Filed under: Government/Legal, Safety, Hatchback, Mini
BMW has agreed to settle a number of class-action lawsuits out of court. The suits stem from drivetrain issues on the 2001 to 2006 R50 Mini Cooper – in particular, its continuously variable transmission. The transmission was known to fail, often without warning on otherwise healthy and well-maintained vehicles. This wasn’t the only major issue to afflict the original BMW-era Mini models.
According to legal site Topclassactions.com, the suits alleged that BMW knowingly hid the defects in the CVT from customers while informing dealers of the issue. The first suit was filed in 2011, while four additional suits have followed. Now, BMW has reportedly settled, offering to reimburse 1,200 owners that needed repairs within eight years or 150,000 miles of their purchase. Repair prices for the transmission range from $6,000 to $9,000.
Under the agreement, BMW will also offer up to $4,100 to members of the suit that had fixes performed at a third-party shop, while owners who sold their cars at a loss due to the issues are slated to receive up to $2,000. Finally, owners who are part of the suit will be warrantied for a further eight years and 150,000 miles.
Judge to approve settlement of Mini CVT lawsuits originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 25 Aug 2013 16:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Last week, U.S. District Judge James Selna announced that he would not dismiss a bevy of lawsuits against Toyota that claim the company’s rash of unintended acceleration complaints have caused vehicle values to fall. The company’s attorneys had attempted to argue that around 24 of the suits should be thrown out on the basis that the plaintiffs hadn’t suffered any financial loss and that owners hadn’t spent money in an effort to fix whatever ailment befell their vehicle. Meanwhile, lawyers on the other side of the aisle argue contend that owners who didn’t suffer through an unintended acceleration event still have a case against the Japanese automaker.
Toyota has asked a United States judge to throw out the majority of its pending lawsuits on the grounds that the cases are based on anecdotal and circumstantial information. The automaker is currently facing over 300 lawsuits that vary from personal injury to economic loss, nearly all of which are tied in one way or another to the company’s rash of unintended acceleration issues. To date this year, Toyota has recalled eight million vehicles globally for varying reasons, including accelerator pedals that could become entrapped.