Case No. 22-192888-CZ - Wayne County Circuit Court

My Client v. Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. and Suburban Imports of Farmington Hills

Client purchased a brand new 2021 VW Atlas. Three months after delivery, the airbag light turned on with only 3,000 miles on odometer. Client tried to make appointment at the service department and was advised that no appointments were unavailable. The staff did help Client book an appointment with another dealership. On January 6, 2022, the vehicle was dropped off for repairs. The next day, Client was advised the vehicle needed a new airbag (front driver side) and that the order would be placed that same day. No loaner vehicle was offered. Client was encouraged to drive the vehicle home on January 7, 2022, but was provided with no information regarding the safety of the vehicle. Parts were ordered to address the airbag issue, but there was no ETA. The airbag light came back on immediately when Client left the dealership on January 7, 2022.

Client called the dealership on January 7, 2022, to ask whether the airbag may or may not deploy if Client were to get into a front-end accident. The service department specifically advised that they "could not guarantee the safety of the vehicle and that the airbag may or may not deploy."

The part to repair the vehicle was finally dropped off at the service department on January 18, 2022. On April 12, 2022, after 85 days in the service department, Client was finally able to pick up the vehicle.

Client hired Adam Alexander during the 85-day repair attempt, and on February 11, 2022, Mr. Alexander sent a certified letter to VW outlining the defects and requesting a final repair as mandated by Michigan's Lemon Law at MCL 257.1403(5)(a). The vehicle qualified as a Lemon and a lawsuit was filed on March 4, 2022.

Repair Background:

The airbag defect was the result of a wiring harness problem that has been known by VW since 2021. In November of 2021 VW issued Technical Tip 97-21-02TT, entitled “Fault code U019900 or U020000 along with Various Warnings.” The tech tip applies to 2019-2022 Volkswagen Atlas, Atlas Cross Sport, Golf, Golf Wagon, Jetta, Tiguan and Taos vehicles. (See Exhibit E). In March 2022, Volkswagen announced a recall of nearly 223,000 model year 2019-2020 VW Atlas, 2020-2023 VW Atlas Cross Sport and 2021-2023 VW Atlas FL SUVs in the U.S. (See Exhibit F). VW told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration: "Micro-movement of the wire harness (terminal A-Pillar to front door) can result in damage to the wire terminal surface. Damage to the surface can results in fretting corrosion which may cause sporadic interruption in the electrical connection to the components of the front door." Volkswagen also told NHTSA how the wiring harnesses could trigger the airbag warning lights and cause airbag failures in side-impact crashes. Additionally, VW said the Atlas vehicles could suffer from these symptoms.

"The airbag warning light may illuminate if a malfunction is detected. Other symptoms of a sporadic interruption of the affected electrical connection can be: inadvertent rolling down windows, inadvertent park brake engagement at low speeds (below approx. 3km/h or 1.8mph), warning regarding faulty door sensor." Notably, this same defect was the subject of a class action lawsuit filed in New Jersey District Court, Case No. 2:22-cv-01704, McMahon v. Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.

The case was settled with a confidential cash payout to Client