This is novel. A woman who is upset with Honda over lack of promised gas mileage on her HondaCivic Hybrid. It seems as the battery aged, the mileage went from the EPA sanctioned 51mpg highway sticker value to about 30. Honda ignored her complaint, and now she has a real chance of winning a landmark case in small claims court and Honda is taking a PR hit as the issue goes viral. A video report follows below.
Civic Hybrid owner sues Honda in small-claims court for poor gas mileage
By Linda Deutsch, Associated Press
TORRANCE — A woman who expected her Civic Hybrid to be her dream car wants Honda to pay for not delivering the 50 mpg it promised.
But rather than joining other owners in a class-action lawsuit, Heather Peters is going solo against the automaker in small-claims court, an unusual move that could offer a bigger payout. And if successful, it could open the door to a flood of similar lawsuits.
…
Peters, a former lawyer, says that as her vehicle’s battery deteriorated, it got only 30 mpg.
When Honda ignored her complaints, she filed legal papers seeking reimbursement for her trouble and the extra money she spent on gas. The suit could cost the company up to $10,000.
If other Civic owners follow her lead, she estimates Honda could be forced to pay as much as $2 billion in damages. No high-priced lawyers are involved, and the process is streamlined.
“I would not be surprised if she won,” said Richard Cupp Jr., who teaches product-liability law at Pepperdine University. “The judge will have a lot of discretion, and the evidentiary standards are relaxed in small-claims court.”
…
Peters opted out of a series of class-action lawsuits filed on behalf of Honda hybrid owners when she saw a proposed settlement would give plaintiffs no more than $200 cash and a rebate of $500 or $1,000 to purchase a new Honda.
The settlement would give trial lawyers $8.5 million, Peters said.
“I was shocked,” she said. “I wrote to Honda and said I would take $7,500, which was then the limit on small-claims in California. It is going up to $10,000 in 2012.”
…
She said she also offered to trade her hybrid for a comparable car with a manual transmission, the only thing she trusted at that point.
“I wrote the letter and I said, ‘If you don’t respond, I will file a suit in small-claims court.’ I gave them my phone number,” she said. “They never called.”
Here’s the video new report from AP:
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The “green economy” is shown to be a false idea again.
And yet there are still those who don’t understand why people get upset with the environment movement.
“No high-priced lawyers are involved, and the process is streamlined.”
….excellent move
30MPG and all the safety of a golf cart…
How much do these cost?
Better trade it in on a Hummer, at least then you get some Honda Civic crumpling bumpers.
I have read somewhere that the epa mileage estimates are established using straight gasoline, without ethanol. If that is the case, then the estimates are useless right from the start, since ethanol free gasoline is very difficult to find.
Only makes sense when you understand she is a lawyer. Did she sue when her gas only car stopped giving her 40mpg as the engine wore and went out of spec? No, I guess not. But Honda would have claimed various mileages in the advert for that car. So where is the difference? Anybody with a modicum of common sense understands mileage claims assume the vehicle is in 100% condition..and yes, even batteries have a working life which means as they age they become less efficient. But hey, if you can make a buck or two out of it……………….
“Peters, a former lawyer, says that as her vehicle’s battery deteriorated, it got only 30 mpg”
A few years ago I attended a talk by an engineer from British company Lotus. Best known for their sports cars, they also have a world class R & D department. This has been doing a lot of work on fuel economy and alternative fuels/hybrids. He arrived in a Prius which they had been pulling to bits as part of their work. He mentioned exactly the above scenario – but thought it likely that the majority of customers wouldn’t realise this was happening for several years. Obviously Heather Peters is smarter than most…
Last year, I raised this issue with CARB. They indicated that they hadn’t considered what the fuel efficiency of an aged vehicle might be despite the fact that it relies on batteries that degrade with time. Much like the push towards E85, the government didn’t think through the issues involved with their decisions.
“Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.” Or, in this case, ignored!
Physics happens!
The overdue revelation that the battery is in gradual decline will be made up by loss in fuel mileage is divine providence. The green movement duped folks into believing they are helping save the planet;with false notion these vehicles are green, which is not the case.
