Complaint,Petition: Jany Carreto vs American Honda Motor Co., Inc.

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                                1   Kimberli C. Zazzi (SBN 249638)
     Vincent M. Onorio (SBN 117699)
 2   LaDawna Fleckenstein (SBN 330538)
     LEMON LAW PRO
 3   1098 Melody Lane, Building 200
     Roseville, CA 95678
 4   Telephone: (916) 836-8565
     Facsimile: (916) 836-8583
 5
     Attorneys for Plaintiff
 6   JANY CARRETO
 7

 8                SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
                           FOR THE COUNTY OF NAPA
 9

10   JANY CARRETO,                                          CASE NO.:
11                  Plaintiff,                              COMPLAINT FOR VIOLATION OF THE
                                                            SONG-BEVERLY CONSUMER
12   v.                                                     WARRANTY ACT
13   AMERICAN HONDA MOTOR CO., INC.;                        Unlimited Civil Jurisdiction -
     and DOES 1 - 10,                                       Damages Exceed $25,000
14
                    Defendants.                             JURY TRIAL DEMANDED
15

16          Plaintiff JANY CARRETO (hereafter “Plaintiff”), by and through her attorneys, hereby
17   alleges the following upon information and belief:
18                                      GENERAL ALLEGATIONS
19          1.      Plaintiff is a natural person residing in Napa, California.
20          2.      Plaintiff is a “buyer” as defined in Civil Code §2981(c) and §1791(b).
21          3.      AMERICAN HONDA MOTOR CO., INC. (hereafter “Defendant” or
22   “HONDA”) is and was a corporation and registered to do business in the State of California and
23   doing business in the County of NAPA.
24          4.      Defendant AMERICAN HONDA MOTOR CO., INC. is a “manufacturer” and/or
25   “distributor” under the Act.
26          5.      Defendants DOES 1-10 inclusive are sued herein pursuant to California Code of
27   Civil Procedure §474. The true names, capacities and nature and extent of participation in the
28   alleged activities complained of herein by DOES 1-10, inclusive, are currently unknown to
     ______________________________________________________________________________
                         Complaint for Violation of The Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act
                                                        1
 1   Plaintiff. Therefore, Plaintiff sues these defendants by such fictitious names and will amend the

 2   Complaint to allege their true names and capacities when ascertained.

 3             6.    On or about June 30, 2022, Plaintiff purchased a brand new 2023 Honda HR-V,

 4   VIN: 3CZRZ1H53PM701815 (hereinafter “vehicle”) at Kastner Honda located in Napa,

 5   California. The subject vehicle is a new motor vehicle that was purchased primarily for personal,

 6   family, or household purposes or it is a new motor vehicle with a gross vehicle weight under

 7   10,000 pounds that was purchased or used primarily for business purposes by an entity to which

 8   not more than five motor vehicles are registered in this state. The subject vehicle is a “new motor

 9   vehicle” under the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act, Civil Code §§1790 et seq. (the

10   “Act”).

11             7.    Defendant AMERICAN HONDA MOTOR CO., INC. issued an “express

12   warranty” to Plaintiff pursuant to the Act.

13             8.    The sale of the subject vehicle was also accompanied by an implied warranty

14   which represented that the vehicle was merchantable. The sale was also accompanied by

15   Defendant’s implied warranty of fitness.

16             9.    The subject vehicle has suffered from serious defects and nonconformities to

17   warranty, including, but not limited to, repeated suspension leading to unstable drivability and

18   electrical problems that are exposing the interior of the car to the elements.

19             10.   The aforementioned nonconformities and defects manifested themselves within

20   the applicable express warranty period. Said nonconformities have substantially impaired the

21   vehicle’s use, value, or safety to Plaintiff.

