— A Subaru EyeSight settlement has been granted final approval by the judge following more than four years in court.
The class action lawsuit settlement includes these vehicles allegedly equipped with defective Pre-Collision Braking, Rear Automatic Braking and/or Lane Keep Assist systems.
- 2013-2022 Subaru Legacy
- 2013-2022 Subaru Outback
- 2015-2023 Subaru Impreza
- 2015-2023 Subaru Crosstrek
- 2014-2021 Subaru Forester
- 2019-2022 Subaru Ascent
- 2016-2021 Subaru WRX
- 2022-2024 Subaru BRZ
The above features combine to create the EyeSight system which purportedly causes safety problems for vehicle occupants. The class action says Subaru failed to warn customers about problems with the EyeSight systems so the automaker could make money.
Subaru agreed to settle the class action lawsuit but denies all the allegations, insisting there is nothing wrong with the vehicles.
And the owners who sued settled for much less than they wanted.
Subaru EyeSight Warranty Extension
Two things to keep in mind about the warranty extension. First is the age of some of the Subaru vehicles, and the second is how customers will still pay a percentage of the repair expenses.
The Subaru EyeSight warranty extension covers 75% of the cost of a covered repair by a Subaru dealer for a period of 48 months or 48,000 miles from the in-service date of the vehicle. On some of the older vehicles the "extended" warranty expired eight years ago.
Any vehicle beyond the 48-month/48,000-mile period will receive a warranty extension for four months past the class action settlement notice date, which has already passed.
According to the EyeSight settlement:
"The Warranty Extension shall not cover damage to or malfunction of any aspect of Pre-Collision Braking, Rear Automatic Braking, or Lane Keep Assist resulting from an accident or crash, misuse, abuse, modification, movement, displacement of and/or damage to the system components, weather and/or environmental conditions, and/or from any outside source or factor."
Subaru EyeSight Expense Reimbursement
The EyeSight settlement provides reimbursement for certain out-of-pocket expenses if not already reimbursed. Reimbursement is for a covered repair, but only within 48 months or 48,000 miles from the in-service date of the vehicle. However, reimbursement is for only 75% of the paid invoice amount.
"A 'covered repair' means repair or replacement (parts and labor) of a diagnosed and confirmed malfunction or failure of a Settlement Class Vehicle's Pre-Collision Braking, Rear Automatic Braking, and/or Lane Keep Assist feature of the EyeSight system that resulted from failure or malfunction of the EyeSight camera assembly and/or rear sonar sensors."
The nine customers who filed the EyeSight class action lawsuit will receive $5,000 each, and the lawyers representing customers will receive $2,428,118.67.
The Subaru EyeSight lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey: Sampson, et al., v. Subaru of America, Inc., et al.
The plaintiffs are represented by Berger Montague PC, Capstone Law APC, and Barrack, Rodos & Bacine.
