— A Subaru class action lawsuit includes 2013-2021 vehicles equipped with automatic emergency braking (AEB), which includes pre-collision braking and reverse automatic braking. Additionally, the lawsuit includes 2013-2021 Subaru vehicles equipped with lane keep assist (LKA).
Pre-collision braking and lane keep assist are part of Subaru's EyeSight driver assist technology.
According to the Subaru class action lawsuit, pre-collision braking uses forward-facing cameras and “helps you avoid or reduce frontal impacts by alerting you and applying full braking force in emergency situations,” and “can even bring you to a full stop if necessary.”
Reverse automatic braking uses ultrasonic sensors or radar to sense "objects behind your Subaru when backing up at a low speed and applies the brakes when necessary.”
The front cameras are employed by EyeSight's lane keep assist to monitor the road for lane markings and to sound alarms if the vehicle strays over the lines or sways between them. The lawsuit says LKA is supposed to correct the vehicle’s steering to keep the vehicle in the lane if the driver does not respond quickly enough.
Subaru EyeSight Feature Allegedly Includes Multiple Defects
The plaintiffs claim Subaru failed to warn customers about the automatic emergency braking systems which allegedly have defects with software calibration from multiple control modules. The class action lawsuit alleges the brakes activate when there are no objects in front or behind the vehicle.
Other problems allegedly occur when automatic emergency braking fails to engage when it should, namely when objects are in front of the Subaru vehicle. The EyeSight lawsuit alleges this is caused by errors between the transmission, brakes and sensors.
The Subaru class action lawsuit says the plaintiffs know lane keep assist is defective due to poor software calibration from the power steering control module and other modules.
The errors allegedly "correct the vehicle’s steering when the driver is trying to change lanes, is driving on a road with construction barriers, or if the road has multiple lines due to construction."
According to the lawsuit, the LKA system will also shut down completely until the vehicle is restarted, preventing the vehicles from providing owners what was advertised. Even worse, the lawsuit alleges the lane keep system jerks the steering wheel and "even steers the vehicle into other vehicles."
All the above alleged problems make the EyeSight systems useless and dangerous so that Subaru can allegedly increase profit by inflating prices of the vehicles.
The Subaru class action 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, and Capstone Law APC.