This is totally ridiculous...let's just sue every manufacturer that has made a product which has been stolen. Completely stupid.

All I think will come of this lawsuit is the media coverage that they are probably just trying to initiate to begin with...they must know that they can't win.

I hope Nissan sues all the consumers that bought this car because they are idiots.

Obviously the police need to do their job...

 

Hmm, I guess that's what happens when you make the sale of HID kits illegal in the states ...

 

A fairly good point. And it might also help explain why they cost a ridiculous $1800 when it probably costs $100 to make them.

 

that is custom moderator title for all of us who are moderators. i have been thinking what to put there too

 

Stupid lawsuit....must be an election year thing....LOL!!!

Is it easy to rip off these HIDs from a Maxima?

I know the OEM setup on the GS...the ballasts are mounted outside the engine bay (behind the front bumper corners)....so just ripping off the bulbs and headlights maybe simple, but it'll be hard to get to the ballasts.

 

Seems like a way for some slime to get ink by supporting a ridiculous lawsuit. This is right up there with the hot coffee and suing a fast food chain for health problems due to eating a few greasy hamburgers and fries for 20 years.

 

Here's the thing:

I've been told that the Maxima headlamps are ridiculously easy to steal.
If I remember correctly, you can simply jimmy it out with a screwdriver.

If that is the case, then I would say Nissan does share the blame. If they'd been more responsible in their design, this would not be a rampant problem, wouldn't it?

However, I do think it was a bit specious that one of the women interviewed said something along the lines of "if I'd known how easy the lamps were to steal, I wouldn't have bought the car". Last I checked, headlamps aren't the main thing one considers when car shopping....

 

Yeah, Ethan actually makes me work here He's a slave driver I tell u. He inherited me from the previous owner. I am thinking of changing my title anyway...And the pic.

 

I enjoy reading about these types of lawsuits, it just proves our court system needs an overhaul (but don't get me started). It's just an easy way for someone to get an easy settlement from deep pockets.

Hmmm..... I'm about to sue Toyota for putting breakable glass on my drivers side window on my truck. Dam thieves broke the glass and stole the stuff I left on the seats. The manufacturer knows that glass is breakable, yet continues to put breakable glass on vehicles and does nothing to warn me that the thieves can actually look into the car and see valuables... I should also sue Kenwood for making equalizers that are difficult to steal and as a result of their design, the dash on my truck was destroyed. And, while cleaning the broken glass, my shop vac broke, I got a little cut that caused mental anguish, and was late for a meeting which negatively affected my performance review and pay raise and stock option plan when calculated...................



But the state has a point. I believe the state's issue is that Nissan allowed the problem to manifest itself by not notifying car owners in a timely manner. It is part design issue and part owner responsibility. When was the last time the owner did the responsible thing and research insurance industry claims?

 

Count me solidly on the side of tort reform, too, ( I don't support frivolus lawsuits) but this just seems to be one more example of Nissan / Infiniti's cost-cutting under Renault ownership. Nissan does a great job in some areas, such as chassis and steering designs, but cost-cutting is noticeable in several others, such as in interior quality, trim, paint, hardware, etc.....
It could be that when the new Maxima was designed, some bean-counter (and trust me...the auto industry is full of them) decided that a couple of bucks could be saved on each car by using just a little lower quality mounting hardware, fewer attachment bolts, thinner plastic and metal parts, etc..... for the headlight mounts. So then you got a little more economical car to produce but you end up with a design that a monkey could pry through.
I'm not necessarily knocking Nissan any more than a lot of other companies. Every auto firm has its good and bad points.....including Lexus. But that is one reason I like Lexus so much....perhaps more than any other company, they strive to put quality into everything......and usually do. Honda is also first-rate in this area.

 

What a load of BS! Sueing a company because it makes a product that is popular with thieves? Maybe banks should sue the Treasury because money is popular to steal. This sounds like a law suit to just to have a law suit. Maybe I should sue GM for making the antenna of my car easily broken by drunks.

