Adrian Pozos, et al. vs. American Honda Motor Co., Inc., a California Corporation

Case Background

On October 27, 2020, Plaintiff Adrian Pozos and Liliana Lopez filed a breach of warranty lawsuit against American Honda Motor Co. alleging violation of the Song-Beverly Act and fraudulent concealment. The case was filed in the California Superior Court, Los Angeles County. Judge Christopher K. Lui presided over this case. [Case number: 20STCV41226]

Cause

Defendant American Honda Motor (AHM) manufactured and sold numerous vehicles in the U.S. with defective transmissions, including the 2015-2017 Acura TLC, 2016-2017 Acura MDX, 2016-2017 Honda Pilot, and 2018-2019 Honda Odyssey models, among others. The defect, referred to as the “9-Speed Transmission Defect,” arose from the transmission’s 9.8 ratio speed. This design aimed to provide smoother gear shifts and better fuel efficiency compared to the standard six-speed setup. The ZF9HP Automatic Transmission, using manual-like “dog clutches” activated by computer software, was compact but flawed. The software led to power cuts and delays during gear shifts, causing aggressive surges when acceleration resumed. Drivers expected their automatic transmissions to respond predictably—starting, accelerating, decelerating, and stopping promptly with their inputs. However, vehicles with the ZF9HP transmission behaved erratically, creating severe safety risks. Symptoms included rough and delayed shifting, loud noises, harsh gear engagements, sudden acceleration or deceleration, and unexpected power loss. These issues heightened crash risks, especially in critical driving situations like merging onto highways or navigating busy intersections. Adrian Pozos and Liliana Lopez (Plaintiffs) reasonably expected their vehicles to be free from such severe transmission issues. AHM should have known about these safety problems from pre-market testing, consumer complaints, and Technical Service Bulletins (TSBs). Despite this knowledge, AHM continued to sell and lease these vehicles without full disclosure or voluntary recalls. By December 15, 2017, when the Plaintiffs leased the Subject Vehicl