Honda Faces Class Action Over Acura TLX Transmission Defect

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Honda was hit with a class action lawsuit by an Oregon man in a California federal court alleging that 2015 Acura TLX i4 cars are made with defect transmissions, which the automaker hid from its customers.

Plaintiff Roger Kornfein claims in his Acura class action lawsuit filed against the American Honda Motor Company, Inc. that the alleged “defective transmissions cause Class Vehicles to hesitate while shifting gears, shift roughly and noisily, and leaves drivers unable to reliably control their vehicles’ speed.

“In some instances, the defect causes Class Vehicles’ transmissions to act as if they had shifted into neutral, leaving drivers unable to accelerate at all (even when the vehicle is in operation),” Kornfein’s Acura class action lawsuit states.

In addition, the class action lawsuit alleges that “Honda knows about the transmission defect, and is aware that consumers are experiencing shifting and hesitation problems.

“Nevertheless, Honda has not disclosed the defect to current owners and lessees of Class Vehicles, and instead continues to sell vehicles with defective transmissions and promote the transmissions as reliable and smooth-shifting,” Kornfein claim in his Acura defective transmission class action lawsuit.

Kornfein claims that he purchased a brand new 2015 Acura TLX 4i from an Acura dealership in Portland, Oregon in September 2014.

“About two weeks after his purchase, Mr. Kornfein was making a turn through an intersection when the vehicle’s transmission acted as if it had been shifted into neutral: the engine revved but no power was delivered to the wheels and the TLX was unable to accelerate through the turn,” the Acura class action lawsuit states. “Had there been oncoming traffic, this could have easily led to a collision.”

Kornfein claims that since that incident, his Acura TLX continues to have “shifting and hesitation problems on a daily basis,” in which he says that it typically takes one to two seconds for the transmission in his vehicle to fit between gears and if he tried to put more gas on the accelerator, it merely causes the engine to rev up like it would if it were in neutral.

“When decelerating below 20 miles per hour, the transmission intermittently downshifts very suddenly,” he explains in his Acura defective transmission class action lawsuit. “The vehicle also often seems to ride in an inappropriately high gear for its speed.

“When accelerating at low speeds or from a stop, the vehicle often takes one or two seconds to shift into gear, and there is a ‘grab’ that causes the vehicle to feel as though it is jerking forward,” the Oregon man claims.

“When shifting between Park, Drive, and Reverse, it always takes two to three seconds for the transmission to shift after the stick has been moved,” the class action lawsuit states. But “most alarmingly, Mr. Kornfein’s vehicle continues to experience the issue where his vehicle’s transmission acts as if it had slipped into neutral, which occurs at least once a week.”

Kornfein says that he contacted Acura about the problem and was told to take the TLX to his local dealership. However, the technicians were unable to “replicate the issue where the vehicle acted as if it had slipped into neutral.

“Although the technicians could replicate the vehicle’s other issues, they were unable to pull any error codes and declined to perform further diagnostic or repair,” the Acura TLX class action lawsuit claims.

When the Oregon man made more visits to the dealership, he says that the staff there did say that others had complained of the same transmission problems with the TLX “and that there does appear to be a problem with the transmission (as measured by customer feedback).”

However, “Kornfein has followed up with Acura Client Relations, but Honda’s corporate representatives refuse to admit that there is a problem and say that there is no further information available on the matter,” he adds in the Acura class action lawsuit.

Kornfein sent a “pre-litigation notice to Honda,” which was received by the automaker on Jan. 22, 2015. The Oregon man had “asked that Honda notify all current and former owners and lessees of Class Vehicles about the defect and pledge to repair the defect at no cost to TLX drivers.

Honda responded with a letter on Feb. 11, 2015, stating “that the dealership had identified and addressed Mr. Kornfein’s complaints and that there were no reported outstanding issues at this time.”

However, Kornfein says that he still faces driving difficulties and potential safety hazards due to the alleged transmission defect.

Honda’s U.S. headquarters are located in Torrance, California.

The Oregon man is looking to represent a nationwide class and an Oregon class anyone who has purchased or leased a 2015 Acura TLC i4.

Kornfein alleges in his Acura class action lawsuit that Honda has violated the California Consumers Legal Remedies Act,  California’s Unfair Competition Law, Oregon’s Unfair Trade Practices Act, the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, and breaches of express and implied warranty.

The plaintiff is represented by Eric H. Gibbs, Dylan Hughes, and Steve Lopez of the Gibbs Law Group LLP.

Attorney information for Honda is not yet available.

The Acura Defective Transmission Class Action Lawsuit is Roger Kornfein v. American Honda Motor Company, Inc., Case No. 2:15-cv-01295, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.