Sorry, but I laugh at every instance I see one of those green machines. Whatever happened in Brazil with those H2 vehicles? Or, water cars (in warm climates of course)?
Awesome, this is how its gonna end. In the law courts, with all the pseudo-green BS finally called to account in front of a judge. How do we sue Hansen, Santer, Mann et al? How do we sue the wind turbine and solar panel companies? Non of those products put out the power the promoters said they would, when they applied for permission/tax payers money to put them up. My local turbine has turned 3 days of the last 3 months!!! Lets sue and get some facts in the open.
When I was a rich college kid, I purchased a new Kharman Ghia convertible to do spring break. It did nearly 40. My son had a couple of older Civics that also did near 40. Why so good? No pollution control apparatus. We are not making progress. Maybe that is why they call them “progressives”.
Dave Worley says: “I have read somewhere that the epa mileage estimates are established using straight gasoline, without ethanol. If that is the case, then the estimates are useless right from the start, since ethanol free gasoline is very difficult to find.”
No kidding. There is no public sign that says “be ware, ethanol produces less energy than gasoline” …count the carbon chains…. Like eat sugar or eat saturated fat. I’ll take the butter.. 🙂
It just hit me. The presenting problem here is not Honda. It is EPA law that forces the sticker to disclose the MPG and the rating came from THE EPA. If the car only does 30, then EPA should give it a 30 MPG rating.
mizimi says:
January 5, 2012 at 10:25 am
======================================
…..car’s only 5 years old…she says it never got what was promised
“Heather Peters, who says her 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid, never achieved the 50 mpg Honda claimed in its advertising, …
The solution is simple…
bailout the auto companies!
mizimi: So where is the difference?
The size of the deterioration. Down to 30, a 40% decline, does not happen in most automobiles as they age, and certainly not after 5 years.
My 2002 Honda Civic (pre-electric, 4-cylinder ICE with an automatic transmission) routinely gets 31-32 mpg according to the on-board odometer and the state-licensed fuel pumps I use. (I use the trip meter in lieu of the gas gauge as it is far more precise).
Maybe Honda should jump off the electric bandwagon…
Go diesel.
My 2005 Citroen C5 twin turbo diesel (a big 5-door saloon), still does 60mpg on the open road at 60mph, and 40 mpg in town driving. (UK gallons). And that is with 140,000 miles on the clock.
http://static.productreview.com.au/pr.products/2001-citroen-c5-saloon_4d9006fe3fc0e.jpg
Electric vehicles will never make any sense until:
a. All electrical generation is nuclear.
b. Someone invents a better battery.
.
AP Source: GM to call back 8,000 Chevy Volts
http://news.yahoo.com/ap-source-gm-call-back-8-000-chevy-160059632.html
Mizimi,
A tuneup costs $100 or less. A battery pack costs $10K or more. A set of spark plugs in the land fill doesn’t poison anyone, a bunch of Lithium does.
So as my petrol engine slowly looses performance over the years and starts to use more fuel I can sue the manufacturer for producing something that doesnt work perfectly forever? Sweet! Lets all go sue car manufacturers for something that would obviously happen ;0)
>>Small claims.
>>No high-priced lawyers are involved, and the
>>process is streamlined.
Indeed. A word of useful advice:
I thought Small Claims Courts (UK) were all about defective washing machines and botched garage repairs.
But no. I had a fairly complex corporate case that was not valued at too much (£20,000), so I asked if I could go to the Small Claims. They said ‘yes’ and I won. Cost me about £50 to process.
And if I remember correctly, if your claim is below a certain value, the opposition cannot threaten you with their court costs. A standard tactic in the UK is for big companies to hire expensive lawyers, and then threaten you not with ‘truth’ or ‘justice’, but with the entire cost of their lawyer team if you loose (say a cool £450,000). They win the case through threats of bankrupting you, and not through honesty or justice. As I remember, that cannot happen in the Small Claims Court.
.
But lead-footed driving can make such a difference. Read the recent Car & Driver article on EPA mileage estimates (http://www.caranddriver.com/features/the-truth-about-epa-city-highway-mpg-estimates).