CASE CAPTION: In re Opheim v. Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft, et al. (Volkswagen Timing Chain II)
COURT: United States District Court, District of New Jersey
CASE NUMBER: 20-cv-2483
JUDGE: Honorable Kevin McNulty
PLAINTIFFS: William Hendra, Robert Mills, Greta Opela, Matthew Ophiem, and Michelle Vargas
DEFENDANTS: Volkswagen of America, Inc., Volkswagen AG, and Audi AG
CLASS VEHICLES: Model year 2012-2015 Audi A4 (Allroad, Avant, Sedan), 2012-2015 Audi A5 (Cabriolet, Coupe, Sportback), and 2012-2015 Audi Q5 equipped with a 2.0L Second Generation EA888 engine
This is the second automotive defect class action against Volkswagen regarding defective Timing Chain Systems installed in certain Audi vehicles with EA888 engines. As in the first action, Plaintiffs alleged that Defendants knew that the Timing Chain System installed in the Class Vehicles was defective and likely to fail catastrophically, well before any service or maintenance should be necessary, which put consumers’ safety at risk and exposed them to significant monetary losses. Plaintiffs filed this second action after discovering that the Timing Chain System defect at issue in the first action against Volkswagen had not been remedied and that the defect persisted in later model year vehicles, specifically Audi vehicles with a 2.0 L second generation EA888 engine.
This action began on March 6, 2020, and Plaintiffs filed an Amended Complaint on October 9, 2020, asserting ninety-seven (97) counts on behalf of nationwide classes and state subclasses for fraud, breach of express and implied warranties, negligent misrepresentation, unjust enrichment, and violation of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act and various state consumer protection statutes. The Court denied Defendants’ Motions to Dismiss, in large part, in opinions issued on June 25, 2021 and November 15, 2021.
After years of hard-fought litigation, extensive investigation, exchange of discovery, in-depth analysis of the factual and legal issues presented, and consultations with experts, the Parties attended a formal mediation session in January 2023. Over the course of the ensuing months, the Parties continued to negotiate and ultimately reached agreement on the terms and conditions of a Settlement, which was fully executed on October 13, 2023, providing substantial monetary and equitable relief to the Class. In particular, Volkswagen agreed to reimburse 100% of the dealer repair costs paid to replace failed timing chain tensioners and/or timing chains. Volkswagen also agreed to reimburse up to 100% of the amount paid to authorized dealers, depending upon mileage and time in-service of the vehicle, to repair engine damage caused by the failure of the timing chain and/or timing chain tensioner. Likewise, for repairs conducted by an independent service station, Volkswagen agreed to reimburse Class Members up to $7,800 for engine repair, depending upon mileage and time in-service, and up to $2,000 for repairs/replacement of the timing chain and/or timing chain tensioner. Further, Volkswagen extend the warranties on the Class Vehicles to cover timing chain and/or timing chain tensioner failures for up to one hundred thousand (100,000) miles/10 years from the In-Service Date. This was an outstanding recovery that provides real, significant relief to Class Members who had unknowingly purchased defective vehicles.
On August 14, 2024 the Court entered an Order and Judgment Granting Final Approval of the Class Action Settlement.