Volkswagen class action overview:
- Who: Five Volkswagen and Audi drivers have sued the automakers.
- Why: The plaintiffs say the company sold vehicles with a dangerous defect.
- Where: The Volkswagen class action lawsuit was filed in a California federal court.
Five Volkswagen and Audi drivers have filed a class action lawsuit against the manufacturers, alleging that the companies sold vehicles with dangerous defects without informing consumers.ย
Plaintiffs Jagger Hardy, Andrew Montemayor, Nancy Pickett, Geri Darrow, and Luis Viteri filed the class action complaint against Audi of America Inc., Volkswagen AG and Audi AG on Aug. 2 in a New Jersey federal court, alleging violations of state and federal consumer laws.ย
The plaintiffs argue that the automakers knew about defects in several models but failed to disclose it, putting drivers and passengers at risk.
Class action: Automakers had longstanding knowledge of defects
The lawsuit is seeking to represent owners and lessees of 2015-2020 Volkswagen Golf, 2015-2020 Audi A3, and 2022-2024 Volkswagen Taos vehicles.ย
According to the plaintiffs, these vehicles contain defects in the suction jet pump and fuel tank components, leading to fuel leaks, premature nozzle shutoffs, fuel spillbacks and gas odors inside the vehicle.ย
These issues, dubbed the โSuction Pump Defect,โ pose a significant fire hazard and compromise the engineโs ability to receive fuel, the lawsuit states.
The plaintiffs claim that Volkswagen and Audi have been aware of these defects since at least 2015 but chose to conceal the information. They allege that the automakers not only failed to disclose the defect but also took active steps to hide it from consumers.ย
Warranty and repair issues
Volkswagen sold the vehicles with warranties covering fuel tank and suction jet pump components, the plaintiffs say. However, numerous complaints to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reveal that authorized dealerships often refused adequate repairs even within the warranty period. This left many owners and lessees dealing with recurring issues and costly repairs, they say.
Safety concerns
Hardy says he purchased a 2015 Volkswagen GTI SE for personal use, attracted by its advertised safety and reliability.ย
However, in 2017, he began to notice gas odors inside the vehicle, which escalated to fuel spilling out of the tank in 2022. Despite multiple attempts to repair the vehicle under warranty, the problem persisted. A dealership eventually advised Hardyto stop driving the car due to the unresolved defect, he says.
As a result, the plaintiffs seek to represent all U.S. residents who purchased or leased the vehicles with the alleged defect. They are suing for violations of consumer protection laws, fraud, and unjust enrichment, and are demanding class certification, damages, and a jury trial.
Meanwhile, in May, Volkswagen Group of America issued a recall for nearly 80,000 of its model year 2021-2023 Volkswagen ID.4 vehicles over concerns their rearview camera displays could fail to display an image or be delayed.ย
What do you think of the allegations against Volkswagen? Let us know in the comments.
The plaintiffs are represented by Berger Montague PC and Capstone Law APC.
The Volkswagen class action lawsuit is Jagger Hardy et al., v. Volkswagen Group of America Inc. et al., Case No. 1:24-cv-08251-KMW-SAK in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.
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13 thoughts onVolkswagen class action claims suction jet pumps, fuel tanks contain defects
I own a 2008. The fuels that comes out my car. I have to have my car on in order to pump my gas.
I have a 2023 Taos leased vehicle and have had problems with the car just two weeks after start of my lease when I went to put gas in the car for the first time. I could not put more than one gallon at a time and the car started making a loud deep screaming sound, shaking like the car was going to blow up. I would have to pump, wait for the pressure to release and then pump gas again. It took me 2 hours to put 8 gallons of gas in the car. I took it in to the dealer and they joked that I was hallucinating that nothing was wrong with the car with only 400 miles on it. Unfortunately they could find nothing wrong and sent me home. A week later I returned when my gas was lower in the tank and I challenged them to go pump gas into it. Wow! lady something wrong with your car. So they kept the car 2 days called VW HQ took out the gas tank, charcoal filter and several sensors & hoses, could find nothing wrong so they took everything out of another Taos to see if that fixed things. It did not. After replacing several parts they said it would be better. Well the car has fuel issues. Loud fluttering noise when going uphill, whistling noise when pumping gas and can only put 5 gallons at a time (yesterday), smells of fresh gas from time to time inside the car, sometimes the gauge reads that I have 1/3 or more of a tank, travel about 40-50 miles and all of a sudden I am on my last gallon of gas. Almost ran out of gas this week. The car and its fuel issue scares me hoping that it does not catch fire plus it is starting to get expensive as fuel mileage is bad. I now have close to 15,000 miles on the car and ready to take it in to service for oil change and to complain again about the car screaming at me when I pump gas
Add me
My 2022 Taos smells of gas in my garage,weird thing as running up I rarly drive it, just for appts and errands now concerned being parked in my garage
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I saw there was recall for Volkswagen Taos for the fuel tanks by Volkswagen first came out. So there is a past issue with the fuel pump/tank.
came out.
I have a 2013 PassatโฆMy dealer in Ft.Pierce wants to charge me over $225.00 for a DX fee even if I just want all of the RECALLS done; like CLOCK WHEEL, TAKA AIR BAGS, ETC. Clock wheel not working; husband replaced fuses; now wonโt startโฆ.Security issue? Not like the old dependable VW nameโฆ.they should recall it** Iโll never buy another one againโฆ.neither will my family***
ADD ME Please help me my audi A3 HAS BEEN WITH THE DEALERSHIP 7 MONTHS I NEED A LAWTER IT WAS LEAKING GASOLINE PLEASE HELP ME AUDI IS NOT FAIR PLEASE HELP ME
VW has gone from being a respected automaker to a sham. I owned a 2002 Passat, which then had class action lawsuits because of oil in the engine and leaky sunroofs (mine leaked and destroyed the tiptronic transmission). Then VW got caught red-handed rigging emissions, and had to pay a $40 billion fine. Now this? To my mind, anyone buying VW today has too much money to waste on a failed company.
My volkswagen beetle had the same problem. I had to pay over a grand to replace the fuel pump
I have a VW from the last recall and a TDI model from 2015. I also smell gas and have been experiencing issues. They need to investigate because there have to be more models involved in THIS!
My Volkswagen jetta se 2023 had te same problem. Had to get a new gas tank installed and new gas door. The gas pump would shut off and gas went all over.
Its not on the list
My 2021 Audi Q3 had same problem more than once and was in the shop for 2 plus months because of this but it seems to not be listed as well.