BMW Lawsuit Claims Vehicles Were Built with Emissions Cheating Device

BMW continues to face allegations that they have used a defeat device to mislead consumers about emissions from their vehicles. This has prompted some consumers to come forward with a BMW lawsuit.

Tens of thousands of BMWs are allegedly violating standards. The BMW lawsuit names the popular automaker as the sixth maker of cars that has been accused of cheating standards since 2015.

The BMW lawsuit alleges that tens of thousands of 335d and x5 model diesel cars manufactured between 2009 and 2011 involved defeat or cheating devices. Those that were similar to the Volkswagen AG model allowed test results to show that the vehicles were emitting pollutants at a much lower rate than they truly were.

Emissions are becoming an important concern in the wake of a discovery that Volkswagen cars were purposely outfitted with a defeat device. Designed to give different readings in test scenarios, which regulators refer to as a way to verify that emissions standards have been met, the cars produced much higher emissions under actual driving conditions.

This also drastically reduced the value of these vehicles for people who bought them with the expectation that the cars met emissions standards, according to the plaintiffs. Discovering this after a purchase might lead a consumer to file a lawsuit. Some employees whose sales were impacted by the media attention and reduced value of the cars have also considered or filed legal action, blaming the manufacturers for a systematic scheme to allegedly defraud vehicle purchasers.

The BMW lawsuit filed in New Jersey federal court says that the affected vehicles mentioned above are polluting at up to 27 times the allowable limit. Volkswagen recently admitted to rigging 11 million different vehicles with a defeat device. In February however, according to the BMW lawsuit, the company said they mistakenly put the inappropriate software in nearly 12,000 diesel vehicles.

That software led to higher emissions. Representatives for the company share that they are taking the BMW lawsuit and the issues surrounding it very seriously and are looking for further clarification. However, the BMW lawsuit says that BMW knew exactly what it was doing by colluding with the software company to game emissions test and then making vehicle performance seem better than it was in order to trick consumers.

The BMW lawsuit accuses the company of corruption, racketeering and other unfair competition and fraud practices across the entire company. The complaint in the BMW lawsuit says that BMW and Bosch worked together in a scheme of fraud and conspiracy as part of their goal to increase their share of the U.S. diesel market. Bosch has been tied to numerous other cases involving so-called defeat devices.

Multiple auto makers are currently being accused of working together with Bosch for almost 20 years to minimize technological advances in vehicles to stifle the competition. Consumers believe that in these car emissions cases, manufacturers should be held accountable.

The BMW lawsuit is Case No. 18-CV-04363 filed in the United States District Court District of New Jersey.

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If you own or owned a 2009-2013 BMW X5 or 2009-2011 335D diesel vehicle, you may qualify to file a BMW diesel emissions lawsuit or class action lawsuit.

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