Class action against Nissan for cracked dashboard

[airmanhoward]

Hello all.
Today I'm debating on contacting Morgan and morgan to see about getting a class action lawsuit against infiniti regarding our dash cracking. Is this an up hill battle? I have read numerous post to it not being covered not the warranty bs. Something needs to be done $1100+ for the replacement plus labor.

[Ilya]

If there is enough people, I would certainly pursue it if it is worth your time/money.

[shodog]

Good luck with that. The cracking dash is a cosmetic defect not a safety defect. If all the car manufacturers were sued because they used inadequate materials in their cars, they'd all be out of business.

[Larz]

I agree. It is clearly a mistake on the side of Infiniti to use materials cheap enough that could result in the condition of our dash boards. Not sure where the OP found a new dash for $1,100. My dealer quote was $2,300 but they have the new dash boards on back-order with no availability date - could be a month or more delay. I was able to find a new OEM dash through Infiniti Parts Online for $1,600 (plus shipping) from a dealer in Arizona. But since this won't be a simple job of removing and replacing the airbag on the old dash, there will be a labor charge to transfer the old brackets, etc to the new dash before they install the airbag. That charge was estimated at $150. All told, it should cost me about $1,950. Less than the $2,300 from the local dealer, but not by all that much.
To my mind, a class action is only feasible if there is a safety issue, or if the part failed within a year or so of the waranty expiration. Our dashes are all at least 5 years old. Doesn't seem likely. BUT ... Infiniti lost a class action on the FX35 dash boards for surface bubbling and had to replace them on models less than 8 years old.
Never hurts to have a law firm check into this, but I still doubt it will leave the ground.

[Rogue One]

You may find this of interest.

Infiniti FX 35 & 45 DASH BUBBLES CLASS ACTION

UPDATED INFORMATION: October 20, 2016

Three law firms- Humphrey, Farrington & McClain, P.C., The Blanton Law Firm, and Davis George Mook LLC, are prosecuting a class action lawsuit in the Circuit Court of Jackson County, Missouri (Missouri owners), and a lawsuit in the Superior Court of Los Angeles, California (California owners), on behalf of owners of 2003 – 2008 Infiniti FX automobiles with dashboards forming bubbles like those pictured above.

Kevin D. Stanley, Michael Blanton, and L. Benjamin Mook went to trial in the Missouri case against Nissan North America in May 2014 and obtained a verdict awarding Missouri class members $2,000 each as a result of the diminished value of their vehicles. The claims process associated with that verdict has closed. Nissan appealed the decision rather than pay the verdict. On March 22, 2016, the Western District of the Missouri Court of Appeals issued an opinion overturning the jury verdict. Plaintiffs filed a motion asking that the case be transferred to the Missouri Supreme Court. On June 28, 2016, the Missouri Supreme Court sustained Plaintiffs’ Motion for Transfer. The Supreme Court ordered the case be transferred from the Western District of the Missouri Court of Appeals to the Supreme Court, and further ordered the Western District Court of Appeals to recall its mandate and take no further action on the case. Oral argument before the Missouri Supreme Court is scheduled for November 29, 2016, at 9:00 a.m.

The California Court denied certification as class action on August 19, 2016. Plaintiffs are currently considering whether to appeal that ruling. The Texas claims were dismissed by the California Court.

If your vehicle is currently experiencing the problem, or if Infiniti refused to replace your bubbling or cracked dashboard, contact us at the telephone number below or by filling out the email contact form below.

In 2010, Infiniti extended the warranty for the dashboard in these vehicles. If you did not receive notice of the warranty extension, please contact us at the telephone number below or by filling out the email contact form below.
888-353-0491

There is no fee to the client for any initial consultation. All representation in this matter will be on a “no recovery, no fee basis.” Unless there is a recovery on behalf of the class, no attorney fees will be owed.

