— A Mitsubishi Outlander hood flutter class action lawsuit settlement has been reached between the plaintiffs and the automaker.
The case involves 2022 Mitsubishi Outlander SUVs equipped with hoods that may bounce while driving.
The owners who filed the lawsuit complain Mitsubishi's repairs haven't worked and driving the Outlanders makes drivers feel unsafe.
Mitsubishi has issued technical service bulletins regarding fluttering Outlander hoods, but the plaintiffs complain all the repairs, including replacing the hoods with new reinforced hoods, have not fixed the flutter.
Technical service bulletins had dealers replacing the hoods for free and adding weather strips and padding.
Mitsubishi also created the “2022 Outlander Hood Flutter Adjustment Special Customer Satisfaction Campaign.”
Dealers were told to "install countermeasure weather-strips to resolve a hood flutter centered around air intrusion to the engine compartment. This procedure is in addition to TSB-21-42A-011 and will ensure that the wind intrusion is minimized."
Mitsubishi also offered free loaner and rental vehicles for a maximum of three days during the repairs.
But the plaintiffs complain this isn't good enough because the 2022 Outlander repairs “essentially" eliminated the hood flutter and bounce but "did not entirely eliminate the Hood Defect."
The customers who sued also complain the replacement 2022 Mitsubishi Outlander hood color may not match the rest of the vehicle, and the hood flutter problem is so severe that fuel economy is worse.
Mitsubishi denies all the allegations in the class action lawsuit and maintains the hoods are not defective.
2022 Mitsubishi Outlander Hood Flutter Settlement
Although the plaintiffs filed the class action lawsuit for more than $5 million because they claimed Mitsubishi's hood replacements and technical service bulletins were not good enough, those plaintiffs settled for exactly that: a TSB and hood replacements.
2022 Mitsubishi Outlander Hood Warranty Extension
The Outlander hood will be replaced if a customer complains to a Mitsubishi dealer about hood flutter. Effective on the settlement notice date, the hood will be replaced with the same repair "set forth in TSB-21-42A-011REV2 (“MODIFIED HOOD FOR HOOD FLUTTER – 2022 OUTLANDER – REVISED”).
This includes the "necessary paint."
The fluttering hood warranty extension is for a period of 18 months beginning on the settlement notice date.
If the Outlander hood has already been repaired or replaced under technical service bulletins TSB-21-42A-011, TSB-21-42A-011REV or TSB-21-42A-011REV2, the hood flutter warranty extension is for 18 months from the date the prior hood repair was performed.
For an Outlander that received a hood repair or replacement more than 18 months prior to the settlement notice date, the hood warranty will apply for six months.
And as with the previous TSB's issued by Mitsubishi, the hood flutter settlement says a customer may request a loaner or rental vehicle while repairs are performed by a dealer.
The settlement involves model year 2022 Outlanders, which means they were under their warranties and owners likely were not required to pay for repairs.
However, the settlement says a customer may be reimbursed for hood flutter repairs if they have not been previously reimbursed.
"If the Settlement Class Member received a free replacement or repair, or was otherwise reimbursed the full amount for the repair or replacement, then they will not be entitled to any reimbursement." — 2022 Mitsubishi Outlander hood flutter settlement
These customers who sued will receive $5,000 each: Oral Damocles; Joseph Everly; Everett Fields; Jessica Gentry; Brittony Guillen; Justin Haller; Brett Halliday; Deborah Paraday; Jesse Rezendes; Rocco Russo; Rachael Teras; Courtney Wade; Michelle Welch; Suzanne Westcott; and Latoya Young.
Plaintiffs Sarah Greendale and Vincent Viner will receive $5,000 collectively.
According to the settlement, the lawyers representing customers will receive $1,750,000.
Nothing is official until a final class action lawsuit settlement fairness hearing is held August 3, 2026.
The Mitsubishi Outlander hood flutter lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle of Tennessee: Oral Damocles et al., v. Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc.
The plaintiffs are represented by Lemberg Law, LLC.
