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Case 2:21-cv-04030-VAP-JC Document 1 Filed 05/13/21 Page 1 of 115 Page ID #:1 1 Alex R. Straus, SBN 321366 [email protected] 2 GREG COLEMAN LAW PC 3 16748 McCormack Street Los Angeles, CA 91436 4 T: 917-471-1894 5 F: 310-496-3176 6 Proposed Class Counsel 7 [Additional counsel on signature page] 8 9 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 AMADO MUNOZ, CAROLYN Case No.: 12 HEIER, BEN HU, GARY TETRAULT, MATTHEW CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT 13 ROBINSON, MICHAEL (Demand for Jury Trial) 14 SCHWARTZ, FRANK 15 COSTOBILE, RACHEL FAIRCHILD, JAMES TILLERY, 16 and LINGYAN YIN individually and 17 on behalf of all others similarly situated, 18 Plaintiffs, 19 v. 20 AMERICAN HONDA MOTOR CO., 21 INC., a California Corporation, and 22 HONDA NORTH AMERICA, INC., a Delaware Corporation, 23 24 Defendants. 25 26 27 Plaintiffs Amado Munoz, Carolyn Heier, Ben Hu, Gary Tetrault, Matthew 28 Robinson, Michael Schwartz, Frank Costobile, Rachel Fairchild, James Tillery, and Class Action Complaint - 1 - Case 2:21-cv-04030-VAP-JC Document 1 Filed 05/13/21 Page 2 of 115 Page ID #:2 1 Lingyan Yin (“Plaintiffs”), individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, 2 bring this action for damages and equitable relief against Defendants American 3 Honda Motor Co., Inc. (“AHM”) and Honda North America, Inc. (“HNA”) 4 (collectively “Honda” or “Defendants”). 5 I. INTRODUCTION 6 1. This is a class action lawsuit brought by Plaintiffs on behalf of 7 themselves and a class of current and former owners and lessees of 2016-2019 model 8 year Honda Civics (“Class Vehicles”)1 designed, manufactured, distributed, 9 warranted and sold/leased by Honda, and equipped with uniformly defective air 10 conditioning systems (“AC System”).2 11 2. On information and belief, the AC System in all Class Vehicles is 12 substantially the same, from a mechanical engineering and design standpoint, in that 13 the AC Systems in all Class Vehicles are composed of and employ identical 14 components to deliver cooled air to the passenger cabin. 15 3. Unbeknownst to Plaintiffs and other consumers, however, Honda’s 16 Class Vehicles are equipped with AC Systems that are guaranteed to fail prematurely 17 and well in advance of their expected useful life. Specifically, Class Vehicle AC 18 Systems suffer from a serious defect in materials, workmanship and/or design that 19 cause the AC Systems to (a) crack and leak refrigerant; (b) lose pressure within the 20 AC System; and (c) fail to cool Vehicle passenger cabins (“the Defect”). 21 4. Model Year 2016 Class Vehicles represent Honda’s first attempt to 22 equip Civic vehicles with AC Systems that utilize R-1234yf refrigerant, which 23 purportedly is more environmentally friendly than R-134a refrigerants, long used in 24 modern automotive AC Systems. 25 1 Plaintiffs reserve the right to amend or add to the vehicle models included in the definition of 26 Class Vehicles after conducting discovery. 2 Plaintiffs include individuals who previously brought similar claims against Honda, but which 27 were deemed not yet ripe which were dismissed without prejudice and without leave to amend on July 20, 2020. See Elkins, et al. v. American Honda Motor Co., Inc., et al., Case No. 8:19-cv- 28 00818-JLS-KES (Dkt. 60). See Section IV(F)(10) for further discussion of the Elkins matter. Class Action Complaint - 2 - Case 2:21-cv-04030-VAP-JC Document 1 Filed 05/13/21 Page 3 of 115 Page ID #:3 1 5. Unfortunately for unsuspecting Class members, however, the R-1234yf 2 compatible AC System Honda designed for and equipped in Class Vehicles is prone 3 to develop leaks throughout the system due to a defect in materials, workmanship 4 and/or design that renders the System’s components unable to withstand the 5 pressures, forces and reactions that the System encounters and experiences when 6 circulating R-1234yf to cool Vehicle cabins during normal, expected and foreseeable 7 usage and conditions. 8 6. Although the Defect may first manifest as leaks in the Vehicles’ 9 condensers or compressors, it also causes other vehicle components (such as 10 evaporators and discharge and suction lines) to fail. 11 7. The AC System Defect sometimes manifests at low mileages and 12 within Honda’s New Vehicle Express Warranty periods, however, most frequently 13 Honda shirks its warranty obligations. Honda’s authorized dealers frequently refuse 14 to perform repairs for in-warranty Class Vehicles until and unless Class Members 15 pay an exorbitant “diagnostic fee,” after which dealerships inspect the vehicles and 16 often claim that the AC System showed signs of impact from “road debris,” which 17 Honda claims voids warranty coverage, or assert that a leak could not be detected. 