Mercedes-Benz Hit With Class Action Over Transmission Defects

Mercedes-Benz USA LLC faces a possible class action lawsuit alleging that certain models produced by the luxury car manufacturer contain transmission defects.

Lead plaintiffs Charlie Jacquo-Stevenson and Corey Stevenson, allege in their class action lawsuit that Mercedes-Benz model cars containing the 722.9 7G-Tronic automatic transmission are defective.

The plaintiffs claim that the Mercedes transmission in question contains a defect in the valve body and conductor plate that “causes the transmission to fail prematurely and need replacement well before the useful life of the transmission or the vehicle in which it is housed.”

The plaintiffs further allege that the defective Mercedes transmissions fail “to such a widespread extent that, at one point, [Mercedes-Benz ‘MBUSA’] was unable to supply sufficient replacement transmission components to have the defective transmissions repaired and, as a result, for a long time, MBUSA prevented independent service stations from purchasing such replacement parts.” “Worse yet,” continue the plaintiffs in their complaint, “when the transmission valve body or conductor plate fails in the Mercedes-Benz 722.9 transmission, a real safety hazard ensues.”

The Mercedes class action lawsuit states that the defect causes the transmission to have a difficult time shifting from first to second gear, and prevents the transmission from shifting to higher gears. According to the plaintiffs, this causes the vehicles with the allegedly defective transmissions to be unable to be driven at any speed.

The lawsuit claims that the defective transmissions cause the affected Mercedes-Benz vehicles “to enter what is referred to as ‘Limp Mode,’ leaving the car to ‘limp’ along the roadway in a very restricted and limited fashion.”

According to the Mercedes-Benz class action lawsuit, the car manufacturer was allegedly aware of the defect in the 722.9 7G-Tronic automatic transmissions, but failed to take any corrective actions.

“Because the defective transmission typically manifests itself outside the 4 year/50,000 mile durational limit of MBUSA’s New Vehicle Limited Warranty, MBUSA washes its hands of any liability, fails to disclose this defect, and leave consumers of the affected vehicles, like Plaintiffs, to pay for the costly repair of the transmission to the tune of several thousands of dollars,” say the plaintiffs in their complaint.

According to the Mercedes transmission class action lawsuit, the plaintiffs seek to represent a Class “of all owners and lessees within California of Mercedes vehicles equipped with the 722.9 7G-Tronic transmission,” subject to several exclusions, including judicial officers and those who have allegedly suffered personal injuries as a result of the alleged defects.

The Mercedes class action lawsuit alleges that Mercedes-Benz violated California consumer protection laws and unfair competition laws. The plaintiffs seek a declaratory judgment from the court as well as an order stopping Mercedes-Benz from selling vehicles with the allegedly defective transmission. The plaintiffs also seek restitution.

Lead plaintiffs Charlie Jacquo-Stevenson and Corey Stevenson are represented by Roy A. Katriel of the Katriel Law Firm and Michael D. Braun of the Braun Law Group.

The Mercedes-Benz Defective Transmission Class Action Lawsuit is Charlie A. Jacquo-Stevenson, et. al., v. Mercedes-Benz USA LLC, Case No. 2:16-cv-00727 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.