Judge Approves Timing Chain Class Action Against Nissan Canada

Nissan timing chains on approximately 64,000 vehicles are at the centre of a class action lawsuit that has recently been approved by a judge from the British Columbia Court of Appeal.

The class action was initially filed by a plaintiff named Tobias Mueller on behalf of all Canadian customers. The defendants are Nissan Canada and Nissan North America.

• Also: Ford: Faulty Water Pump Leads to Class Action Lawsuit
• Also: Airbag Failures Lead to Class Action Lawsuit Against GM Canada

Affected models include the 2004-2006 Nissan Altima, 2004-2008 Maxima, 2004-2009 Quest as well as the 2005-2007 Frontier, Pathfinder and Xterra.

“The evidence is that in the time frame covered by the proposed class, Nissan vehicles experienced higher-than-expected warranty claims related to the timing chain mechanisms and issued a series of Technical Service Bulletins [TSBs] to dealerships, qualified technicians and Transport Canada, addressing issues with the timing chain mechanisms. The TSBs indicate that noise in the engine is a symptom of the timing chain mechanism failure, requiring replacement of the part,” Justice Susan Griffin wrote.

In her ruling, she said there is sufficient evidence for claims of negligent design, manufacturing and sales, misrepresentation, and consumer protection violations. However, for the class action to go forward, claims of express warranty and unjust enrichment had to be discarded.

The class action mainly alleges that the defective part has failed or will likely fail before the expected lifetime of the product, and failure of the part could result in significant harm to persons or property. Furthermore, Nissan allegedly failed to warn potential customers and led them to believe that the vehicles were safe.

A trial is necessary to determine “a reasonable way of dealing with the defect, including the scope of a remedy,” the ruling said. 

The class action seeks an unspecified amount of compensatory damages for economic loss, inconvenience and mental distress, along with punitive damages on the grounds that Nissan “prioritized corporate profits over the protection and security” of customers.

Nissan argues that not all the vehicles came with the same primary timing chain design or contained the same component parts.

The members of the class action are represented by Merchant Law Group LLP. It is possible to join the group by filling a form on their website.