18 8. When Honda refuses to provide warranty coverage, consumers are 19 forced to pay between $150.00 and $2000.00 out of pocket to repair their AC 20 Systems with the same defective parts. 21 9. Regardless of whether Honda provides warranty coverage for one 22 failed component and claims it has permanently repaired the AC System, however, 23 that repair typically proves ineffective. Other AC System components invariably fail 24 outside the warranty period, forcing Class Members into a never-ending and 25 expensive game of whack-a-mole involving a vehicle for which they paid tens of 26 thousands of dollars. 27 10. The Defect is so pervasive that replacement AC System condensers, 28 compressors, and evaporators are perpetually on national backorder. The lag time Class Action Complaint - 3 - Case 2:21-cv-04030-VAP-JC Document 1 Filed 05/13/21 Page 4 of 115 Page ID #:4 1 for replacement parts is long—often many months—during which Plaintiffs and 2 Class Members must either suffer without a functioning AC System or obtain 3 aftermarket parts from a third party at their own expense, which, according to 4 Honda’s warranties, will preclude such customers from participating in a recall 5 campaign should Honda ever decide to initiate one. 6 11. Indeed, once it manifests, the Defect prohibits Plaintiffs and Class 7 Members from using their AC Systems—a once-optional feature that now comes 8 standard in almost every vehicle sold in the United States. It also forces Class 9 members to pay for equally defective replacement parts that are susceptible to a 10 repeat failure, thus impairing Class Vehicles’ central function: providing safe, 11 comfortable, and reliable transportation. 12 12. The AC System Defect also imposes safety risks on Plaintiffs and Class 13 Members by exposing vehicle occupants to unsafe temperatures and decreasing 14 visibility due a failed AC System’s inability to clear foggy vehicle windshields. 15 13. On information and belief, and as evidenced by a July 2016 Technical 16 Service Bulletin concerning the Defect, Honda learned of the AC System Defect 17 long before it began selling or leasing Class Vehicles, through sources such as: pre- 18 release evaluation and testing; repair data; replacement part sales data; early 19 consumer complaints made directly to Honda, collected by the National Highway 20 Transportation Safety Administration’s Office of Defect Investigation (“NHTSA 21 ODI”), and/or posted on public online vehicle owner forums; testing done in 22 response to those complaints; aggregate data from Honda dealers; and other internal 23 sources. 24 14. Despite longstanding knowledge of the Defect, Honda failed to disclose 25 and actively concealed the AC System Defect from Class Members and the public 26 and continued to market and advertise the Class Vehicles as “a new benchmark in 27 the compact class in terms of spaciousness, fuel efficiency, safety features, interior 28 Class Action Complaint - 4 - Case 2:21-cv-04030-VAP-JC Document 1 Filed 05/13/21 Page 5 of 115 Page ID #:5 1 quality and dynamic performance,” and as delivering “premium comfort” through a 2 “[d]ual-zone automatic climate control” system, which they do not. 3 15. Honda refused—and continues to refuse—to disclose the AC System 4 Defect to prospective customers, and actively conceals and concealed the Defect 5 from Plaintiffs and Class Members prior to and at the time of sale. Specifically, 6 Honda chose to conceal from Class Members that the AC System suffers from a 7 defect in materials, workmanship and/or design and eventually will require costly 8 repairs, and that the Defect reduced the value of the Vehicles at the time of sale 9 and/or will reduce the resale value of the Vehicles due to the defective nature of the 10 AC System. 11 16. Moreover, because Honda has failed to provide an effective in-warranty 12 fix for the Defect within a reasonable time and forced Class Members to wait 13 unreasonable lengths of time for repairs and/or pay out-of-pocket to replace failed 14 AC System components with equally defective replacement parts, its warranties fail 15 of their essential purpose. 16 17. Because of Honda’s alleged misconduct, Plaintiffs and Class Members 17 have incurred, and will continue to incur, out-of-pocket, unreimbursed costs and 18 expenses relating to the AC System Defect and purchased Class Vehicles that were 19 worth less at the time of sale and/or will be worth less at the time of resale. 20 Accordingly, Plaintiffs, on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated, 21 bring this action for monetary and equitable relief. 22 II. PARTIES 23 PLAINTIFFS 24 18. Plaintiffs in this matter are owners and lessees of 2016-2019 Honda 25 Civics who purchased their Class Vehicles and reside in various states, including 26 California, Connecticut, Florida, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington.

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