Class Action: Rodents Chew Honda’s Soy-Coated Wires

Last week, American Honda Motor Co. Inc. was hit with a class action lawsuit alleging rats and other rodents are attracted to the soy-based insulation used in the electrical wiring in some Honda vehicles.

Plaintiffs Daniel Dobbs, Greg Delaney and Sean Rickard filed the class action lawsuit on behalf of themselves and all owners and lessees of 2012-2015 model year Honda vehicles in the United States.

They allege that 2012-2015 Honda vehicles contain soy-based wire casings in their electrical systems. These soy-based casings were implemented by Honda because they are purportedly more environmentally-friendly and less expensive than traditional electrical insulation, according to the Honda class action lawsuit.

“Unbeknownst to Plaintiffs, however, a real and contentious unintended and undesired consequence of this soy-based insulation material is that it attracts rodents and other animals that are drawn by the soy content of the insulation, and proceed to chew through the insulation and electrical wires that the insulation coats,” the Honda class action lawsuit alleges.

Once the rodents chew through the insulation and the electrical wires, owners and lessees of the affected vehicles have to deal with a malfunctioning vehicle that may be fully or partially inoperative.

Dobbs alleges in the Honda class action lawsuit that the soy-coated wiring in his 212 Honda Accord had been chewed through twice within the span of a few months, but Honda refused to cover the repairs under their warranty even though the damage occurred during the warranty period.

“Worse yet, the wiring replacement that Honda performed at Mr. Dobbs’ expense consisted of replacing the soy-based insulated wiring with more of the same,” the Honda class action lawsuit alleges. Within a few months, the new wiring had also been chewed through and Dobbs once again had to pay for repairs, according to the soy-coated wiring class action lawsuit.

Delaney reported a similar issue with his 2014 Honda CrossTour. After he noticed the wiring in his vehicle was shredded, he took it to a dealership where he was informed the repair would not be covered under the warranty. According to the Honda class action lawsuit, Delaney paid around $765 to replace the wiring in his vehicle.

“During the course of the repair, the dealership reportedly discovered a rabbit within the car’s engine compartment that apparently had chewed through the wiring, and was still chewing the wiring while the car was at the dealership,” the Honda class action lawsuit alleges. “Indeed, the dealership took a photograph of the live rabbit chewing on the wiring on Mr. Delaney’s car and provided it to Mr. Delaney.”

According to the Honda class action lawsuit, Rickard had his 2013 Honda Accord EX-L in to the dealership when he noticed the power steering wasn’t functioning. Again, Honda reportedly refused to cover the repairs even though his vehicle was still covered by Honda’s New Vehicle Limited Warranty. Although his insurance paid for some of the cost to repair the damage, Rickard reportedly still had to pay the $500 deductible portion of his insurance claim.

However, just two days after picking his vehicle up from the dealership, Rickard reportedly observed a rabbit chewing on the wiring underneath his car. “Upon visually inspecting the car, Mr. Rickard noticed that the wiring harness had been chewed through again at approximately the same spot as before merely a few days prior,” the Honda wiring class action lawsuit says.

The plaintiffs allege that Honda was aware that the soy-based insulation attracted rodents that chew through the wiring. According to the soy wire coating class action lawsuit, Honda dealerships had started selling mouse-repellant electrical tape to cover the wiring, which the plaintiffs allege is Honda’s way of generating another source of income from consumers affected by the soy-coated wiring defect.

Dobbs, Delaney and Rickard are represented by Roy Arie Katriel.

The Honda Soy-Coated Wiring Class Action Lawsuit is Daniel Dobbs, et al. v. American Honda Motor Co. Inc., Case No. 2:16-cv-00456, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

UPDATE: The Honda Soy-Coated Wiring Class Action Lawsuit was voluntarily dismissed on June 2, 2016.