A four-year-long class action lawsuit over alleged spontaneous breakage of windshields in Subaru vehicles may soon conclude. The plaintiffs filed a motion to approve a class action settlement on April 12.
The plaintiffs alleged that the windshields on their new Subaru vehicles cracked shortly after they purchased them, seemingly for no reason. Jeffrey Barr, Arnold Milstein, Allan Zaback and Brittany Funk first filed the suit in October 2019.
Some plaintiff windshields have been repaired multiple times. Because vehicles also had Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), the plaintiffs also had to have the car’s camera recalibrated
The settlement would apply to those who currently or previously owned or leased a Subaru Ascent with a model year from 2019 to 2022, a 2019-2022 Subaru Forester, a 2020-2022 Subaru Legacy and a 2020-2022 Subaru Outback. That is a total of about 1.4 million vehicles.
If approved, the settlement would compensate the owners of the vehicles for the repair costs. Depending on the number of “qualifying cracks” the vehicle’s windshield experienced and whether or not the owner can provide photographic proof, they could receive 125% to 200% of the cost to repair the cracks in compensation.
According to the motion brief, to avoid fraud, the definition of a “qualifying crack” wouldn’t be released until the deadline to submit a claim. Three days after the deadline, Subaru would have to extend its limited warranty for new vehicles to cover “qualifying cracks” for eight years or 100,000 miles after the vehicle is first in service. This includes one free windshield replacement.
The settlement would also pay up to $7.25 million in attorneys’ fees and expenses plus $5,000 each to Barr, Milstein, Zaback and Funk.
Any updates on this? Was the settlement approved? Has Subaru released a deadline to submit a claim yet?
Hi Lauren, in case you have not seen this yet, here is the latest update we have covered: https://glassbytes.com/2024/10/subaru-drivers-may-soon-submit-settlement-claims-in-alleged-spontaneous-breakage-suit/
My Forester windshield is littered with rock stars. I have never owned a vehicle that cracked as easily as this windshield.
It says to prove a qualifying windshield crack you have to have photographic proof. What would happen if you don’t have a photo of a cracked windshield that has already been replaced. I bought my 2022 subaru outback wilderness back in July of 2021 straight off the truck and that winter had to replace the windshield, by the next winter (2022) my windshield cracked and I have just delt with it because I don’t have an extra $1100 to get it fixed (that’s with out insurance claim, with insurance was still $1000 deductible). I am worried about not getting reimbursed or compensation because I don’t have a photo of my cracked windshield back in 2022.