Articles Posted in Vehicles

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Model Year 2014-2020 Dodge Durangos have a serious water problem. Durango owners have consistently reported that their rear tail lights and the unique LED “racetrack light” located on the tailgate assemblies of their Dodge Durangos flood with water. The resulting water damage results in a host of serious issues such as failure of the tail lights and brake lights, dimming, flickering, or complete failure of the racetrack lights, and other electrical issues such as failure of the rearview camera and license plate lights. And as we all know, water and electronics don’t mix – and the Durango’s racetrack and tail lights are no exception.

Working tail lights are essential for safety. Durango owners report experiencing near miss rear end collisions while driving at nighttime because their LED racetrack lights or tail lights have shorted out, or are flickering, due to water intrusion. Numerous other Durango owners recount being pulled over by law enforcement or failing safety tests because their racetrack lights and tail lights fail to operate because of water saturation and damage. Naturally, many Dodge Durango owners are concerned that such an important vehicle component is so easily susceptible to water intrusion due to water leaking into the racetrack and tail light assemblies. (See below picture of water draining from the taillight assembly after a Durango owner removed a bolt on the tailgate to drain out the accumulated water).

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Indeed, the Durango racetrack light water intrusion defect poses considerable safety risks, since the racetrack light and tail lights illuminate the rear of the Dodge Durango to ensure that the Durango is visible at night, in fog, and other low-light driving environments. One Durango owner even reported smelling a strong electrical fire smoke scent and seeing a faint smoke trail when the racetrack light and lighting assembly shorted out due to water pooling in the tailgate light assembly. Continue reading

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How confident are you that your car’s brakes are functioning properly?  If you own a 2013-2015 Toyota Avalon or Avalon Hybrid; a 2012-2014 Toyota Camry Hybrid; or 2010-2015 Toyota Prius or Prius Plug-In, you may want to rethink your answer.  Many owners of these cars, some of which are Toyota’s most popular offerings, have noticed something is not right with their brakes.

Even Toyota has noticed the problem with the brakes on the Avalon, Camry and Prius because it appears Toyota may have implemented a limited warranty extension program, agreeing to provide necessary repairs free of charge or to reimburse consumers for money paid to repair the brake booster assembly on these cars.

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However, Toyota is not as generous as it appears because it is not going to reimburse consumers or perform the repairs unless customers experienced one of five brake system warnings, indicating the Diagnostic Trouble Codes C1391; C1252; C1256; or C1253.  This means Toyota is only going to fix a driver’s brake system after it has failed or malfunctioned, leaving drivers to wonder when their brakes may fail.

Many drivers complain about their car’s brakes being “too soft” or the brake assist and stability control not working when it should or initiating at times it should not.  This brake defect can result in an increased stopping distance or an inability to stop, and has caused accidents. Continue reading

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UPDATE

On July 15, 2016, the Firm filed an amended class action complaint concerning the alleged defect in 2010-15 Mazda 3 clutch assemblies.  The case currently is proceeding in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, Oakland Division.  We will update this blog post as the case proceeds.

Zoom-Zoom. If you’re a Mazda owner, you’ve probably seen the commercials. They’re everywhere. They’re filled with lively music and images of drivers coasting along highways in their sporty, fun and fast Mazda cars. Chances are they were on your mind when you purchased your Mazda3. And they definitely were when you guided the vehicle onto the road for your first joy ride.

Then your Mazda3’s clutch starts to experience problems like slipping, requiring a little more effort every time you shifted gears. Finally, your Mazda3’s clutch stops working all together. You head in to the nearest dealership, warranty in hand because your Mazda3 is covered by a three-year/36,000 mile warranty, and confident that your Mazda dealer will replace the clutch. After all – your warranty is still in effect. Then reality sets in. Mazda will not cover clutch replacement. The Mazda dealer tells you that your clutch failed and needs to be replaced BECAUSE OF YOU. You “Zoomed-Zoomed” too much, driver error. “But wait,” you say, “I know how to drive a manual car and have never had problems with any other clutch.” Sorry, you’re told, it’s wear and tear, and it’ll be $1200 to replace the clutch so you can get back to zoom-zooming. The bad news? You probably had to pay it. The good news? You’re not alone.

Second generation (2009-2013) Mazda3 owners need to know that premature clutch failure is a common problem well-known to Mazda, and Mazda should be forced to honor its warranty and replace the clutch at no cost to you. Ever since the second generation Mazda3 debuted during the 2009 model year, owners have complained of premature clutch failure, in some cases in as few as 12,000 miles. And the problem only worsened after the release of the 2010 Mazda3. Continue reading

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