Posted on 09/23/2024 1:31:33 PM PDT by algore
Mazda is facing a class action lawsuit in the US, with the owner of one of its cars claiming it has a major defect… that’s actually just an extremely common safety feature.
Filed in the US District Court for the Central District of California, Pennsylvanian Mazda CX-50 owner Joshua Meltzer is attempting to sue the carmaker for US$5 million (A$7.35 million) following an incident which resulted in his daughter jumping out of the moving vehicle.
The feature in particular is the requirement for drivers to press the brake pedal when switching the car on, which is shown in the instrument cluster as “Depress Brake Pedal to Start Vehicle.”
According to Car Complaints, Mr Meltzer says he purchased the CX-50 in May 2024 and told his daughter how to operate it.
Two weeks later upon her first attempt at driving it, the incident occurred.
“She pressed the Stop-Start button. The display then informed her ‘Depress Brake to Start Vehicle’,” Mr Meltzer’s lawsuit says.
“She then depressed the brake and shifted the vehicle out of Park and into Drive. The vehicle immediately began to roll backwards. She attempted to control the vehicle, including pressing the brakes, but both the power brakes and power steering were unresponsive.”
Effectively, Mr Meltzer’s daughter appears to have taken the instruction to mean depressing the brake would start the vehicle, and not that she should depress the brake and then press the start button again.
His daughter, whose age is unknown, allegedly feared for her life and jumped out of the driver’s door, with the Mazda continuing on its trajectory until it hit a kerb and then a neighbour’s tree, which Mr Meltzer had to pay to repair.
Mazda has denied the CX-50’s feature and how it operates is defective, with a dealership service manager telling the owner the car was shifted into gear when in accessory mode before the engine was on, meaning it couldn’t provide power assistance to the steering or brakes.
The owner is not only suing for financial compensation but also alleges owners of Mazdas fitted with push-button start since 2017 have been overpaying for their vehicles, with the “defect” leading to diminished values.
She was just learning.
And so is her father.
Turn the whatchama what?
I agree. Push button starting is a nuisance. I can never figure out how to simply turn on accessory mode and not start the vehicle. Never had that problem with a key ignition.
I see this happening a lot more with all this ridiculous touch screen attention sapping interfaces standard in cars now.
Hope they win.
So where was Dad when she was learning. Was he in the passenger seat or nowhere to be found? It would seem that if he was in the passenger seat, he could have coached her instead of watching her bail out.
BS. Cars in Drive do not roll.
Should’ve said President Trump owns stock in Mazda Motor Corporation and then, with our corrupt justice system, would be guaranteed a multi-million dollar settlement for their stupidity.
The father is an idiot, and his daughter (the apple) didn’t fall far from the tea. The case should be thrown out WITH PREJUDICE and plaintiff pays all court costs and legal fees.
I remember a “Sad Sack” cartoon where he comes across a large billboard while driving which has lots of detailed instructions. At the bottom there is a notice: $50 fine for stopping in the road.
I’ve never seen “curb” spelled “kerb” before. Must be a British thing.
No shortage of opportunists clogging up the courts with these nuisance suits.
I have an old Mazda which doesn’t have a start button—I start the car with a key in the ignition.
Next week he will sue again because the car will go over the posted speed limits if you floor the gas pedal.
Kerb? How about curb?
There is no such thing as “Idiot-Proof”. There is only “Idiot-Resistant”. The ingenuity of idiots knows no bounds.
The button was on the floor in many cars.
Years ago there was an order from UDOT requiring all cars to retrofit floor mounted hi/lo beam switches. It seems that blondes were causing crashes by getting their feet caught in the steering wheel.
Moron
More proof that nothing can be idiot proof as total idiots are very resourceful.
“the conclusion being that this girl is an idiot.”
Not much of a fan of Saudi Arabia, but they do get some things right over there.
They want to make cars like electronic appliances...So much so they're now forcing people into EVs. I do not and would never own a push button start vehicle. Most of these vehicle are so over engineered it's become absurd and very costly.
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