Honda Class Action Filed Over Unfixed CR-V Gas Odor Problem

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Honda has been hit with a proposed class action lawsuit alleging the automaker knew the passenger cabins of CR-V vehicles frequently become filled with a harmful noxious gasoline odor but failed to disclose this to buyers.

Plaintiffs Bruce and Leann Beehler of Wisconsin filed the Honda CR-V class action lawsuit in Illinois federal court on Monday, alleging the company violated federal law by not honoring the customers’ requests to fix the gas odor problem under the terms of the warranty they received with the sports utility vehicle when they purchased it.

According to the Beehlers, within days of purchasing their Honda CR-V in Jan. 2016, they experienced what smelled like an “open pool of gasoline” inside the passenger cabin.

The noxious odor allegedly persisted no matter the speed they drove or duration of driving.

The lawsuit claims that the dangers to humans associated with inhaling fumes from gasoline are well-documented and include nose and throat irritation, dizziness, breathing difficulties, COPD, and lung cancer.

In March, when the vehicle mileage was only 1,916 miles, the Beehlers says they took their CR-V to a Honda dealership for service and reported on the gas smell.

It was at this time, the plaintiffs were allegedly told by a dealership employee that many other CR-V owners have complained about the noxious odor filling the cabin and that they did not have a solution.

The vehicle was returned to the Beehlers with no diagnostic test or repair procedures having been performed, the lawsuit states.

A little less than a month later, the couple says they returned to the same Honda dealership to report the continuing gas odor problem, with the same outcome.

The Beehlers proceeded for the next four months to take their CR-V to various Honda dealerships to try to fix the gas odor problem with no luck in resolving the issue and allegedly no action from Honda to correct or replace the vehicles.

“Honda, through its Tech Line, acknowledges that it is aware of a widespread problem of noxious odors and that it does not know how to repair the problem, yet still refuses to replace the defective vehicles,” the lawsuit reads.

The Beehlers claim that their vehicle is covered under warranty for “absence of defects in materials and workmanship, including design, and the durability and longevity of the CR-V.”

In particular, the warranty states that “Honda will repair or replace any part that is defective in material under normal use…All repairs/replacements made under this warranty are free of charge. The replaced or repaired parts are covered only until this New Vehicle Limited Warranty expires.”

The couple says that Honda failed to comply with the warranty and violated the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.

In addition to equitable relief, reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses and costs they have incurred to try to rectify the horrible, noxious gasoline odor in their vehicles, the plaintiffs are seeking compensatory, statutory, and punitive damages due to the loss of their vehicle.

They are seeking to represent a nationwide Class of consumers who purchased a 2016 Honda CR-V from 2015 to present.

The Beehlers are represented by Daniel J. Voekler and Alexander N. Loftus of Voekler Litigation Group.

The Honda CR-V Gasoline Odor Class Action Lawsuit is Bruce Beehler and Leann Beehler, et al. v. American Honda Motor Co. Inc., Case No. 1:16-cv-08525, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division.