3 Vehicles Targeted in Kia Brake Switch Defect Class Action Lawsuit

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A small part can play a huge role in making vehicles unsafe according to a putative Kia brake switch defect class action lawsuit recently filed in California.

The lead plaintiff alleges that the brake switch can fail in the 2011 Kia Sportage, 2008-2010 Kia Optimas and 2008-2011 Kia Sedonas. There are allegedly three separate issues that can arise:

1) The brake lights do not turn on, leading to the increased likelihood of a rear-end collision;
2) The inability to turn off cruise control by pressing the brake pedal; or
3) The inability to shift the transmission from park to drive, rendering the three vehicles immobile.

According to the class action lawsuit, Kia “has had exclusive knowledge about this issue for years” not in the least because it has issued recalls for similar issues in other vehicles that it manufactures. The lead plaintiff, who owns a 2011 Kia Sportage, allegedly had to use a special technique in order to get the vehicle in gear and then had to take it to a local dealership for repairs.

The vehicle owner usually has to take care of the brake switch defect and pay for it out-of-pocket because the issue “typically manifests shortly outside of the warranty period for the Class Vehicles but during the useful life of such vehicles,” the Kia brake switch lawsuit says. In spite of that, the Kia class action lawsuit alleges there should have been a recall because the same part has been known to fail in other vehicles that were recalled in 2009 as well as 2013 except for the three named above.

According to the Kia class action lawsuit, the company could have helped Kia owners if it had “properly instituted a recall of the Class Vehicles to repair the brake switch defect in terms of providing Plaintiff and all Class members appropriate notice thereof, offered its customers a suitable repair or replacement free of charge, or offered to reimburse its customers, like Plaintiff, who have incurred out-of-pocket expenses to repair the defect.”

The putative Class Members of the class action lawsuit would include all current or former owners or lessees of the Kia Sportage models, Kia Sedonas and Kia Optimas for the above model years. Barring that, since the lead plaintiff is from the Sunshine State, a Florida-only class is proposed.

The lead plaintiff is represented by Charles J. LaDuca and William Anderson of Cueno Gilbert & Laduca LLP and Alan M. Mansfield of Consumer Law Group.

The Kia Brake Switch Defect Class Action Lawsuit is Precht v. Kia Motors America Inc., Case No. 14-cv-01148, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.