Civic Hybrid owner sues Honda in small-claims court for poor gas mileage

Chico ER ^ | Jan 3, 2012 | Linda Deutsch

[bkopto]

A woman who expected her Civic Hybrid to be her dream car wants Honda to pay for not delivering the 50 mpg it promised.

But rather than joining other owners in a class-action lawsuit, Heather Peters is going solo against the automaker in small-claims court, an unusual move that could offer a bigger payout. And if successful, it could open the door to a flood of similar lawsuits.

A trial was set for Tuesday in Torrance, where American Honda has its West Coast headquarters.

Peters, a former lawyer, says that as her vehicle's battery deteriorated, it got only 30 mpg.

When Honda ignored her complaints, she filed legal papers seeking reimbursement for her trouble and the extra money she spent on gas. The suit could cost the company up to $10,000.

If other Civic owners follow her lead, she estimates Honda could be forced to pay as much as $2 billion in damages. No high-priced lawyers are involved, and the process is streamlined.

"I would not be surprised if she won," said Richard Cupp Jr., who teaches product-liability law at Pepperdine University. "The judge will have a lot of discretion, and the evidentiary standards are relaxed in small-claims court."

Small-claims courts generally handle private disputes that do not involve large amounts of money. In many states, that means small debts, quarrels between tenants and landlords and contract disagreements.

A victory for Peters could encourage others to take the same simplified route, he said.

"There's an old saying among lawyers," Cupp said. "If you want real justice, go to small-claims court."

[43north]

Turbo-Diesel passenger cars are common in Europe.

VW/Audi has been the only company willing to take on the morons at the EPA who continue to think that light-duty Diesels are dirty, noisy, and polluting.

With modern electronic engine controls and ultra-low sulfur fuel Diesels are very clean and super efficient.

Someone is directing the EPA to continue to oppose the marketing of clean, efficient, TDI passenger vehicles in the USA. Hmm. I wonder who THAT could be?

[Kickass Conservative]

Shouldn’t she be suing the EPA? The Government is responsible for testing the cars to determine MPG.

[Fresh Wind]

Where does it explicitly say this on the Honda website or in their product literature?

From the Honda website for the Civic Hybrid:

"Your actual mileage will vary depending on how you drive and maintain your vehicle."

In other words, if you don't replace a dying battery pack, your mileage will suffer. If you don't like the maintenance costs of owning a hybrid, don't buy one.

[USAF80]

Check out the Wave Disk Engine. It’s like a combination turbine & rotary engine that will be used to power the next generation hybrids.

[CommieCutter]

When I see “limited warranty may vary” for the battery pack I tend to view this as a red flag.

However, if you click the lady’s website link in the story you get more of the meat and potatoes that this article does a terrible job of telling.

Sounds like they told her they couldn’t fix it regardless of who paid for it. That’s like having your transmission going out and claiming it will never be the same after a fix. But the suit is about Gas mileage, and the article doesn’t go any further; makes it seem no different than a hot coffee lawsuit.