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Lawsuit over ignitions

Posted on 30 August, 2015

Ten car manufacturers are facing a lawsuit in the US brought by consumers who claim they concealed the risks of carbon-monoxide poisoning in more than five million vehicles fitted with keyless ignitions. According to the complaint filed in US District Court in Los Angeles on August 28, toxic gas is emitted when drivers leave their vehicles running – sometimes in garages attached to homes – and take their key fobs with them under the mistaken belief the engines will shut off, reports Reuters. The defendants include BMW and Mini, Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz, Fiat Chrysler, Ford, General Motors and Honda including Acura. Also named as defendants are Hyundai including affiliate Kia, Nissan and Infiniti, Toyota including Lexus, and Volkswagen including Bentley. Drivers claim the companies have known for years of the risks of keyless ignitions, which have been available since at least 2003, but have marketed their products as safe. “The plaintiffs believed the automakers’ repeated promises the affected vehicles were safe,” the complaint states. “In fact, they are not.” The plaintiffs also claim the companies could have averted 13 deaths and many more injuries by installing an inexpensive feature to automatically turn off unattended engines, and GM and Ford even took steps to patent a shut-off feature. They also say 27 complaints have been lodged with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration since 2009 over keyless ignitions. The lawsuit seeks an injunction to require the manufacturers to install an automatic shut-off feature. It also seeks compensatory and punitive damages, among other remedies. Ford says it takes customer safety “very seriously”, and its keyless ignition system has proven “safe and reliable”. BMW, Fiat Chrysler and Toyota declined to comment, reports Reuters. Unintentional carbon-monoxide poisoning kills about 430 people a year in the US, according to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention. The lawsuit was filed in the same court where Toyota defended claims that some of its vehicles accelerated unintentionally. US District Judge James Selna in 2013 approved a $1.6 billion settlement to resolve claims that Toyota vehicles lost value because of the defect. It is unclear whether he will be assigned the keyless ignition case. The case is Draeger et al versus Toyota Motor Sales USA et al. It has been filed in the US District Court, Central District of California, No: 15-06491.