Was Your Driving Data Illegally Shared? Attorneys Investigate Hyundai, Kia, Mitsubishi, General Motors

Last Updated on July 9, 2024

At A Glance

This Alerts Affects:: Anyone who has driven a Hyundai vehicle equipped with Bluelink, a General Motors vehicle (Chevrolet, Buick, GMC or Cadillac) equipped with OnStar, a Kia vehicle equipped with Kia Connect, or a Mitsubishi vehicle equipped with Connect and did not have a usage-based insurance plan within the past three years.
What’s Going On?: Attorneys working with ClassAction.org have reason to suspect that some automakers may be secretly collecting data about customers’ driving behaviors and sharing it with third parties. It’s believed that this information may be used to determine drivers’ insurances rates and premiums. They’re now gathering affected consumers to take action over these potential privacy violations.
What You Can Do: If you’ve owned or leased a Hyundai vehicle equipped with Bluelink, a GM vehicle equipped with OnStar, a Kia vehicle equipped with Kia Connect or a Mitsubishi vehicle equipped with Connect within the past three years and you did not have a usage-based (i.e., “pay as you drive” or “pay how you drive") insurance plan, join others taking action by filling out one of the forms linked below.
What Am I Signing Up For, Exactly?: You’re signing up for what’s known as “mass arbitration,” which involves hundreds or thousands of consumers bringing individual arbitration claims against the same company at the same time and over the same issue. This is different from class action litigation and takes place outside of court.
Does This Cost Anything?: It costs nothing to sign up, and the attorneys will only get paid if they win your claim.
How Much Could I Get?: While there are no guarantees, certain state privacy laws provide that consumers who had their rights violated could be owed hundreds.

Attorneys working with ClassAction.org are looking into possible legal action over concerns that Hyundai, Kia, Mitsubishi and General Motors may have violated state privacy laws by collecting and sharing customers’ driving data without permission.

Specifically, they believe the automakers may use their respective connected car service to secretly transmit details about customers’ driving habits to data brokers. It’s possible that the third parties may then compile this information into reports used by insurance companies to set drivers’ rates and premiums.

If you owned or leased a Hyundai vehicle equipped with Bluelink, a GM vehicle equipped with OnStar, a Kia vehicle equipped with Kia Connect, or a Mitsubishi vehicle equipped with Connect within the past three years and did not have a usage-based insurance plan (i.e., one that adjusts premiums based on how you drive) at the time, join others taking action by clicking the appropriate button below and filling out a quick form.

Hyundai Kia GM Mitsubishi

How Could the Automakers Be Sharing Data with Third Parties?

Many newer vehicles come equipped with connected car services that offer a range of features, including telematic systems. These systems can be used to monitor driving activities such as acceleration, speed, braking patterns and more.

In this case, attorneys are looking into whether Hyundai, GM, Kia and Mitsubishi use their proprietary connected services—Bluelink, OnStar Smart Driver, Kia Connect and Connect, respectively—to collect and share customers’ driving behavior data without their knowledge or consent.

Specifically, the attorneys suspect that these services may secretly record information like drivers’ vehicle identification numbers, details about any acceleration, hard brake, or high-speed events, the state of their seat belt switch, and data about their throttle position and engine RPM.

Some insurance plans are usage based, meaning drivers opt to share this type of data with their insurers in the hopes of being rewarded with lower premiums due to safe driving. The attorneys believe that the Bluelink, Kia Connect, OnStar and Connect systems could be transmitting this data regardless of whether drivers have opted for one of these plans.

They believe the automakers may furnish drivers' performance data to companies like LexisNexis and Verisk, which include this information in consumer reports that insurance companies use to make risk assessments and charge customers accordingly. This means that Hyundai, Kia, Mitsubishi and GM drivers may be forced to pay higher premiums if unfavorable driving information about them is exposed.

Attorneys believe the automakers’ suspected data-sharing practices may violate certain state privacy laws, which prohibit the disclosure of consumers’ personal information without authorization.

What Am I Signing Up For? Is This a Lawsuit?

You are not signing up for a lawsuit, but rather a process known as mass arbitration. This is a relatively new legal technique that, like a class action lawsuit, allows a large group of people to take action and seek compensation from a company over an alleged wrongdoing. Here is a quick explanation of mass arbitration from our blog:

[M]ass arbitration occurs when hundreds or thousands of consumers file individual arbitration claims against the same company over the same issue at the same time. The aim of a mass arbitration proceeding is to grant relief on a large scale (similar to a class action lawsuit) for those who sign up.”

Some companies’ terms of use may contain a class action waiver and/or arbitration clause requiring website users to resolve disputes via arbitration, a form of alternative dispute resolution that takes place outside of court before a neutral arbitrator, as opposed to a judge or jury. It’s for this reason that attorneys working with ClassAction.org have decided to handle these matters as mass arbitrations rather than class action lawsuits.

How Much Does This Cost?

It costs nothing to sign up, and you’ll only need to pay if the attorneys win money on your behalf. Their payment will come as a percentage of your award.

If they don’t win your claim, you don’t pay.

How Much Money Could I Get?

There are no guarantees as to how much money you could get or whether your claim will be successful. However, certain states’ privacy laws stipulate that consumers could be owed hundreds for violations.

Sign Up and Take Action