Nissan to repair melted or cracked Altima dashboards per class action lawsuit settlement

Current Status of this Nissan class action lawsuit

Back in 2014 two Florida resident plaintiffs filed this class action lawsuit here in Miami against Nissan alleging the dashboards in 2008 and 2009 Nissan Altima cars began to either crack, or melt. The lawsuit is known as Sanborn, et al. v. Nissan North America, Inc., No. 0:14-cv-62567. Many of our CarBuyingTips.com visitors who own Nissan vehicles have complained to us about sticky and shiny dashboards causing distracting and glaring reflections off their windshields. We often get at least 2 or 3 complaints every week from Nissan owners, many of them are afraid to drive their cars due to the windshield glare from the shiny melted dashboards.

We have seen this problem before because when exposed to the prolonged high heat and high humidity here in Florida, car makers often fall short with melted parts. We had this same issue with our Lexus GX470, and luckily for us Lexus covered the full $2,400 repair with a special enhanced warranty on our 11 year old SUV that was 7 years outside the original manufacturer's warranty.

Plaintiffs of the Sanborn class action are asking for Nissan to pay the expense of replacing these cracked and melted dashboards. But during pre-trial arbitration, Nissan and the plaintiffs came to agreement which will benefit all members of the class action.
Nissan will replace melted and cracked dashboards less a $250 deductible

Part of the preliminary court approval of this settlement is that Nissan will pay for the repair of your dashboard if you are a class member, less a $250 deductible. You will pay the Nissan dealer $250, and Nissan will pay the remainder directly to the dealer. The actual court hearing to approve this settlement is on January 5, 2017.
Am I part of this class action lawsuit?

Not every Nissan with a melted dashboard will be repaired under this class action settlement. The court has decided that only specific people fit into this class action and to be a member of this class,

You must be a Florida resident
You must have purchased or leased your new or used 2008 or 2009 Nissan Altima on or before April 1, 2017

[airmanhoward]

Hey Rogue one you said

"You must have purchased or leased your new or used 2008 or 2009 Nissan Altima on or before April 1, 2017"

Is that only for the altimas or do the M's fit in that category. I purchased in August of 2016 and i live in Florida. Do you happen to know who the POC is?

[Ilya]

Hey Rogue one you said

"You must have purchased or leased your new or used 2008 or 2009 Nissan Altima on or before April 1, 2017"

Is that only for the altimas or do the M's fit in that category. I purchased in August of 2016 and i live in Florida. Do you happen to know who the POC is?

This applies only to Altima's...there is no court proceedings for the M, currently.

[Rogue One]

Hey Rogue one you said

"You must have purchased or leased your new or used 2008 or 2009 Nissan Altima on or before April 1, 2017"

Is that only for the altimas or do the M's fit in that category. I purchased in August of 2016 and i live in Florida. Do you happen to know who the POC is?

As Ilya noted, this lawsuit was filed on behalf of ALTIMA owners only. As you were wondering what might be involved in trying to mount a class action lawsuit for your M vehicle, I tracked down this info to help you get an idea of what to expect. The details of that particular legal ruling can be found at Sanborn, et al. v. Nissan North America Inc.

Hope this is helpful.

[airmanhoward]

Very helpful im going to compile an email to send to the law firm who is handling the case.

[airmanhoward]

Contacted legal counsel today for a class action suit for our dash. I will keep everyone posted what may come out of it.

[WillV]

Contacted legal counsel today for a class action suit for our dash. I will keep everyone posted what may come out of it.

Subscribed!

[WillV]

1. In which state are you filing?
2. Does anyone know why the sanborn vs Nissan class action in FL, which was filed to include the 2006-2008 M35, does not include the M35 in the settlement? It only includes Altimas. :-(

[Larz]

I reckon that action was filed by Altima owners and was specific to that model.

[airmanhoward]

Florida

1. In which state are you filing?
2. Does anyone know why the sanborn vs Nissan class action in FL, which was filed to include the 2006-2008 M35, does not include the M35 in the settlement? It only includes Altimas. :-(

[WillV]

Larz, I searched the class action filing, and the suit was filed by an Altima owner, but it was also on behalf of M, FX, and a few other Nissan/Infiniti models. So I just do not know where ALL of the other models got lost in the court decision.