Nissan Agrees to Settle Timing Chain Defect Class Action Lawsuit

Nissan has agreed to settle a class action lawsuit alleging certain vehicles contain a timing chain defect by offering partial reimbursement to drivers in the form of either a voucher toward the purchase of a new car or coverage of the repair.

Plaintiffs alleged in their 2012 class action lawsuit that a defectively designed timing chain caused degradation in protective services and could even lead to engine failure in certain Nissan vehicles. The Class vehicles include the 2004-2008 model year Nissan Maxima, 2004-2009 model year Nissan Quest, 2004-2006 model year Nissan Altima (equipped with a VQ35 engine), 2005-2007 model year Nissan Pathfinder, 2005-2007 model year Nissan Xterra, and 2005-2007 model year Nissan Frontier (equipped with a VQ40 engine).

The Nissan class action lawsuit alleged that Nissan knew or should have known about the defective timing chain. Further, by failing to inform affected Nissan drivers or fix the problem, Nissan violated California and Washington consumer protection laws as well as federal law, alleged the plaintiffs.

Nissan argued for the dismissal of the class action lawsuit, but their motion was denied. The plaintiffs won certification of their proposed Classes in April of 2016.

“The proposed settlement was the culmination of protracted discussions between the parties, voluminous discovery, and thorough analysis of the pertinent facts and law at issue,” states the plaintiffs’ motion to approve the settlement.

According to the motion, Nissan will either reimburse owners up to $900 for the cost of repairing the defect, depending on the mileage of the vehicle, or provide a voucher toward the purchase of a new car. Vouchers range from $500 to $1,500, also depending on the mileage of the vehicle.

Class representatives will receive $5,000 and Nissan will pay $5.2 million in plaintiffs’ attorneys’ fees and $800,000 in expenses.

The parties agreed on two Classes;

“(1) All former or current owners or lessees of Class Vehicles who purchased or leased the vehicle in Washington, (the ‘Washington Class’); and (2) All former or current owners or lessees of Class Vehicles who purchased or leased the vehicle in California, except for the Excluded Parties (the ‘California Class’).”

Nissan has agreed to provide notice to Class Members, including a single mailed notice and a website for information about the settlement. Nissan will also maintain an email address and toll-free number.

Class Members that seek reimbursement for repair of the defective timing chain will be required to submit a valid claim establishing out-of-pocket payments for qualifying repairs. Class Members seeking vouchers will also need to submit a claim to the claims administrator.

“The parties have negotiated a fundamentally fair, adequate, and reasonable settlement,” states the plaintiffs’ motion for approval of the proposed Nissan settlement.

Top Class Actions will post updates to this class action settlement as they become available. For the latest updates, keep checking TopClassActions.com or sign up for our free newsletter. You can also receive notifications when this article is updated by using your free Top Class Actions account and clicking the “Follow Article” button at the top of the post.

The plaintiffs are represented by Roland Tellis and Mark Pifko of Baron & Budd PC, Payam Shahian of Strategic Legal Practices APC and Jordan Lurie and Cody Padgett of Capstone Law APC.

The Nissan Defective Timing Chain Class Action Lawsuit is Kobe Falco, et al., v. Nissan North America Inc., et al., Case No.  2:13-­cv-­00686, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

UPDATE: April 2018, the Nissan defective timing chain class action settlement is now open. Click here to file a claim.