could occur while driving at higher speeds, increasing the risk of a crash.”

Denso is not alone. The CP4 fuel pump by Bosch, found in numerous GM vehicles, is also allegedly prone to failure.

Subaru Recall

Subaru was made aware of the problem and issued its own voluntary recall of 188,207 of its 2019 model year vehicles outfitted with the low-density fuel pump impellers, days before the Denso recall was publicly announced.

Though Subaru said it had no evidence the defect had caused any accidents or driver injuries, a report by Car and Driver magazine said the risk of unexpected stalling could increase the risk of a crash.

In some cases, after the car stalls out, drivers might have a hard time getting their engines to start again if at all, the automotive website Autoblog reported.

Fuel Pump Lawsuits Filed

Between the Subaru and Denso recalls, three Alabama residents filed a class action lawsuit against both companies over the defective fuel pumps. Katherine Griffin, Janet Oakley, and Adam Whitley all purchased new Subaru Outbacks from the same dealership in Montgomery, Alabama, and all of their vehicles were equipped with Denso fuel pumps, according to their complaint.

The three owners say their cars have exhibited fuel pump problems, but none of their cars – two 2017 model years and one 2018 – were included in Subaru’s recall.

Their lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama Southern Division, also alleges that based on numerous complaints filed by Subaru owners with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, problems with the fuel pumps began years before the 2019 model year vehicles were manufactured. The group claims Subarus produced between 2013 and 2019 suffer the same defects as the 2019 recalled vehicles and should have been included in the recall.

On June 26, a second fuel pump lawsuit was filed against Subaru and Denso, this time by a 2017 Subaru Outback owner from Hawaii. In that case, plaintiff Roman Anderson purchased a Subaru-certified pre-owned Outback with an extended warranty.

Anderson claims his car has shown signs of a defective fuel pump. He has had trouble getting the car to start and once, in November 2019, it stalled during a stop at a stop sign, his lawsuit says.

Because his car was not included in Subaru’s recall, and the cost to repair the fuel pump can be as much as $1,000, Anderson has not had the fuel pump fixed.

In his lawsuit, Anderson also notes complaints about faulty fuel pumps in Subarus dates back several years – since at least 2015 – and those cars should have been included in the automaker’s recall.

The Subaru Class Action Fuel Pump Lawsuits are Griffin, et al. v. Subaru of America Inc., et al., Case No. 2:20-cv-00563-ACA in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama Southern Division and Anderson, et al. v. Subaru of America Inc., et al., Case No. 1:20-cv-00290 in the U.S. District Court for the District Hawaii.

Join a Free Honda, Acura, and Subaru Fuel Pump Recall Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you own a Subaru or Honda manufactured between 2013 and 2019 and have experienced engine problems such as reduced engine power, stalling, and/or engine shutdown due to a faulty fuel pump, you may qualify to join this investigation.

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This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.