22             11.   From the time of purchase until the present, the vehicle has suffered ongoing

23   problems including but not limited to the following:

24   ///

25   ///

26   ///

27   ///

28   ///
     ______________________________________________________________________________
                          Complaint for Violation of The Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act
                                                         2
 1   Problems                                               Date            Odo.        Days     RO #
     Suspension – 1st Repair Attempt – Customer          10/18/2022         3863         1       7481
 2   states they went off road and there is                                                     Kastner
     something hanging from under the car                                                       Honda
 3   inspect and advise
 4   Cause – Nothing was found hanging under
     the vehicle
 5
     General Maintenance
 6
     Suspension – 2nd Repair Attempt –                   11/28/2022         5352            1    8835
 7   Customer reports hears popping noises in                                                   Kastner
     front end both left and right area when                                                    Honda
 8   driving slow speeds, braking and making
     turns
 9
     Cause – test drove with Cesar and confirmed
10   noise inspected and confirmed that there is a
     noise when turning the wheel left and right
11   and when stopping checked front suspension
     and also checked the sub frame and
12   suspension bolts and re torqued noises still
     present need further diag
13
     General Maintenance
14
     Electrical – 1st Repair Attempt – Customer            4/4/2023         8891            1   13400
15   states driver window will roll up and then                                                 Kastner
     roll itself back down. Check and advise                                                    Honda
16
     Cause – Could not duplicate customers
17   drivers window concern but used silicone
     spray on the run channels.
18   General Maintenance
19   Suspension – 3rd Repair Attempt –                     7/3/2023        11631            1   17009
     Customer states that they still have the noise                                             Kastner
20   in the front end like a popping noise when                                                 Honda
     driving down hill and turning. Check and
21   advise
22   Cause – when turning left. Tightened up the
     pass and driver’s front top suspension bolts
23   didn’t hear after driving it again.
24   Electrical – 2nd Repair Attempt – Customer
     states that frequently the driver window will
25   auto up and then come back down. Check
     and advise
26
      Cause – Could not duplicate the drivers
27    window to up and come back down at this
      time. Lubed the drivers windows run channel
28    with silicone spray and press up and down
     ______________________________________________________________________________
                        Complaint for Violation of The Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act
                                                       3
 1   multiple times for the silicone spray can be
     dispersed.
 2
     Electrical – Continued 2nd Repair Attempt
 3   – Cusotmer states and has video that when
     she unlocks the car – often the rear doors
 4   will not unlock and have to be manually
     unlocked from inside. Check and advise
 5
     Cause – Could not duplicate customers
 6   concern. Used the key fob to unlock vehicle
     and it would only unlock driver’s door then I
 7   pressed unlock button one more time then it
     would unlock the rest of the doors.
 8
     General Maintenance
 9
     Suspension – 4th Repair Attempt –                     7/17/2023       11800            5   17612
10   Customer states that the vehicle makes a                  -                                Kastner
     clunk noise when going into or out of                 7/21/2023                            Honda
11   driveways. Drove with dave to verify. Check
     and advise
12
     Cause – Test drove vehicle and confirmed
13   when turning out of a drive way or into a
     drive way there is a clunk noise heard from
14   under the vehicle. Inspected and checked
     clunk noise with chassis ear and confirmed
15   noise is loudest at the right front of vehicle
     undercarriage also checked and re torqued
16   suspension bolts and sway bar end links..
     Test drove and noise still present inspected
17   subframe and steering gear box and looked
     ok checked and re adjustment the noise is
18   corrected at this time test drove vehicle over
     multiple bumps and driveways at various
19   speeds and angles and was not able to hear
     clunk noise anymore at this time noise
20   corrected all ok
21   Electrical – 3rd Repair Attempt – Customer
     states that during driving at highway speeds
22   with drivers window if down – will go up
     and then come back down again – check and
23   advise
24   Cause – Test drove vehicle and was not able
     to confirm that the window will come back
25   down when rolling up with the auto up
     function when the vehicle is in motion at this
26   time. Lubed run channel and re learned the
     window motor and was not able to duplicate
27   concern. On further inspection called tech
     line and was advised to check and if if
28   window strip molding defective to replace
     ______________________________________________________________________________
                        Complaint for Violation of The Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act
                                                       4
 1   and to re adjust glass and re learn window
     motor. Did fin run channel for window
 2   defective and replaced and re positioned the
     window glass and re learned the window
 3   position with hds and confirmed window
     operation is normal at this time rec tech line
 4   4615435