 

Odd turn of events.
New Jersey Says Nissan Is Liable for Failing to Warn Consumers of Theft Risk

By Kevin G. DeMarrais, The Record, Hackensack, N.J. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News

Mar. 9--NEWARK, N.J. - Is a manufacturer legally obligated to tell its customers that its product has become a hot target for thieves?

Yes, New Jersey authorities say.

In a suit filed Monday in Somerset County, the state accused Nissan North America Inc. of failing to warn customers that the super-bright xenon headlights on its Maximas were a favorite among thieves. In addition, it did not tell customers that a kit was available to make the lights more secure, even as it was alerting its dealers about the kit.

Because of the design, experienced thieves could remove both lights from a vehicle in as little as 1 minute, said Attorney General Peter Harvey, who filed the suit with Reni Erdos, director of the Division of Consumer Affairs.

They said the Gardena, Calif.-based automaker's inaction, when it knew of the problem, was an "unconscionable commercial practice," and a violation of the Consumer Fraud Act.

Companies have a responsibility under state law to act fairly and honestly, to disclose material facts, Erdos said.

"We allege the company sold cars with these fancy lights, but kept consumers in the dark about how attractive the headlamps were to thieves," Erdos said. "Nissan's actions, or lack thereof, rendered consumers vulnerable to the criminals who targeted their vehicles." Nissan declined to comment on the lawsuit, but said in a statement that no manufacturer has done more to reduce xenon headlight theft.

"While nothing can completely eliminate the thefts of parts from vehicles, we believe the proactive steps taken by Nissan will help deter criminals from stealing headlights from our customers' Maximas," the statement said.

Nissan said theft is a problem "in major metropolitan areas of New York and New Jersey." It said it began an anti-theft initiative last fall by sending letters to consumers in the Northeast, telling them they could bring their cars to a dealer to have a bracket installed, free of charge, to make the headlights more difficult to steal.

That was too little, too late, the state said.

"Nissan knew [of the problem] since at least September 2002," Harvey said. However, it wasn't until more than a year later that Nissan finally began notifying 2002 and 2003 Maxima owners of the risk of theft. About 46,000 letters were sent.

"Meanwhile, numerous victims were hit with huge repair bills," Harvey said. In addition, motorists faced getting stranded at night, unable to drive their cars. "This was a public safety issue," he said.

Victims had to pay about $1,800 for reinstallation of the headlamps, although the final cost was often $4,000 or more because of other damage thieves did in removing the moon-blue lights. The lights would sell on the street for about $200, Harvey said.

The state is seeking restitution to consumers, plus civil penalties that could top more than $15 million. Police departments in 19 New Jersey municipalities, including four in Bergen County, reported 756 thefts or attempted thefts from 2002 or 2003 Maximas. Under the Consumer Fraud Act, violators face penalties of up to $10,000 for the first occurrence and up to $20,000 for each subsequent one.

Newark led with 277 cases, followed by Bloomfield with 135, Jersey City with 108, and Hillside and Butler with 50 each. There were also 17 in Elmwood Park, 12 each in Edgewater and Englewood Cliffs, and two in Lodi.

 

getting headlights ripped off sucks

http://maxima.cardomain.com/memberpage/224380/5


insurance adjuster came and quoted damage at $4496.03

 

Years ago GM tried making the antenna vandal-proof by imbedding the antenna wire in the windshield, and people complained beause the radio sounded like garbage. I had a 1980 Chevy Citation with this system, and I wasn't impressed with it either.

 

i tend to agree with y'all that the suit is stupid....

however, a quick reminder news media is NOT scholastic reporting. maybe there's parts of the story not told in order to make the story more sensational and a bigger "hook" to get readers. I do wonder about the possibility if NJ attorneys have some evidence of internal memos/paperwork from Nissan suggesting that they saw the wave of thefts as an opportunity to make money and/or price gouging from Nissan corporate for the cost of the headlamps. This could be a reason that Nissan is being targeted and Acura is not.

It's just a thought on the possibilities........or maybe it's just my wishful thinking that public officials aren't that ridiculous to waste their time on this kind of lawsuit