Heated seats are a boon and a must-have for owners living in chilly climates. But as the owner of a 2018 Mazda 6 alleges, the comfort feature can also bring unexpected pain. A new lawsuit, filed in the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco earlier this month, claims that plaintiff Kristine Dyvad “suffered serious burns and scarring as a result of her use of the defective seat warmer in her Mazda vehicle.”
First reported by CarComplaints.com, the lawsuit claims that Mazda has received several complaints regarding the unspecified heated seat defect. There are currently 37 complaints and two recalls connected to the 2018 Mazda6, but none of them are linked to the abovementioned problem. CarBuzz has contacted Mazda USA for additional information and will update the article once we receive a reply.
Not Just The Mazda6 That Allegedly Has The Defect, Says Lawsuit
It’s worth noting that while the plaintiff claims to have suffered injury in an example of the discontinued Mazda sedan, the defect isn’t only affecting this model. Per the filing, it includes all Mazda vehicles fitted with the same seat heating system as the plaintiff’s vehicle, with the class action lawsuit encompassing “all citizens of the State of California who purchased a Vehicle from Defendant [Mazda Motor of America] while residing in California.” This suggests it could affect best-sellers like the Mazda CX-5, but this is unconfirmed.
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Dyvad said in the filing that had she known her 2018 Mazda6 had suffered this defect, she would not have purchased the car or would have paid “a lot less for it if Mazda would have warned her about the heated seats.” The lawsuit claims that thousands of Californian residents have these defective seat heaters and have “suffered harm from purchasing and using” the affected Mazda vehicles.
Mazda Has Yet To Issue A Statement
The class action lawsuit is being represented by Singleton Schreiber, an Injury Attorney firm with several offices across the country. Their claim: “The lawsuit highlights Mazda’s failure to act responsibly and address the safety issues associated with these vehicles, resulting in vehicles that are less safe and worth less than represented.”
Automakers aren’t strangers to class action lawsuits, particularly in the United States. In September 2023, Hyundai was involved in a lawsuit after a group of owners in South Carolina sued over an oil pump controller that allegedly failed within the first two years of the vehicle’s lifespan. Other examples include a nationwide class action lawsuit over defective Ford hybrid systems that caught fire and privacy concerns related to Tesla’s data management.
Source:
Car Complaints
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Singleton Schreiber
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