— A Mazda water pump lawsuit that began as a nationwide class action was eventually certified in only seven states, but the judge has now brought down the number of states to five.
According to the class action lawsuit, the Mazda engine should last between 150,000 to 300,000 miles, and the water pump should not fail during the useful life of the engine.
But the plaintiffs assert hundreds of thousands of 2008–2015 Mazda CX-9 and 2009–2013 Mazda6 vehicles are equipped with defective water pumps which cause the pumps and MZI Cyclone engines to fail.
According to Judge Josephine L. Staton, at this stage she can decertify classes if the claims require class-wide evidence that a manifestation of a defect is more than “a remote chance” (Texas) or “substantially certain” to occur (California Song-Beverly).
Mazda Water Pump Lawsuit Classes Dismissed
An expert for the plaintiffs says he found a design defect in the Mazda water pumps that cause the pumps to prematurely fail before the useful life of the engines.
Although the Mazda class action alleges a modern engine should last up to 300,000 miles, the expert says the Cyclone engines should last between 120,000 and 150,000 miles.
The engineering expert told the judge the allegedly defective Mazda water pumps are prone to fail due to defects, but the expert admits his defect theory is indifferent to the rate at which the water pumps fail (the failure rate).
The expert also testified he has no idea and hasn't studied if the Mazda water pumps fail at higher rates than pumps in other vehicles.
The judge found the plaintiffs have not provided any evidence of the failure rates for the Mazda water pumps.
"During oral argument, Plaintiffs’ counsel confirmed that their theory of the case is that the failure rate of the internal water pumps is irrelevant and that Plaintiffs have no evidence to proffer regarding water pump failure rates for the Class Vehicles." — Judge Staton
On the other hand, a Mazda expert testified that under 2% of Mazda6 water pumps and under 3% of CX-9 pumps fail within the warranties. In addition, between "2.45% and 9.54% of Class Vehicles owners have had to pay out of pocket for water pump or engine failures, regardless of the cause."
The judge notes the plaintiffs argue Mazda's expert is wrong, but the plaintiffs have not presented any alternative figures.
"Although Plaintiffs dispute Mazda’s evidence regarding failure rates and warranty claims for the Class Vehicles’ water pumps, Plaintiffs have not proffered any evidence of their own of either the rate at which the Class Vehicles’ water pumps fail prematurely or how frequently the Design Defect manifests in the Class Vehicles." — Judge Staton
According to the judge, the evidence shows the "vast majority of the Class Vehicles’ water pumps do not fail prematurely—i.e., before they reach 120,000–150,000 miles."
The judge ruled the evidence compels the conclusion that water pump failures in the Mazda vehicles are "rare."
Originally filed in 2019, the Mazda water pump lawsuit is now certified as a class action for 2008–2015 Mazda CX-9 and 2009–2013 Mazda6 customers in these states.
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Missouri
- Ohio
- Virginia
The Mazda water pump lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California - Sonneveldt, et al. v. Mazda Motor of America, Inc., et al.
The plaintiffs are represented by Kiesel Law, Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd, The Miller Law Firm, Keil & Goodson, and the Edwards Firm.
