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Subaru of America is hit with a new class action involving 2013-2021 Subaru Forester, Outback, Crosstrek, and other models equipped with the brand's EyeSight driver assist technology. The new Subaru lawsuit was recently filed in the district court of New Jersey.
Attorneys Berger Montague PC and Capstone Law APC represent Laura and James Sampson, Anthony Ventura and Joanne Fulgieri Ventura, Elizabeth Wheatley, and Shirley Reinhard. The plaintiffs claim Subaru's EyeSight includes automatic emergency braking (AEB), and lane-keep assist technology is dangerous.
Torque News has reported the advantages of the Subaru EyeSight safety technology and its many benefits. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has given 2021 Subaru Forester, Outback, Crosstrek, and other models a 'Superior' rating in front crash prevention when equipped with EyeSight driver assist technology.
The new lawsuit against Subaru claims the automaker failed to warn customers about the automatic emergency braking system, which allegedly has defects with software calibration from multiple control modules. The plaintiffs say the brakes activate when there are no objects in front or behind the vehicle.
Other complaints say the Japanese automaker's automatic emergency braking fails to engage when objects are in front of the 2013-2021 Subaru models equipped with EyeSight. The lawsuit alleges this is caused by errors between the transmission, brakes, and cameras located at the top of the windshield.
The new Subaru class-action lawsuit says the EyeSight's lane keep assist feature is also defective. It alleges errors in the system "correct the vehicle's steering when the driver is trying to change lanes, is driving on the road with construction barriers, or if the road has multiple lines due to construction."
The lawsuit documents many owners who claim the lane keep assist system will shut down entirely until the vehicle is restarted, preventing the cars from providing owners were promised in the automaker's advertising. The lawsuit also alleges the lane-keep system jerks the steering wheel and "even steers the vehicle into other vehicles."
The lawsuit alleges that the lane-keep assist problems are due to poor software calibration from the power steering control module and other modules.
The 2021 Subaru Forester, 2021 Subaru Outback, 2021 Subaru Crosstrek, and other models now come standard with EyeSight driver assist technology. The plaintiffs allege the problems make the safety technology useless and dangerous and that Subaru increases its profits by inflating the prices of its most popular models. Torque News will bring updates on the new Subaru lawsuit as they become available.
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Denis Flierl has invested over 30 years in the automotive industry in a consulting role working with every major car brand. He is an accredited member of the Rocky Mountain Automotive Press. Check out Subaru Report where he covers all of the Japanese automaker's models. More stories can be found on the Torque News Subaru page. Follow Denis on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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Comments
While lane assist and
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While lane assist and steering seem fine on my 2020 Outback, I have terrible problems with braking. For instance, when a car ahead of me is exiting the freeway, the collision braking will severely kick in even when there is no chance of running into the exiting vehicle in front of me. I very much worry about someone rear ending me during these situations as it decreases the speed quickly from 75 down to 55 mph. This also happens at low speeds when a car in front of me is turning into a parking lot. It seems this system is way too sensitive.
Eyesight has saved my ass a
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Eyesight has saved my ass a few times, by detecting deer on dark country roads here in Michigan. The cameras were able to detect the deer BEFORE I was and start automatic breaking. 34k on my 2019 Forester Sport, aside from the annoying power lift gate recall, zero other issues.
Agreed. I traded my 2009
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Agreed. I traded my 2009 Outback for a '21 and I am having no issues with these features, and enjoying them. Also, the manual(s) state clearly that you as the driver are ultimately responsible for the behavior of the vehicles, and your input will overide these systems.
I think some people have
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I think some people have unrealistic expectations or even think Eyesight is like Tesla's Autopilot. They are never happy.
Some of the mentioned issues
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In reply to I think some people have by Russell Casey (not verified)
Some of the mentioned issues are similar to our 2021 Tesla but camera mounted on both sides definitely helps. It does get confused with multiple lines on the road, gets confused when car in front is exiting the freeway however, each software upgrade during the last 4 months has significantly improved many of these issues.
I guess Subaru's customers have higher expectations? They have always been bitchy in my opinion.
Let me add to my above
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In reply to I think some people have by Russell Casey (not verified)
Let me add to my above comments. Eyesight has worked well for me on my 207 OB Limited. However, I do not expect it to replace me as a driver in any situation. However, I would have expected by 2022 it would have improved significantly. It has not.
