Santa Clara, CA: Nissan North America is facing a proposed defective automotive class action lawsuit filed by a waste management company alleging the automotive manufacturer and Nissan World LLC, a local dealership in New Jersey, concealed transmission problems with the 2014 Nissan Sentra.
Specifically, the plaintiff, Pinto of Montville Inc, claims in the proposed suit that the defendants falsely advertised and sold the Nissan Sentras despite the presence of the alleged defect. “Notwithstanding this longstanding problem and extensive knowledge of the issue, Nissan and the dealership continued to advertise and sell the defective vehicles, failed to issue and appropriate recall, and, amazingly, continued to market the CVT as a more ‘durable’ and reliable transmission,” the complaint states.
The alleged defect, continuously variable transmissions, has been reported to the National Highway Safety Administration (NHSA) in consumer complaints during the past 10 years.
According to the suit, Pinto bought a Nissan Sentra in July 2014. The problems with the transmission began while the car had less than 20,000 miles on the clock. Those problems include engine revving during gear shifts and shaking and unexpected downshifts while driving. Despite bringing these issues to the dealership, managers claimed the vehicle did not have any problems, the plaintiff claim.
After being replaced four times between 2014 and 2016, due to damage from the alleged defect, Pinto states it tried to make a claim under the New Jersey’s Lemon Law. The dealership, despite correspondence from retained counsel, allegedly refused to acknowledge the transmission had problems or preserve the defective transmission in the Sentra pending the suit, amounting to evidence spoilation, according to the complaint.
The suit seeks to represent a class consisting of all owners of the 2014 Nissan Sentra in New Jersey. In total, 11 claims are made, including those for violation of the state’s consumer fraud law, violation of express and implied warranties, product liability, false advertising, and violation of the state’s “lemon law,” among others. The complaint seeks damages and a recall and repurchasing of all 2014 Sentra models registered or sold in the state.
Pinto of Montville is represented by Nicholas A. Vytell of Carroll McNulty & Kull LLC. The case is Pinto of Montville Inc. v. Nissan North America, Inc. et al., case number L-753-17, in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division, Morris County.
