Tag: settlement

Report: Judge to approve settlement of Mini CVT lawsuits

Filed under: Government/Legal, Safety, Hatchback, Mini

Mechanic Ben Davis wheels the transmission back into place after repairing a clutch on a Mini Cooper S convertible on Friday, July 7, 2006, in the south Denver suburb of Littleton, Colo. U.S. employers add a disappointing 121,000 jobs, wary of bulking up payrolls with the economy slowing and energy prices rising. At the same time, wages rise sharply, fanning inflation worries. By Economics Writer Jeannine Aversa. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

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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Report: Toyota’s $1.6B unintended acceleration settlement approved

Filed under: Government/Legal, Safety, Toyota, Earnings/Financials

Toyota is now one step closer to putting its unintended acceleration woes behind it as it has received approval from the US District Court for the Central District of California to settle loss-of-value claims to vehicles associated with the 2009-2010 recalls.

As we reported back in May, the Toyota settlement is worth $1.63 billion, which, according to Bloomberg, includes a payout of $757 million to affected owners, $227 million to attorneys and an additional $875 million for vehicle upgrades. (We did the math, too, and that totals $1.859 billion, but there is no justification for the discrepancy. Fuzzy math, eh?)

Based on the estimated 22.6 million vehicles said to be included in this suit, that would make the average payment about $33.49 per vehicle, but the article says that owners, lessees and even renters will receive varying amounts ranging from $9.74 up to as much as $10,000. This settlement does not affect suits filed for personal injury or wrongful death.

Toyota’s $1.6B unintended acceleration settlement approved originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 20 Jul 2013 15:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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