That is why it's called
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That is why it's called driver Assist. Some folks should never switch off their judgment abilities and stop to look for easy money from lawsuits. I have Subaru Legacy 2017 with eyesight and noticed that if you don't have turn signal to switch lanes - it will try to correct you, but it is easy to overpower it (so use the turn signal!), in construction lanes you need to pay attention because new markings over old markings can be confusing enough in any situation. Eyesight is not an artificial intelligence, at least for now.
I enjoy this Subaru Eyesight technology and don't have problems with it if to use wisely.
Wisely, wisely, now that's
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In reply to That is why it's called by Luba B (not verified)
Wisely, wisely, now that's something that less and less people are capable of exhibiting while doing things, then call a lawyer whilst confusing themselves.
Yeah when you have a
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In reply to That is why it's called by Luba B (not verified)
Yeah when you have a construction lane shift... and there is a white line that crosses in front of your car.... Or when the lines in the construction zone are not Straight but are squiggly. i have seen the car do some funny things... it trys to follow the lines but the lines are not accurate. But why not just keep a tight grip on wheel when you see that... or turn on the feature when you enter a construction zone and re-activate later?
Its not perfect... but its really really nice.
Last year I took my 2006
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Last year I took my 2006 Outback in for recall work. They gave me a 2020 Outback with Eyesight as a loaner. After the car tried to prevent me from changing lanes when another car pulled out in front of me, I decided I do not want any car that has this technology on it.
The lane keep assist is very
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In reply to Last year I took my 2006 by Timothy E Covington (not verified)
The lane keep assist is very weak. It's almost nothing when you jerk the steering wheel. If you arent familiar with the safety system Im sure it could catch someone off guard, but it really is easy to over power this feature especially in an emergency.
No safety feature is perfect.
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No safety feature is perfect. There are still people who refuse to use a seat belt because it might trap them if the car is on fire or goes into water. This is certainly possible (and has probably happened a few times) but it's nuts to sue a car company because of this fact. My only issue with my 2020 Outback is with a mirror installed on a sharp turn near my house. The mirror allows a driver to see an oncoming car -- so of course my Outback sometimes reacts as if I am about to have a head-on collision.
Have 32k on Outback Touring
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Have 32k on Outback Touring with eyesight and absolutely no issues. I like the features more than I expected particularly the adaptive cruise control.
I have a 2014 outback with
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I have a 2014 outback with eyesight. First generation so it does not have lane keeping assist, it has lane departure earning instead (it beeps at you). The cameras are black and white, so they don't detect brake lights. There are are 3 places near home where the automatic braking often activates because of the road. One is a dip and the eyesight detects the far side of the dip as an obstruction. The second is a curve to the left that has dense shrubbery on the right side of the road. The last is a parking lot where the end of the parking spots is overhung by the landscaping. Your hood fits under the branches. Yes it detects vehicles that won't be a problem if they keep going, but if they stop, there will be a need to already be braking. In all cases a little gas overrides the auto braking. On the flip side just a couple of weeks ago I was approaching s green light at the speed limit of 45 MPH when an idiot turned left in front of me at the last second. Between my mashing the brake pedal and the brake assist, we missed by a couple of inches. That one incident saved the extra cost of the system.
It's a level 1 driver assist, nit a level 5 autonomous driving system. You must keep your brain engaged
Would like to know more
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Would like to know more information about Forrester, we are thinking of buying that or a camry and want to compare them. Also colors available. Thank you.
Umm, Google is that way dear
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In reply to Would like to know more by sharon lindimore (not verified)
Umm, Google is that way dear ======>
Blue, Red and Black. I's a
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In reply to Would like to know more by sharon lindimore (not verified)
Blue, Red and Black. I's a great car, the Bentley
I completely agree...I don't
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I completely agree...I don't use the lane assist, the heavy tugging to ping-pong me between lanes is dangerous. I've had my Ascent for 2 months and experienced the car diving on the brakes as we pass a vehicle turning off ramp. I had high hopes for the technology, as sold and never expected it to replace any basic driving techniques.
Its lane keep ASSIST, it
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In reply to I completely agree...I don't by Paul (not verified)
Its lane keep ASSIST, it doesnt ping pong if you if used as intended. If you let go of the wheel... yeah it ping pongs because it isn't "lane centering" a different feature from lane KEEP.
