Automotive Lawsuits This Year: Verdicts, Settlements, and Defects

The biggest automotive lawsuits this year cluster around four fronts: a $243 million Autopilot verdict Tesla could not shake off, a wave of new defect class actions targeting electric vehicles from Volkswagen, GM, Ford, Honda, and Subaru, several very large settlements finally moving toward payouts, and continued federal and state pressure on how dealers price cars. If you own a recent-model vehicle or bought one from a dealer in the last few years, at least one of these cases likely touches you.

The Tesla Autopilot Verdict Stands

In February 2026, U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom refused to throw out a $243 million jury verdict against Tesla over a fatal 2019 crash in Key Largo, Florida. A Model S operating on Enhanced Autopilot struck a parked SUV, killing 22-year-old Naibel Benavides and severely injuring Dillon Angulo.¹

The July 2025 trial was the first federal jury trial tied to Autopilot.² Tesla argued the driver was at fault, citing data showing his foot was on the accelerator and he was going 62 mph in a 45-mph zone. Judge Bloom ruled that “evidence admitted at trial more than supports the jury verdict.”¹

EV Battery Fire Class Action Against Volkswagen

Two ID.4 lessees, Timothy Y. Chen and Robert Warren, filed Chen et al. v. Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft in June 2026 in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. The suit alleges 2023–2025 ID.4 electric SUVs contain high-voltage batteries prone to thermal events, including fires while driving, parked, or charging.³

Battery supplier SK Battery America traced the problem to misaligned electrodes in the cells. Volkswagen issued three recalls starting in December 2025, ultimately reaching tens of thousands of vehicles. Owners were told to skip fast charging, cap the battery at 80 percent, and avoid indoor charging. Plaintiffs say those instructions effectively strand the car: without fast charging, a full charge on a standard Level 2 charger can take six to seven hours or more.⁴

GM Defect Suits: Lyriq and the L87 V8

Two GM class actions filed this year cover very different vehicles but share the same core allegation: that GM knew about a serious defect and sold the cars anyway.

Cadillac Lyriq

Filed in April 2026 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, Cochran et al. v. General Motors LLC alleges an electrical architecture defect that disrupts communication among the Lyriq’s battery management, software, and control systems. Owners say the SUV can be left unable to start, charge, or operate. The plaintiffs claim GM had notice through internal engineering reports, warranty claims, and NHTSA complaints.⁵

L87 6.2-Liter V8

A consolidated complaint filed in February 2026 in the Eastern District of Michigan, Rittereiser et al. v. General Motors, alleges a bearing defect can cause the L87 engine to fail catastrophically, with connecting rods breaching the block at highway speeds. Roughly 877,000 vehicles are potentially affected, including 2019–2024 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 trucks and 2021–2024 Cadillac Escalade, Chevrolet Suburban, Tahoe, and GMC Yukon models.⁶

GM is also facing 2026 filings over stiff brakes in some Buick, Chevrolet, and GMC vehicles; rear sliding window water leaks in 2019–2020 Chevy and GMC trucks; and engine failures tied to defective assemblies in Buick and Chevrolet models.⁷

Settlements Now Paying or About to Pay

Hyundai and Kia Theft Settlement: Up to $145 Million

The settlement over the ignition security flaw that made millions of Hyundai and Kia vehicles easy to steal is worth between $80 million and $145 million. The Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court’s approval in January 2026.⁸ Payments cannot go out until all appeals fully resolve; the official settlement sites note the deal is not yet effective.⁹ Benefits include a free software upgrade for eligible vehicles, reimbursement for anti-theft devices, and compensation for theft-related losses, including up to 60 percent of the vehicle’s value for total losses.¹⁰

GM LC9 Piston Settlement: $150 Million

The $150 million settlement in Siqueiros et al. v. General Motors follows a 2022 jury finding that GM’s LC9 engine had defective piston assemblies in 2011–2014 Chevrolet and GMC trucks and SUVs. The jury awarded $2,700 per class member, and class members are estimated to receive at least $2,149 each after expenses. A final approval hearing was scheduled for October 6, 2025.¹¹

