NJ Sues Nissan Over Maxima Headlights

[Muddy]

This lawsuit was announced today, March 8th. Not sure if there are implications for G35 owners.


from 1010wins:
New Jersey authorities sued Nissan North America Inc. on Monday, alleging the automaker failed to warn customers that the super-bright headlights on its Maximas were hot targets for thieves.

The suit, filed in Superior Court in Somerset County, also alleges Nissan profited by having customers purchase anti-theft kits that should have been provided for free. The company's dealerships also profited by performing repair work on cars victimized by thieves, state Attorney General Peter Harvey said.

"We allege the company sold cars with these fancy lights, but kept consumers in the dark about how attractive the headlamps were to thieves," said Reni Erdos, director of the state Division of Consumer Affairs, which filed the suit. "Nissan's actions, or lack thereof, rendered consumers vulnerable to the criminals who targeted their vehicles."

Authorities surveyed police departments in 19 New Jersey municipalities over the past two years and documented 756 thefts or attempted thefts of the moon-blue lights from 2002 or 2003 Maximas. Newark led the state with 277, followed by Bloomfield with 135, Jersey City with 108 and Hillside and Butler with 50 each.

"Nissan knew since at least September 2002 that thieves ere targeting the xenon headlamps in Maximas," Harvey said. "However, it wasn't until more than a year later that Nissan finally began notifying 2002 and 2003 Maxima owners of the risk of theft and the availability of anti-theft devices.

"Meanwhile, numerous victims were hit with huge repair bills. We're seeking restitution for those consumers."

The lights cost about $1,800 to replace -- not counting repair costs for other damage done by thieves, which can bring the total to $4,000 or more.

In a statement, Nissan said it does more than any other manufacturer to help reduce xenon headlight theft, which also plagues other vehicle makes and models.

"While nothing can completely eliminate the thefts of parts from vehicles, we believe the proactive steps taken by Nissan will help deter criminals from stealing headlights from our customers' Maximas," the company's statement read.

Nissan said it began an anti-theft initiative last fall, sending letters to consumers informing them they can bring their Maximas to a dealer where a bracket would be installed, free of charge, to make the headlights more difficult to steal.

But the lawsuit alleges that on Sept. 26, 2002, the company issued a bulletin to its service technicians stating that a replacement connector kit was available for the headlights damaged by theft.

Two months later, the complaint alleges, Nissan sent out another bulletin to service reps informing them that a $175 theft deterrent kit was available "if a customer requests" and "for customer pay only."

It was not until November 2003 that Nissan sent letters to consumers offering "securing devices" for the lights. But Harvey said these kits were different from the anti-theft kit.

"The customer would only have found out about the anti-theft kit if he had asked about it, which obviously he couldn't have," Harvey said.

Nissan spokesman John Schilling said he could not comment beyond the prepared statement, which did not address allegations that the company knew about problems with the lights being stolen long before it warned customers and that the free securing kit it offered provided less protection than the anti-theft kit customers had to purchase.

The lawsuit does not name other automakers whose lights are also frequently stolen by thieves, including Acura.

Sandra Feeley of Morris Township witnessed the theft of headlights from her Maxima on a Manhattan street corner last May.

Feeley, who spoke at Monday's news conference, took the vehicle to a dealership to have the lights replaced and $4,000 worth of damage repaired.

"Everyone there said, `Oh, this is an issue here," she said. "I was like, `Why wasn't I told about this?"'

She said she would not have bought a Nissan Maxima had she known its headlights were so popular with thieves.

[GX9901]

Does the Maxima have the same type of lights as the G or does it have those fancier "projector" HID lights like BMWs? I guess I'm glad that it's so hard to change lights on the G now...LOL

2004 G35 Coupe Diamond Graphite/Graphite 5AT
Premium, Nav., 18" Wheels, Z-Xtreme Hyper Grounding Cables,
K&N filter, Clear Corners, 350Z Aluminum Pedals

[DHCrocks]

that's another stupid lawsuit for you, I can't believe how greedy people can get. at least NIssan is making available a kit to help rectify the situation. It's unbelieveable how someone could sue a manufacture over how easy it is to service a vehicle. I like cars that are easy to remove parts since you don't end up breaking stuff in the process if you're a do it yourselfer. At least you don't have to take off the fricken bumper or a dozen other parts to change a damn lightbulb like on some cars. hey maybe I could sue Nissan over how easy it is to remove the front markers on the coupe so I can afford clear ones. yeah, I'm sure Nissan did it on purpose to make some $$$s on replacing the lights, thats a brilliant idea and great publicity that your car gets jacked so easily. damn lawyers.

Edited by DHCrocks on 03/09/04 09:48 AM.

[ryoken]

The point that the lawsuit is alleging, though, is that Nissan and the dealerships are withholding information from customers, and then making extra profit from repairing vehicles. That they're apparently not even offering the $175 kit with the purchase of the vehicle, but rather after the headlights have been ripped out.

