Class Action Lawsuit Alleges FCA US Fraudulently Concealed Seat Height Adjuster Defect

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A proposed class action lawsuit alleges that Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) knowingly sold more than two million Dodge and Chrysler vehicles equipped with defective electric seat height adjusters manufactured by Lear Corporation.

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The 33-page automotive lawsuit contends that the electric mechanisms used to raise and lower the passenger and driver seats in several Dodge and Chrysler vehicle models were inadequately tested by FCA and Lear. In particular, the suit relays, the seat height adjuster bracket, which is riveted to the seat in a vehicle, shares the same approximate dimensions as “a stick of DoubleMint gum” and is prone to collapse in the event of a rear-end collision.

The class action lawsuit accuses the companies of ignoring their obligation under federal law to disclose that, in rear-end collisions at low speeds, the seat height adjusters at issue will collapse and cause the seat to suddenly drop out from under the occupant, leaving them “out of position” relative to the seat belts and other impact safety systems in the vehicle.

According to the complaint, a seat height adjuster is mounted to the seat frame and designed to impart motion in the corresponding direction that the occupant presses the switch. When a seat occupant presses down on the switch, a screw turns clockwise and moves the nut and bracket closer to the motor, moving the seat downward, the suit says. When an occupant pulls the switch up, the screw instead turns counterclockwise and moves the nut and bracket farther from the motor, moving the seat upward, the case states.

The lawsuit says that the plaintiff’s counsel engaged engineers and testing facilities to document the performance of the seat height adjusters in rear-end crashes. The testing showed that even a rear collision at 25 mph could cause the seat height adjuster bracket to fail, the filing relays.

“The Defective Seat Height Adjuster creates an unreasonable risk of injury or death and the higher the Seat is raised, the greater the risk of injury or death,” the complaint asserts.

Related Reading: Class Action: ‘Hundreds of Thousands’ of Dodge, Jeep, Chrysler Vehicles Equipped with Defective Active Head Restraints

Per the case, the seat height adjuster defect is present in the following vehicle models:

• 2011-2023 Dodge Charger;
• 2011-2023 Chrysler 300;
• 2011-2023 Dodge Challenger;
• 2011-2017 Chrysler 200; and
• 2013-2016 Dodge Dart.

The case further argues that the FCA and Lear, in their alleged concealment of the defect and any further vehicle discussions, committed mail and wire fraud.

“FCA and Lear acting singularly and in concert, personally and through their enterprise(s), used the U.S. Mail or interstate wires or caused the U.S. Mail or interstate wires to be used ‘for the purpose of’ advancing, furthering, executing, concealing, conducting, participating in, or carrying out a scheme to defraud the [Plaintiffs and class members],” the suit claims.

In utilizing the United States mail and/or interstate wires to communicate information about vehicle restraint systems in advertising campaigns, owner’s manuals, and supposed certification and safety compliance reports, the automotive giant and the manufacturer violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) and the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, the class action suit alleges.

Related Reading: Fiat Chrysler, Execs Hit with Stock Drop Suit Over UAW ‘Bribery Scheme’

The FCA seat height adjuster class action lawsuit seeks to represent all current and former owners and lessees of a new or used class vehicle residing in the United States or its territories, excluding any individual who pursued a separate action for damages, injury, or death stemming from the defective seat height adjuster.

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