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Honda getting sued for low gas mileage; Woman wins small-claims suit over Honda hybrid mpg
Topic Started: Dec 28 2011, 01:39 AM (1,913 Views)
DesmondGhostRider
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If shes not b.s.'ing then I support her.
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aaronvincent
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Mr Mojo Risin'

I dislike new Hondas greatly, the older ones up until 1999 were good but now they SUCK. Bad quality, bad mileage, ugly to boot! Get me an 89 CRX and we'll talk haha! :P
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Jezza
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Boost Junkie

aaronvincent
Dec 28 2011, 10:47 PM
I dislike new Hondas greatly, the older ones up until 1999 were good but now they SUCK. Bad quality, bad mileage, ugly to boot! Get me an 89 CRX and we'll talk haha! :P
I fully agree with this post!! Hate the new Hondas!! :shake

I think Honda has lost its way performance and looks wise. Sad :x
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Cobrajet25
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New car = heavy car.

Even small new cars are OBESE. Throw in the crappy 87 octane dirt-worshipper ethanol gas we all have to buy, and the 40 MPG mark that was easy to hit with 1600 pound cars (running 100% gasoline) a decade or two ago is really, really hard to hit with 2300+ pound cars nowadays. There are really only so many ways to make a small automobile engine more efficient, and all that additional efficiency is being counteracted by the 20%+ increase in weight. The base model stripper manual trans 2012 Civic weighs 2608 pounds, and they go up from there. Add an auto trans and an option or two, and it weighs as much as a '95 Accord!

Can a new 2600 pound economy car get 40 MPG highway? Sure...if you put a super tall-assed overdrive in it and drive it downhill with a tailwind. But most people don't drive that way.

It will cost Honda $10k+ to hire a legal team and put together a case to defend them in Small Claims Court...and they may well LOSE. The bad publicity alone could cost them hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost sales.

I think they will counter-offer and quietly pay her off...like the Japanese traditionally do. There may be some brinksmanship on their part, but in the end I don't think it will go to trial. It would be a public relations disaster if they lost to an old lady in Podunkville Municipal Court.
Edited by Cobrajet25, Dec 29 2011, 06:06 AM.
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bogs
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Duct tape heals all wounds

iamgeo
Dec 28 2011, 11:27 AM
All we have so far is her word. I would like to see her paperwork proving that there is a defect in the car.
Maybe you should go back and re-read the link, it appears you missed the part on page 2 where Honda already acknowledged the defect in the battery pack and lost the original class action case, giving her plenty of ammunition.

In other words, it isn't "just her word" that something is wrong.
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MR Bill
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Went to small claims court yesterday, judge is yet yo rule, watch the news.
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iamgeo
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Big League

bogs
Dec 29 2011, 10:24 AM
iamgeo
Dec 28 2011, 11:27 AM
All we have so far is her word. I would like to see her paperwork proving that there is a defect in the car.
Maybe you should go back and re-read the link, it appears you missed the part on page 2 where Honda already acknowledged the defect in the battery pack and lost the original class action case, giving her plenty of ammunition.

In other words, it isn't "just her word" that something is wrong.
Quote:
 
Honda has acknowledged that the battery on 2006 through 2008 Civic hybrids "may deteriorate and eventually fail" earlier than expected. When the battery pack can't be charged to full capacity, the car relies on the gas engine more and fuel economy suffers.

Notice the word in bold text.
The article does not state that her battery has actually failed.
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bogs
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Duct tape heals all wounds

I suspect that your interpretation of what she will have to prove is not in fact the case since, as is stated, Honda already is in settlement, so I guess we'll see.
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iamgeo
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bogs
Jan 4 2012, 12:41 PM
I suspect that your interpretation of what she will have to prove is not in fact the case since, as is stated, Honda already is in settlement, so I guess we'll see.
Well, nowhere in the article does she state that her car had the bad battery pack. Am I the only one that noticed that? She just claims her car did not get the advertised mpg. For all we know, her driving habits are not conducive to getting at or near the advertised mpg. So now she wants to sue Honda and get some cash.
I imagine the judge will ask her for the paperwork that she got from either a Honda service center or a garage stating that her car suffered from the malfunctioning battery pack. Without proof that she has an afflicted automobile will be her downfall.
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iamgeo
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Big League

She went to court the other day.
Read it here

Quote:
 
If she's successful, Peters could win damages many times the payment she would derive from the class-action lawsuit settlement. But Honda could appeal the ruling in Los Angeles Superior Court, where the automaker would be allowed to bring in its army of lawyers to overturn any small-claims judgment.


I did not know small claims court judgements could be appealed.
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iamgeo
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Big League

Guys, I do not want to see this thread get locked. Please start your own topic.
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econoboxer
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I am the one on the left.

Wow.

I think emotions are high on this one. It was fun to read for a bit, but then I realized, hey, people are truly getting angry.

We are often passionate about our opinions and our love (metro)

but

this thread is about a lawsuit, so to bring it back on topic I will agree wholeheartedly with our resident ecomodder, MJSpiess.

It is my sincere hope that if she has precedent set in a class action lawsuit to back up her claim, then she should be able to prove her case fairly simply.

I would also like to point out, it is highly unlikely for the major auto corporation to spend countless dollars on an appeal. The probably will send in an attorney to counter the amount of damages she seeks.

Corporations get sued often. Occasionally they make a decision that fighting a lawsuit costs them more than settling it.

I would like to see follow up to see how this case turns out.

I think that if we all step back a moment, we can appreciate what others bring to the forum, including diverse personalities and opinions.

And please remember everyone opinions are like arseholes, everyone has one, and no one likes to hear from an arsehole either.

Just sayin :whistle
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bogs
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Duct tape heals all wounds

iamgeo
Jan 6 2012, 09:21 AM
Guys, I do not want to see this thread get locked. Please start your own topic.
This thread isn't going to be locked.

All posts that were irrelevant to the topic have been split off into their own topic. It will show up after being reviewed for other reasons.

Any other off topic posts in this thread will be deleted or edited, including replies to this post. Carry on.
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robertino
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Years ago I was working at a Toyota dealer when this lady came in with her Yaris making the same claims. She said that she was only getting the 36 MPG as she was told. I had her gather 3 tankfuls of receipts and the mileage at that time and sure enough it was somewhere at 30 or so. I had my techs run a battery of tests and we could not find a thing wrong. Finally I said to the lady " Bring the car back with a full tank of gas and let me take it overnight. I'll drive it around as much as possible and see what I get." I took that car out with my wife for a drive to San Diego and back and I got 35MPG. I drove on the FRWY and with normal traffic. I did not race or drive crazy in any way (no AC). When I gave it back to her and told her "my" MPG she was upset but realized that her driving habits were affecting her MPG a lot.
I don't buy the claim of 50MPG by Honda and I don't think they should claim that but they should say how they got that MPG. On a closed track doing 55MPH, no ac no lights on and windows closed on a cool day.
Should they loose YES, should she win NO. She probably has a lead foot and took the 50 MPG on the sticker as DEFINITIVE instead of reading the number between FRWY and CITY (The Average)

JUST MY THOUGHT
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Coche Blanco
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Troll Certified

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/fe_test_schedules.shtml
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