[pelucidor]

NEWSFLASH
In a followup to the story about Nissan being sued for headlights being easily stolen, a further story has surfaced.

The state of NJ is now sueing Toyota and Honda because their cars are the most stolen in the country (see here for details). A spokesman for the state was quoted as saying "Of the top 25 most stolen vehicles, these two brands take 20 spots including 9 of the top 10. Sometimes it costs the vehicle owner thousands of dollars to replace the vehicle. The manufacturers are aware of these facts yet do nothing about it, which is frankly criminal - at the very least they should provide free secure parking and garaging for their covetted vehicles at all times". The two manufactureres were not available for comment at press time.



'04 G35 Sedan 6MT in Diamond Graphite/Graphite with Premium, Nav, Aero
'02 Acura MDX Touring in Redrock Pearl/Saddle with wood bits, cargo stuff

[Paul1082]

NJ Sucks. Just a big suburb for NYC and Philly. That lawsuit is absurd.

[Merlin]

Is NJ Broke or what?[img]/w3timages/icons/crazy.gif[/img]

Andrew, We Miss and Love You! Peace!

[Xman]

Close, insurance rates in NJ are the highest in the nation but IMO this is a p$ss poor way for the state to try to get a handle on auto theft.


2K4 G35x/Brilliant Silver/Graphite/Premium/Wood
Stillen Hi-Flow/ Z tube/ Ground Kit

[WRAH]

Spend less money on sueing $hit, and hire more COPs NJ!!!!

"What if there is no tomorrow....There wasn't one today!!!" Bill Murry
'04 OB/GL Prem.Pkg./Sport.Pkg/Splash

[humanRESEARCH]

**NEWSFLASH!!**
More breaking news about the state of New Jersey and lawsuits being filed against automobile manufacturers:

In a stunning turn of events, SnMDesignStudio declared New Jersey's bored, sexually frustrated, and mentally deficient governing bodies the whinest pack of [censored!! oh my!] ever to be assembled. The ideas of designing, manufacturing, and presenting the awards for "Most Frivolous State Government", "Whiniest Spokesman", "Best Performance by a Pack of Whiny B*tches", and "Most Bored Legal Department" were considered briefly. The awards were to be abstract "statues" assembled by pieces of Nissan Maxima headlights, and Nissan, Honda, and Toyota badges. The statue was to resemble a baby crying. However, SnMDesignStudio then decided to focus his energies on much more important activities, such as yawning and stretching, clipping his finger nails, and breathing.

I wonder if New Jersey will next sue Porsche, as here in Las Vegas thieves are stealing those headlights, which cost up to $7,000 to replace depending on damage done...I mean, if Nissan is a nice little frivolous lawsuit, Porsche would be the "big fish", huh? I can't wait for the next batch of blockbuster lawsuits New Jersey will dream up: The State of New Jersey against Gravity (for making stuff fall on people), against That Girl That Wouldn't go to Prom with Me, and against Coca-Cola (for that machine that had thier logo that took my nickel and all I had was that last .50, damn it)

"All the Power in the World resides in my Thighs..."

[GeoBau]

That's New Jersey for ya... this is the most bullsh*t lawsuit I've ever heard of. Company makes product. Product becomes popular. Product gets stolen. Company gets sued. Why don't we sue the US mint for not securing their $100 bills with anti-theft devices so I can get restitution for when I was robbed?

G

2003.5 Black w/ Willow G35
Premium / Sport / Aero / Winter / Navi / Tint

[DHCrocks]

"this is the most bullsh*t lawsuit I've ever heard of."

I don't know that Mcdonalds coffee is too hot gives the Nissan suit some hard rubs. I think there was one about their fast food getting someone obessse too.

[GeoBau]

Okay, well, this is another in the long string of bullsh*t lawsuits that are cropping up in this place. [img]/w3timages/icons/tongue.gif[/img]

G

2003.5 Black w/ Willow G35
Premium / Sport / Aero / Winter / Navi / Tint

[SkyLine350GTs]

People need to realize when they sue a corporation they are only hurting themselves and the other conusumers. Those corporations are only going to jack up the prices for all of us so they can pay the legal fees.

Its a "sue you sue me" world and this country is getting more money hungry everyday.

High Point NC
04 G35 6MT Sedan, Diamond Graphite on Black.
Arrived on 10/20/03
Mods include.
20% tint
INJEN CAI, black
clear bra
clear corners

Rip 2002 Altima 2.5s blk/grey 5/30/02-10/7/03

[StudlyMobile]

the valid part of the lawsuit was if nissan discovered the headlights were being stolen, had a fix/insurance, but withheld the info from consumers until after the fact.......

04 6mtC, DG - possibly most babied G on the board.