 5   General Maintenance

 6   Suspension – 5th Repair Attempt – There is            8/21/2023       12962            1+   19066
     reported to be a clunking/popping type noise              -                                 Kastner
 7   from the front of the car when turning the            Unknown                               Honda
     steering wheel back and forth from a
 8   stationary position
 9   Cause –
10   Suspension – 6th Repair Attempt – There is            9/13/2023       13546            9    20017
     reported to be a clunking/popping type noise              -                                 Kastner
11   from the front of the car when turning the            9/21/2023                             Honda
     steering on left turns more at slower speeds
12   and after driving for longer periods of time.
     Mostly on the left side but also happens on
13   the right, dropping car off for field engineer
     inspection.
14
     Cause – Long form noise questionnaire
15   completed by customer front beam/subframe
     sprt with ongoing intermittent popping
16   noises from the front suspension with the
     steering wheel turned and then accelerating
17   from a full stop position or when driving in a
     parking lot or pulling into and out of a
18   parking space. The long form noise
     questionnaire was filled out by customer and
19   the advisor and reviewed. Current repair
     order # 20017, Techline Contact # 4622892.
20   3 floor mats in the vehicle at each foot well
     and for the second row. I advised he dealer
21   to educate the customer that the use on
     multiple floor mats is unsafe. The technician
22   confirmed that the pop noise that I was
     replicating is the same noise that the
23   customer had described. Pop noise to the
     EPS rack area of vehicle. I validated my
24   wired chassis ear leads and then placed them
     as follows: Red LF subframe bolt Green LR
25   subframe bolt White Outer compliance
     bushing bolt Pink Rearward lower control
26   arm bolt Blue Middle stud of the LF lower
     ball joint Yellow lower engine mount bolt at
27   the subframe end. After several road tests
     with Chassis Ears attached was confident the
28
     ______________________________________________________________________________
                        Complaint for Violation of The Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act
                                                       5
 1    subframe was flexing causing the noise. Got
      authorization
 2

 3           12.      Plaintiff has delivered the vehicle to HONDA or its authorized repair facility(s)
 4   for repairs of said defects and nonconformities. Defendant has been unable and/or refused to
 5   conform Plaintiff’s vehicle to the applicable express and implied warranties under the Act after a
 6   reasonable number of repair attempts; to begin repairs within a reasonable time; and/or to
 7   complete repairs within thirty (30) days.
 8           13.      Defendant breached the implied warranty of merchantability and implied
 9   warranty of fitness in that the subject vehicle was not fit for the ordinary purposes for which such
10   goods are used and was not of the same quality as those generally acceptable in trade. Therefore,
11   the Plaintiff is entitled to revoke acceptance of the subject vehicle under the Act.
12           14.      Notwithstanding knowledge of Plaintiff’s entitlement, Defendant intentionally
13   failed to comply with its obligations under the Act to repurchase the vehicle and make
14   restitution.
15           15.      By failure of Defendant to comply with its obligations under the Act to
16   repurchase the vehicle and make restitution, Defendant is in breach of its obligations under the
17   Act.
18           16.      Plaintiff is entitled to justifiably revoke acceptance of the aforementioned vehicle
19   under the Act.
20           17.      Pursuant to the Act, Plaintiff is entitled to restitution in an amount equal to the
21   actual price paid or payable by Plaintiff and collateral charges such as sales tax, license fees,
22   registration fees, and other official fees less an amount directly attributable to use by Plaintiff
23   prior to the time Plaintiff first delivered the vehicle for repair.
24           18.      Plaintiff is entitled to recover incidental, consequential, and general damages
25   actually incurred by Plaintiff resulting from Defendant’s failure to comply with its obligations
26   under the Act.
27   ///
28   ///
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                          Complaint for Violation of The Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act
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