California, Washington Nissan Timing Chain Class Action Settlement

Nissan North America Inc. and Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. have agreed to settle a class action lawsuit alleging some of its vehicles were affected by a timing chain system defect.

If you purchased or leased one of the following vehicles in the state of California or Washington, you may be entitled to a partial refund if you paid to repair the engine timing chains in the vehicle:

• 2004-2006 Nissan Altima (VQ35 engine)
• 2004-2008 Nissan Maxima
• 2004-2009 Nissan Quest
• 2005-2007 Nissan Frontier (VQ40 engine)
• 2005-2007 Nissan Pathfinder
• 2005-2007 Nissan Xterra

If your vehicle engine is making a high frequency whining or buzzing noise that increases in frequency with engine speed, it may be an indication that your timing chain system needs to be repaired, and you may be entitled to a partial refund of the repair costs.The plaintiffs allege the Nissan vehicles named above have a timing chain defect that causes the timing chain tensioning system to be prone to premature failure. According to the Nissan class action lawsuit, the Nissan defendants were aware of the timing chain defect since at least 2003 but failed to disclose the alleged defect to consumers.The Nissan class action lawsuit says that Nissan actually sought to conceal the timing chain defect from consumers and issued Technical Service Bulletins to repair facilities informing them that it was necessary to replace certain elements of the timing chain tensioning system but did not inform consumers about the alleged timing chain defect or provide a permanent solution to address the defect.“Instead, Nissan concealed its knowledge of the issues and failed to develop a permanent solution so that the warranty period on the Subject Nissan Vehicles would expire before owners become aware of the problem,” the second amended Nissan class action lawsuit states.“Through this practice, Nissan unlawfully transfers the cost of replacement from itself to the owners of the Subject Nissan Vehicles.”The Nissan class action lawsuit was granted Class certification in April 2016.Nissan denies any wrongdoing but agreed to settle the timing chain tensioning system class action lawsuit to avoid the burden and expense of ongoing litigation.The Nissan timing chain class action settlement was preliminarily approved on Feb. 1, 2018.Class Members who would like to opt out of or object to the Nissan timing chain settlement must do so no later than June 11, 2018.

Who’s Eligible

Class Members of the Nissan timing chain settlement include anyone who purchased or leased one of the following vehicles in California or Washington:

• 2004-2006 Nissan Altima (VQ35 engine)
• 2004-2008 Nissan Maxima
• 2004-2009 Nissan Quest
• 2005-2007 Nissan Frontier (VQ40 engine)
• 2005-2007 Nissan Pathfinder
• 2005-2007 Nissan Xterra

Potential Award

Class Members who submit timely and valid Claim Forms are entitled to either partial reimbursement of their repairs or a voucher towards the purchase of a new Nissan vehicle, if they paid to diagnose, repair and/or replace the primary or secondary timing chain systems or components in the vehicle after the factory warranty expired but before the vehicle accumulated more than 120,000 miles.

The actual amount each Class Member is entitled to receive depends on several factors, including the warranty coverage, mileage on the vehicle, and the date the repairs were made.

Claimants may be eligible to receive payments of $500 to $1,500 toward the purchase of a new Nissan vehicle or a reimbursement of between 20 percent and 80 percent of the first $900 paid for repairs.

An explanation of the potentially available benefits are available here.

Proof of Purchase

Class Members may be asked to provide the Unique ID on the Claim Form that was mailed to them as well as certain documentation showing the repair was to the primary or secondary timing chain system or components and documentation of the amount the Class Member paid for the repair.

NOTE: If the repair was made after April 2, 2018, the repair order must be from an authorized Nissan dealer and must show that the repair was necessary because of a broken slack guide retention clip, an unseated slack guide, or worn secondary tensioner shoes.

Claim Form

CLICK HERE TO FILE A CLAIM »

NOTE: If you do not qualify for this settlement do NOT file a claim.

Remember: you are submitting your claim under penalty of perjury. You are also harming other eligible Class Members by submitting a fraudulent claim. If you’re unsure if you qualify, please read the FAQ section of the Settlement Administrator’s website to ensure you meet all standards (Top Class Actions is not a Settlement Administrator). If you don’t qualify for this settlement, check out our database of other open class action settlements you may be eligible for.

Claim Form Deadline

If repairs were made prior to April 2, 2018, the Claim Form deadline is July 2, 2018. If repairs were made after April 2, 2018, the Claim Form deadline is 90 days after the repair date.

Case Name

Falco, et al. v. Nissan North America Inc., et al., Case No. 2:13-cv-00686-DDP-MANx, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California

Final Hearing

7/16/2018

UPDATE: The California, Washington Nissan Timing Chain Class Action Settlement was granted final approval by the court on July 16, 2018. Let Top Class Actions know when you receive a check in the comments section below or on our Facebook page.

Settlement Website

www.FalcoVNissan.com

Claims Administrator

Falco v. Nissan Settlement
Epiq, Claims Administrator
P.O. Box 4230
Portland, OR 97208-4230
1-844-763-6373
info@FalcoVNissan.com

Class Counsel

Roland Tellis
BARON & BUDD PC

Defense Counsel

E. Paul Cauley Jr.
DRINKER BIDDLE & REATH LLP