Nissan Class Action Lawsuit Alleges Clutch Assembly Defect

Nissan North America Inc. is facing a class action lawsuit that alleges certain Nissan 370Z vehicles with manual transmissions have a defect that affects the clutch assembly and causes vehicles to be unable to accelerate, creating a serious safety hazard.

Plaintiff Huu Nguyen says he purchased a new 2012 Nissan 370Z vehicle in January 2012 from an authorized Nissan dealer in California. The vehicle was equipped with a manual transmission.

Nguyen claims he spent time researching the Nissan 370Z to make sure it would be a safe and reliable vehicle. He also reportedly test drove his vehicle with a Nissan salesperson before deciding to purchase the automobile.

According to the Nissan class action lawsuit, Nguyen’s vehicle has been affected by the Nissan clutch defect. He says the clutch pedal sticks at the bottom of his vehicle during normal operation and that it fails to engage gears when shifting.

In March 2014, Nguyen says he took his car to a Nissan dealership, notifying them about the issues he was having with the clutch. According to the Nissan class action lawsuit, the service technician removed the entire transmission and replaced the clutch components.

These repairs failed to correct the issue and Nguyen’s Nissan 370Z vehicle continued to experience problems with an unresponsive clutch which failed to engage gears during normal operation, according to the Nissan clutch defect class action lawsuit.

As a result, the clutch pedal is inoperable and leaves the driver to be unable to accelerate, Nguyen claims. He states that this issue poses a safety hazard because it affects a driver’s ability to control the vehicle’s speed—a situation that can be particularly dangerous when the vehicle fails to shift and accelerate while traveling at high speeds.

The alleged clutch assembly defect also leads to the premature failure of the clutch components, the Nissan transmission class action lawsuit states.

The Nissan class action lawsuit asserts that the clutch defect is widespread and that it manifests without warning. Nguyen says that Nissan has been aware of the problem and the dangers associated with it since at least 2008 due to pre-release testing data and consumer complaints.

He also claims that Nissan has actively concealed the clutch assembly defect from consumers.

Nguyen charges Nissan with violations of California’s Consumer Legal Remedies Act, Unfair Competition Law, breach of implied warranty and unjust enrichment.

By filing the Nissan clutch assembly defect class action lawsuit, Nguyen seeks to represent a nationwide Class of individuals in the United States who purchased or leased any Nissan 370Z vehicle equipped with a FS6R31A manual transmission.

He also seeks to certify several subclasses of California consumers who either reside in California or who purchased the vehicle in California.

Nguyen is represented by Jordan L. Lurie, Robert K. Friedl, Tarek H. Zohdy, Cody R. Padgett and Karen L. Wallace of Capstone Law APC.

The Nissan Clutch Assembly Defect Class Action Lawsuit is Huu Nguyen v. Nissan North America Inc., Case No. 5:16-cv-05591, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

UPDATE: On Dec. 15, 2017, the plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit alleging Nissan 370Z sports cars have a clutch defect asked a federal judge to certify their proposed Class.

UPDATE 2: On Feb. 5, 2018, Nissan filed a motion in federal court opposing an effort by Nguyen to certify a Class of persons who owned or leased certain Nissan and Infiniti vehicles built with a manual transmission.