Toyota Forklift Emissions: $299.5 Million

Toyota Material Handling North America and its parent Toyota Industries Corp agreed to pay $299.5 million to resolve claims they manipulated emissions testing on more than 272,000 gasoline and diesel forklifts, allegedly by falsifying data, swapping engines during tests, and altering software.¹² Toyota did not admit wrongdoing. The settlement received preliminary approval in February 2026, with final approval set for July 9, 2026, and includes a service plan valued between $83.7 million and $189.3 million.¹³

CDK and Reynolds Antitrust: $129.5 Million

The antitrust settlement in In re Dealer Management Systems Antitrust Litigation, alleging CDK Global and Reynolds and Reynolds conspired to charge unlawful prices for dealer management software, totals $129.5 million: $100 million from CDK and $29.5 million from Reynolds. The CDK settlement was approved in February 2025, and plaintiffs filed a motion in January 2026 to distribute the funds. That motion is pending.¹⁴

Auto Parts Price-Fixing: Over $1.2 Billion

The auto parts price-fixing litigation, which grew out of a 2012 Justice Department probe of manufacturers including Denso, Hitachi Automotive, and Mitsubishi Electric, has produced more than $1.2 billion in settlements. In July 2025, Chief U.S. District Judge Sean Cox rejected a request from plaintiffs’ lawyers for an additional $94 million in fees on top of the $269 million already collected, calling the request “excessive.” Hertz and Avis Budget Group had objected.¹⁵

Dealer Fraud and FTC Action

The FTC and the Illinois Attorney General reached a proposed $20 million settlement with Leader Automotive Group and parent AutoCanada in December 2024, the largest monetary judgment the FTC has secured against an auto dealer. Regulators alleged the dealerships advertised false low prices and then added undisclosed fees for items like protective coatings and LoJack. Nearly 80 percent of customers were charged for unauthorized add-ons such as GAP coverage and service contracts, and commissions on those add-ons sometimes exceeded the profit from the vehicle sale itself.¹⁶

The FTC’s complaint went further, alleging employees were pressured to post fake Google reviews under threat of withheld bonuses, that customers were sometimes kept from their keys until they left a positive review, and that vehicles imported from Canada were sold without disclosing that importing typically voids the manufacturer’s warranty. The $20 million is designated for consumer refunds; the settlement requires court approval, and a separate case against former VP James Douvas continues.¹⁶

On March 13, 2026, the FTC sent warning letters to 97 auto dealership groups nationwide, targeting practices such as advertising prices that exclude mandatory fees, using bait-and-switch rebates, and listing vehicles that don’t exist.¹⁷ A separate administrative action against Asbury Automotive Group alleges three Texas Ford and Honda stores charged customers for add-ons they hadn’t agreed to and targeted Black and Latino consumers with higher-priced add-ons.¹⁸ The administrative hearing has been delayed to August 2026 while Asbury’s constitutional challenge to the FTC’s authority plays out.¹⁹

New Defect Class Actions Filed This Year

Beyond the headliners, 2026 has produced a steady stream of new class actions across the industry:

Mazda CX-90 (2024–2026): a March 2026 suit in the Eastern District of Virginia alleges rapid brake wear (some owners needed pads replaced within 1,000 miles) and a lane-keep assist that applies forceful steering input against the driver. About 43,000 CX-90s are under federal investigation over a separate steering recall.²⁰
Porsche right-to-repair: Fleet Salvage Systems v. Porsche Cars North America, filed in May 2026 in the Northern District of Georgia, alleges Porsche keeps a monopoly on repairs by locking independent shops out of its diagnostic software. The plaintiff says the suit was triggered when an independent mechanic couldn’t reset an oil indicator light without Porsche’s proprietary tools.²¹
Ford Bronco Sport and Maverick: a May 2026 suit alleges Ford’s January 2025 recall was “wholly inadequate” to fix a battery defect.⁷
Subaru: two May 2026 suits allege defective collision-avoidance features in 2022–2026 models and parasitic battery drain from an electrical defect in 2019–2025 vehicles.⁷
Honda Prologue EV (2024–2026): a March 2026 suit alleges a front drive axle defect.⁷
Nissan Rogue (2021–2025): a January 2026 filing claims rear windshields can shatter spontaneously.⁷
Ram ProMaster (2022–2023): a May 2026 suit alleges the advertised nine-speed transmission functions as a seven-speed given the vehicle’s size and software calibration, and that upgrades can run up to $6,070.²²
Audi: three separate June 2026 class actions cover subframe defects in 2009–2017 Q5 and SQ5 models, water pump defects in 2018–2024 vehicles, and door lock defects in 2019–2026 models.⁷