There's definitely some merit
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There's definitely some merit behind this case. I'm surprised by how many people commenting are assuming user-error. I drive a 2019 Ascent with eye-sight. Overall the eye-sight has been great and very reliable. I do NOT depend on it by any means and really could care less if the vehicle even had it. However there was a time when the system failed miserably. I was driving down a highway road when the system thought it detected an obstacle in front of me and engaged the emergency braking system. There was no obstacle thing in front of me and we were traveling 50mph. Also note, the vehicle is kept immaculately clean so the windshield was clear. The failure forced the vehicle to a sudden dead stop in the middle of the highway. I was almost rear-ended by the traffic behind me. Fortunately the guy behind me swerved around me and we were not hit. The vehicle could not be overridden and I had to shut it down completely and restart it to clear the malfunction. When I took the vehicle to Subaru service, the technicians could not find a problem with the system.
Moral of the story here is that there are definitely times when technology can fail and the user is not to blame. I do believe the eye-sight system is overall very good and that it adds more safety to vehicles. However, it may not be without flaws and the claims of drivers that experienced issues should not be overlooked.
I'll refer you to the Boeing 737 Max issues as another example of technology causing catastrophic issues.
I have owned many Subies for
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In reply to There's definitely some merit by TheVoiceofReason (not verified)
I have owned many Subies for years and still love them but I find the lane centering in the new models to be very dangerous.
It constantly wants to throw me into the car or semi beside me and if you don't catch it out will.
I had it into Subaru and they say that's the way it's designed, well then Im sorry, after 10 Subarus this WILL be my last. Hopefully I get out of it soon, this one was supposed to last me a long time.
LKA tried to head into a
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LKA tried to head into a bicycle rider.
It's great for highways, and murdering cyclists who veer into your lane.
HINT: you can just turn it
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HINT: you can just turn it off if you don't like it.
You're welcome.
I had a 2018 Legacy and was
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I had a 2018 Legacy and was on an offramp with a stalled vehicle on the left partially obstructing my lane, I had to swerve to get around it and the car fought me, like the power steering suddenly turned manual. It took all my might to get around that car. Lane assist didn't want me to swerve out of my lane. I have a 21 Outback and the new feature that beeps when it detects that one's eyes aren't on the road is not a feature I'd recommend for curvy mountain roads, I get beeped three times every time I go to the market. My eyes are on the road!
I have a 2020 Legacy, over a
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I have a 2020 Legacy, over a year old and it constantly brakes when anyone in front of you makes a turn, even when they are well out of your lane.
I've had many issues with Subaru's software, from Starlink suddenly deciding to freeze and not work about 2-3 times a month, to the lane assist trying to take me into exit lanes when it didn't read the lane markings correctly.
It's buggy software that you can't rely on to work correctly at all times.
Thats fair, Ive owned a 2017
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In reply to I have a 2020 Legacy, over a by fte (not verified)
Thats fair, Ive owned a 2017 forester touring and 2019 forester touring with it and dont have those issues of it steering into exit lanes, although I suspect it makes sense to for the computer to do that if you are actively being assisted when the lane opens up... its just following the line.
Most of the issues people mention come down to it being a "dumb" system that doesnt use "AI" combined with sloppy driving or not using features as intended.
Technically when it brakes because the car in front of you is turning, if that car did stop mid turn you would hit them without jerking the wheel... at least that is the case every time it has warned me or cut throttle.
The lawsuit here seems to want to peg the safety system as something it isnt and wasnt desgined to do and calling it a programming error.
Use a turn signal and it wont
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Use a turn signal and it wont be a problem changing lanes.. like hurr durr this lawsuit is stupid. This is the kind of crap that gets us dumb warning labels and stupid "features" like lawn mowers that turn off if you try to go backwards while the blades are engaged.
I have an ascent and have
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I have an ascent and have issues when I have turned off the RBS and it still slams on the brakes when I’m trying to back up. This has happened multiple times to me and I have only owned the car a few months.
What happens if the court
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What happens if the court finds that Eyesight is inherently dangerous? Recall every car with Eyesight and do What? Repair each car at what could be a very high cost to Subaru? Vouchers if you buy a new Subaru? :) I doubt if any of this will happen. Subaru will win the lawsuit. Perhaps the lawsuit will prompt Subaru to brig out Eyesight X here in the US.
Mine works perfectly. In
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Mine works perfectly. In fact I drive MUCH safer with ACC on. I'm not gradually pulling up close to, and passing vehicles. That's too much work! I put ACC on at the speed limit and let the car do the work. Both hands on the wheel of course. :)
Is every safety enhancement perfect? Of course not. But, if every vehicle on the road had this feature activated, we wouldn't have nearly as many highway accidents.