Not even with $5 million.
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.
I’m old school. Hate these newfangled vehicles. I remember when a push button was required. Bad enough when I had to rent a car and too afraid to move until I read the ‘manual’. Semi/sarcastic ;- )
I have several cars that work like that, but this modern thing, where you have the key fob in your pocket and the vehicle senses it's presence through radio signalling is a very different and very annoying thing.
There are all sorts of things I don't like about it, not the least of which is what kind of horror show you would have to go through if you need to *FIX* the d@mned thing!
I got sick of computer controlled vehicles when I bought a 2008 Trailblazer, and then found out the window control failed one day. To get it fixed, it was gonna cost me upwards of $1,200.00 for a stupid window switch!
It was no longer just a switch. It was a microprocessor module that had to be programmed to work with your vehicle, and only the dealer could do it.
I decided to just live with not being able to roll the windows up and down. Then the factory came out with a recall, (several years later) and they eventually fixed it for free.
But I made up my mind right then and there that I no longer wanted any car that was effectively controlled by someone else, and these keyless cars fit right into that category.
Which I think is much better than those stupid keyless start vehicles. I don't know why, but those things give me the creeps.
There is a comfort to putting the key in the ignition and to know that nothing happens without *YOU* being the one to control the vehicle.
With that keyless start nonsense, anyone can start the car so long as the key fob is in the car somewhere. Your passenger can start the car, or turn it off if they decide they want to.
That is exactly my primary concern with these things. Other concerns is that people can hack my car with a keyless entry cracking system and basically steal the car more easily than they could if they had to have a key.
The passenger can also start or stop the car by pushing that very same button the driver pushes.
There are a lot of things I don't like about these keyless pushbutton start cars.
My father had an older car from the 60s or 70’s where you nudged the gas pedal to the side with your foot to start it.
Can’t remember the model though..
My wife has a newer Subaru, and it’s the same. Do anything involving the drivetrain and you have to have your foot on the brake.
It was several crashes over a years time. To take it down after the first crash would have been admitting liability.
*Fun Time…DFW International Airport used to be DFW Airport up to about 1988.
About 1987, Eastland Municipal Airport (Texas y’all) changed its name to Eastland International Airport and put up two big billboards on IH-20 to announce the change.
Took just over a year before DFW Airport noted the designation.
Law suite happened and Eastland went back to having a municipal airport and DFW changed its name to International Airport.
There is no such thing as “Idiot-Proof”. There is only “Idiot-Resistant”. The ingenuity of idiots knows no bounds.
**************************************************
“... Programmers are busy writing the next best idiot proof software. The
universe, in the meantime, is busy making the next best idiot. The universe
is winning”
Unknown
“until it hit a kerb”
I sometimes have trouble with kerbs also.
You are in favor of castrating men who incapable of giving simple instructions?
I don't think you are going to find many in the US in favor of that.
I bought a 2023 Mazda to replace a 2009 Civic. The electronics have changed a lot in the interval, so I had a lot to learn.
I have no issue in:
a) depressing the brake pedal
b) pressing the “on” button.
c) shifting gears (drive or reverse)
d) releasing the brake pedal
e) pressing the gas pedal
It makes sense to me. What else would one do?
Generally, I have no problem turning the car off. The exception is for an automated car wash. Mazda requires you to place the car in park before turning off the engine. The car wash directs you to place the car in neutral before turning off the engine.
I don’t think I would be fast enough to put the car in park, turn off the engine, turn on accessories, and place the car in neutral. Too many steps and too little time when people are shouting at you.
My car won’t start unless you depress the clutch pedal.
California juries are more generous with other people's money...
Noah Webster dropped the ball when he failed to go to England to teach them how to spell things correctly.
I agree that the “press to start” is a pain in the posterior. It’s too easy to forget one’s fob, and then the car is vulnerable, or you turn it off and the fob is back at home, so you can’t restart the car.
Yeah, it’s a feature alright...
Turning the key and pushing the button is common in boats and diesel trucks.
Military vehicles have "combat start" which is no key and just a button to push. Don't want anyone fumbling for a key in a war zone.
“You are in favor of castrating men who incapable of giving simple instructions? I don’t think you are going to find many in the US in favor of that.”
Actually this article is about driving. But regarding your comment, you’ll find most of the DEMOCRATS in favor of just what you say. The question is: Does that bother you, compared to Trump being president? I have my doubts, since you brought it up.
RTFM
Not even with $5 million.
Noah Webster did a phenomenal job but "c" should be reserved for "ch" sounds and replaced with an "s" or a "k" instead of having a hard and soft sound.
There is no ambiguity when reading "kurb". "C" on the other hand, can mislead millions of speakers over thousands of years when pronouncing words or names as Julius Caesar which is correctly pronounced "Kuy-sahr" and not "Seezer".
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