Subaru Faces Another Class Action Alleging Defects to Blame for Sudden, Unintended Acceleration Problems

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Subaru of America faces another proposed class action wherein drivers allege a number of the automaker’s most popular vehicle models suffer from defects that can cause dangerous sudden acceleration.

Echoing a May 2020 lawsuit filed in New Jersey federal court, the 27-page complaint claims Subaru’s 2015-2019 Legacy, 2012-2018 Forester and 2015-2019 Outback models can spontaneously accelerate, or lunge forward, without a driver depressing the gas pedal. 

The suit, filed in California’s Southern District, links unintended Subaru acceleration events—typically caused by a failure of a car’s electronic throttle control, allowing the throttle to expand wide open—to an apparent software defect plaguing the controller area network (CAN bus) and a flaw hampering the brake override system (BOS) found in affected vehicles.

Despite a significant influx of complaints from drivers, Subaru has neither recalled affected vehicles nor issued a technical service bulletin to dealers to address the potentially fatal defects, the plaintiffs say. 

“Rather, it has ignored this growing and dangerous problem, routinely dismissing complaints and ascribing [sudden unintended acceleration] to driver error,” the complaint alleges. 

According to the lawsuit, a Subaru’s CAN bus is a serial network technology developed as a way for the auto industry to enable microcontrollers and devices to communicate with each other’s applications without a host computer. More specifically, a CAN bus is a message-based protocol system initially designed for multiplex electrical wiring in automobiles, the case says, with linked devices able to transmit data in such a way that if more than one device transmits information at the same time, the highest priority device is able to carry on while the others back off.

In affected Subaru models, however, the CAN bus is stricken by a “communication protocol flaw” that prevents the vehicles’ electronic throttle control systems—which consist of an electronic control module, throttle body, throttle position sensor, actuator, accelerator position sensor and electronic control relay—from working properly and forces the car to idle under a number of scenarios, per the complaint.

On the other side of the coin is the brake override system found in affected Subaru models. Per the lawsuit, the failsafe system was added to Legacy, Forester and Outback models to address and prevent sudden, unintended acceleration events from occurring by monitoring both an engine’s accelerator and the operation of a vehicle’s brakes. The case relays a BOS compares data from both systems to determine whether they’re being deployed simultaneously, and, when working properly, will determine whether to close the throttle plate to reduce engine speed while at the same time raising the pressure of brake fluid in a vehicle high enough to stop the car’s movement.

The lawsuit alleges, however, that hundreds of drivers have lodged complaints with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and on consumer websites with regard to sudden, unintended acceleration episodes plaguing certain Subaru vehicles. According to the suit, many of these drivers who’ve attempted to mitigate the effects of a sudden acceleration event by pressing the brake pedal have said doing so “had no effect.” 

Still further, the case alleges that because the sudden acceleration issues plaguing certain Subaru models are caused by an electronic defect, it “leaves a much less visible trace, giving automakers such as Subaru the opportunity to blame such events on drivers and deflect from the underlying safety defect.”

Rounding out the lawsuit, the plaintiffs allege Subaru has possessed knowledge of the defects responsible for sudden, unintended acceleration events yet “failed to disclose and/or concealed” the issues from drivers. As a result of the problem, owners and lessees have “been deprived of the benefit of their bargain,” the case says, given the value of their Subaru vehicles has materially diminished. 

The lawsuit looks to represent anyone in California who bought or leased a 2012-2018 Subaru Forester, 2015-2019 Subaru Legacy or 2015-2019 Subaru Outback. 

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