Emissions Cases Still Moving

The GM Duramax diesel case, which alleges 2011–2016 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra heavy-duty trucks contained defeat devices masking nitrogen oxide emissions two to five times above legal limits, was revived when the Sixth Circuit reversed a district court dismissal in 2024. The appeals court rejected GM’s argument that the Clean Air Act preempted state consumer protection claims and denied GM’s petition for further review in November 2024. The case is expected back in district court for further proceedings.²³

In the UK, a “dieselgate” trial involving 1.6 million motorists and 14 automakers is wrapping up in the High Court, with closing arguments in the lead cases against Mercedes, Ford, Peugeot-Citroën, Renault, and Nissan beginning in March 2026. A decision is expected in the summer of 2026. Volkswagen settled its UK claims in 2020, paying £193 million to 91,000 motorists, and has paid more than €32 billion in global penalties tied to emissions cheating.²⁴

What Changed for Car Buyers in 2025 and 2026

The FTC’s federal Combating Auto Retail Scams (CARS) rule, which would have imposed nationwide transparency requirements on dealers, was vacated by the Fifth Circuit in January 2025. California responded with SB 766, the California CARS Act, signed by Governor Newsom in October 2025 and set to take effect October 1, 2026.²⁵

California’s law requires dealers to disclose total price in all advertisements, tell buyers that add-on products are voluntary, and give a three-day right to cancel used vehicle purchases priced up to $50,000. Dealers are barred from charging for add-ons that provide no benefit, such as non-factory oil change plans sold with electric vehicles. Notice of the cancellation right must be posted in 36-point type in sales offices.²⁶ Outside California, no federal equivalent is in force after the CARS rule was vacated, so the FTC’s warning letters and case-by-case enforcement, along with state law, remain the main constraints on dealer pricing practices.

1
CNBC. Tesla Loses Bid to Toss $243 Million Verdict in Fatal Autopilot Crash Suit
2
The New York Times. Tesla Trial Autopilot
3
ClassAction.org. Volkswagen Lawsuit Claims ID.4 SUVs Equipped With Defective High-Voltage Batteries Posing Fire Risk
4
CarComplaints.com. VW ID.4 Battery Recall Lawsuit Class Action
5
Michigan Public. General Motors Sued Over Alleged Cadillac Lyriq Defects
6
Hagens Berman. General Motors GM L87 Motor Engine Failure Defect
7
ClassAction.org. Automotive Class Action Lawsuit News
8
Hagens Berman. Hyundai Kia USB Car Theft Defect FAQ
9
Hyundai Theft Settlement. Hyundai Theft Settlement
10
Kia Theft Settlement. Kia Theft Settlement
11
GM Engine Litigation. GM Engine Litigation FAQs
12
MHW Magazine. Toyota Material Handling Offers Nearly $300M Settlement in Forklift Emissions Case
13
Courthouse News. $299.5 Million Toyota Forklift Emissions Settlement Moves Forward
14
Dealership Class DMS Settlement. Dealership Class DMS Settlement
15
Reuters. US Judge Rejects Lawyers’ $94 Million Fee Bid in Auto Parts Pricing Case
16
FTC. FTC, Illinois Take Action Against Leader Automotive Group
17
FTC. FTC Warns 97 Auto Dealership Groups About Deceptive Pricing
18
FTC. FTC Automobiles Industry Page
19
Nelson Mullins. FTC Administrative Action Delayed as Dealer Group Presses for Reconsideration
20
The Brake Report. Mazda CX-90 Faces New Brake and ADAS Lawsuit
21
Carscoops. Porsche Sued Over an Oil Light That Couldn’t Be Turned Off
22
Yahoo Autos. Class Action Lawsuit Claims Ram ProMaster Transmission Defect
23
Hagens Berman. General Motors Duramax Emissions
24
Courthouse News. UK Dieselgate Lawsuit Enters Final Journey for Carmakers
25
CalMatters Digital Democracy. California SB 766
26
CFS Review. New California CARS Act