Nissan Reaches Settlement in Defective LEAF Battery Class Action

Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.

Nissan North America Inc. reached a class action settlement Monday over allegations that its electric-powered Nissan LEAF cars contain defective batteries that cause them to prematurely lose battery life and driving range. Under the deal, Nissan will expand its warranty for its 2011-2012 model year LEAF cars to cover battery capacity loss and repairs.

Nissan LEAF owners sued the automaker in September 2012, alleging that Nissan failed to disclose in its advertising that owners should avoid charging the battery beyond 80 percent in order to mitigate battery damage. Nissan also failed to disclose that the LEAF’s estimated 100-mile driving range was based on a fully charged battery – which directly contradicts Nissan’s own recommendation for an 80-percent max battery charge.

The class action lawsuit further accused Nissan of hiding a design defect in the LEAF’s battery system that causes the electric car to suffer “widespread, severe and premature loss of driving range, battery capacity and battery life.”
Nissan maintains that the class action lawsuit is without merit, but has agreed to expand the warranty coverage for 2011-2012 model year LEAF cars to add battery capacity loss to its existing limited warranty for up to 60 months or 60,000 miles. The new warranty will also require Nissan to repair the battery to at least 70 percent of its full capacity. If repair is not possible, Nissan agreed to replace the defective LEAF battery with a new or remanufactured one.

Class Members will be automatically included in the Nissan LEAF battery settlement unless they choose to opt out. About 18,588 people will be covered by the class action settlement, according to a motion filed July 3.

A preliminary approval hearing will be held August 12, 2013. Notice of the Nissan LEAF class action settlement will be mailed once the agreement is finalized.

The Plaintiffs are represented by Jordan L. Lurie, Andrew Sokolowski and Tarek Zohdy of the Initiative Legal Group, APC.

The Nissan LEAF Battery Defect Class Action Lawsuit Settlement is Humberto Daniel Klee, et al. v. Nissan North America, Inc., et al., Case No. 12-cv-08238, U.S. District Court, Central District of California, Western Division.

UPDATE 1: The Court vacated the August 12 Hearing and granted preliminary approval to the Nissan LEAF class action settlement on July 10. A Final Fairness Hearing is scheduled for November 18, 2013.

UPDATE 2: An objection has been filed in connection with the settlement. Read it here.

UPDATE 3: The judge overseeing the Nissan LEAF battery class action settlement has recused herself from the case to avoid questions of impartiality due to the status of the objector.