Hyundai News:Not Surprised: Hyundai and Kia Get Hit With Two Lawsuits On Fuel Economy

[William Maley]

William Maley

Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com

November 8, 2012

With the news of Hyundai and Kia saying they have overstated fuel economy numbers on a certain number of models, the lawsuit have begun to come out of the woodwork.

Earlier this week, a lawsuit was filled in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio against the two companies. The lawsuit seeks unspecified attorney fees along with damages for U.S. buyers or leasers of one of the 900,000 Hyundai or Kia models. The suit also asks the court to allow people who own or lease a Hyundai and Kia that live in the state of Ohio to back out of their agreements.

Then yesterday, the two companies were hit with another lawsuit filled in U.S. Central District Court in Los Angeles on behalf of 23 plaintiffs. The suit is seeking $775 million in compensation for who state the resale values have been damaged by the inflated figures.

“Plaintiffs and the Class have been damaged by Hyundai’s and Kia’s misrepresentations, concealment, and non-disclosure of the incorrect fuel economy numbers, because they were misled into purchasing Hyundais and Kias of a quality different than they were promised, and paying higher fuel costs they would not otherwise have paid,” the suit says.

Both suits are seeking class-action status.

Source: Automotive News, 2 (Subscription Required)

William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at [email protected] or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster.

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[Drew Dowdell]

yeah, after the less likely lawsuit against Honda over the mpg of the Civic Hybrid, you knew this was coming.

[G. David Felt]

yeah, after the less likely lawsuit against Honda over the mpg of the Civic Hybrid, you knew this was coming.

Yes with the Genie out of the bottle, you had to figure they have a few billion set aside to pay for this. Now is the time for lawyers to make a killing in fees.

One does have to wonder how this will affect both companies over the short term and long term. Could one of these companies go away or at least get greatly reduced in size?

[PONTIAC06]

I doubt anything will really happen to the resale of these vehicles, or that there will be a drastic drop in overall sales. Saying you are paying drastically more for gas at 38 vs 40 mpg is pretty ridiculous. Most window stickers even state that the rating means most drivers will see a +/- of 3-5 mpg anyway... If they purposely inflated the numbers, that's bad...if it really is just poor testing procedures, I could understand. I work for an engine company and do a lot of similar testing, and the requirements really aren't always as well laid out or strict as people may think.

Edit: They should be fixing the issues if they are real...and I understand that there were some vehicles and trims with bigger drops than 2 mpg...it was just an example...

[daves87rs]

It will get thrown out....

[Robert Hall]

Does the average buyer even pay attention to their mileage after buying? Would they even notice a 3-5 mpg difference? I probably wouldn't...

[Drew Dowdell]

It will get thrown out....

Depends on how able the plaintiffs are able to show it was intentionally deceiving or when Hyundai/Kia knew that the rating was wrong. If they knew it was wrong last year yet kept selling cars with that sticker on it, well then, there might be cause.

[daves87rs]

It will get thrown out....

Depends on how able the plaintiffs are able to show it was intentionally deceiving or when Hyundai/Kia knew that the rating was wrong. If they knew it was wrong last year yet kept selling cars with that sticker on it, well then, there might be cause.

With different driving styles, won't be easy to prove. Though I'm sure H/K did theirs under perfect conditions.....

[ocnblu]

I have seen so many complaints over at owner reviews on Edmunds about GM's 32 mpg claim for the FWD Equinox/Terrain... it's like nobody is getting that figure in the real world.

Intentionally misleading customers with erroneous fuel mileage ratings, as Hyundai/Kia appear to have done, should be investigated... but if the case is won, it will open a can of worms, I'm afraid. It will put some sort of burden of proof on other car makers.

Edited November 10, 2012 by ocnblu