— A Porsche infotainment system lawsuit alleges the Porsche Communication Management (PCM) units received software updates that caused permanent damage to the units.
The alleged damage was caused on or about May 21, 2020, when the Porsche infotainment systems were sent Sirius updates that allegedly caused the communication units to constantly activate and deactivate.
The Porsche infotainment class action lawsuit includes:
"All entities and individuals who, on the date the Update was transmitted, owned or leased a Porsche vehicle equipped with an XM radio antenna and Porsche Communication Management (PCM) system 3.0 or 3.1 that received the Update."
According to the lawsuit, owners complain the PCM units continuously reboot and drain the car batteries. In addition, customers claim the infotainment system hard drives are destroyed at a cost of $2,000 to $4,000 to replace the PCM units.
And it's typically the owner who is stuck with the cost of repairs, according to documents filed with the court.
The plaintiff purchased a used 2011 Porsche Panamera in 2012 and even though he isn't a Sirius customer, the Panamera received the infotainment system update. The vehicle allegedly began messing up shortly after the PCM update which caused the infotainment system to reboot every two to 10 minutes even when the engine was shut off.
The Porsche Communication Management unit allegedly made a loud static sound each time the system restarted, which made driving a chore. The Porsche battery degraded and the hard drive was damaged due to a software update the owner never authorized.
A Porsche dealer allegedly told the plaintiff all the reboot cycles permanently damaged the infotainment system hard drive and the entire Porsche Communication Management unit needed to be replaced. The plaintiff says he couldn't drive his Panamera for more than two months until $3,270.78 was paid for the PCM unit replacement.
The Porsche class action alleges the malfunction causes drivers multiple problems with the navigation, radio, sound and phone systems.
The automaker allegedly should have known the Sirius-related update would cause problems and put drivers at risk, and the lawsuit alleges the problems are ongoing and Porsche has fixed nothing.
According to the PCM class action, Porsche dealers told customers the software update “caused major functional issues with the PCM (Center Touchscreen) affecting virtually all Porsche vehicles. If your Porsche PCM has started malfunctioning the Sirius XM update is likely the issue.”
The Porsche infotainment system lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division: Bowen vs. Porsche Cars N.A., Inc.
The plaintiff is represented by Caplan Cobb LLP, Meyer Wilson Co., LPA, and Gibbs Law Group LLP.