Automotive News Canada - December 2023 - 12

12
* DECEMBER 2023
Class action alleging defective BMW
timing-chain system gets greenlight
By ERIC FREEDMAN
LEGAL CORRESPONDENT
AN ONTARIO SUPERIOR
Court of Justice judge has allowed
a proposed class-action suit to
move forward on allegations that
the timing chain system on BMW
N20 four-cylinder engines was
negligently designed or manufactured
and was dangerous.
However, Justice Edward
Morgan sharply narrowed
the scope of the suit
brought on behalf of about
66,600 owners and lessees
of vehicles from the 2011 to
2015 model years.
BMW denies that the
engines were defective and
opposed class-action certification.
In an Oct. 5 decision, Morgan
criticized the reliability of a
report and opinion from the
plaintiffs' engineering expert,
saying, " I accept that there have
been timing chain problems in
some N20 engines. However, the
record contains no basis in fact
for asserting that design or manufacturing
defects exist in all the
vehicles. "
He limited class claims to costs
that owners and lessees incurred
to repair damage caused by a
malfunction and for the cost of
any repairs made " in advance of
any harm, if the work is done to
avert imminent damage. " That
precludes claims for full engine
replacement and for the reduced
value of the vehicles, he said.
BMW offered evidence that it
costs about $4,000 per vehicle to
repair the timing-chain system.
PLAINTIFF LOSES CLASS-ACTION
BID OVER DEFEAT DEVICE
A SASKATCHEWAN JUDGE
has rebuffed a request for
class-action status in an emissions-defeat-device
case filed
against what was then FCA
Canada and FCA U.S.
Plaintiff Dane Tress, who
owns a 2015 Ram equipped with
the 3.0-litre turbo-diesel, claims
he wouldn't have bought the
" eco-friendly " vehicle if
he had known about the
defeat device, which disabled
or interfered with
emissions controls. The
suit contends that Tress
and the owners of similar
vehicles suffered economic
losses, including resale
or trade-in value and higher fuel
consumption.
FCA said it had recalled all
vehicles fitted with defeat devices
and fixed them with software
adjustments that were approved
by regulatory bodies, the decision
said.
But Justice Michael Tochor
of the King's Bench for
Saskatchewan wrote in the Sept.
6 decision that " Tress failed to
produce evidence of compensable
harm, " and that he failed to
produce enough proof to support
class certification in the suit,
which has been pending since
2018.
Tochor rejected the fuel efficiency
claim because FCA had
agreed in a settlement with the
U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency to make software adjustments
to remedy the problem at
no expense to owners.
He also found no evidence that
the presence of the defeat devices
had diminished the value of the
vehicles because of reduced reliability
or quality
TRIBUNAL SIDES WITH DEALERSHIP
ACCUSED OF NEGLIGENCE
THE BRITISH COLUMBIA CIVIL
Resolution Tribunal has rejected a
claim that a dealership negligently
failed to identify and repair a
turbocharger coolant leak and a
leaky oil pan and rear main seal
in a Ford F-150 pickup under an
extended warranty.
Christopher Green bought the
truck new in 2014, and in 2018 he
purchased a Ford Used Premium
Care 60,000-kilometre/36-month
extended service contract, the
decision said.
He took the truck to Coastal
Ford in Burnaby for service under
that warranty in May 2020 after an
inspection at an independent shop
allegedly found leaks. Coastal
Ford found no such problems, the
decision said.
In a Sept. 15 decision, tribunal
member Kristin Gardner sided
with Coastal Ford. She said the
repairs weren't covered by the
plan and held that Green failed
to offer expert evidence that the
store had failed to identify any
active leakage.
Parts and service director
Frank Fekete said testimony from
the store's expert, a " long-term
journeyman technician, " pulled
" a lot of weight " with the tribunal.
" We did our due diligence, " he
told Automotive News Canada.
- ANC
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'Things that click and turn
and make noise make sense'
By JIL McINTOSH
OSHAWA CORRESPONDENT
JASON KILLEN
CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
TO BUILD QUALITY VEHICLES
GENERAL MOTORS OF
Canada closed its assembly plant
in Oshawa, Ont., in 2019, but
restarted it in November of 2021
to build pickups. Jason Killen, a
dimensional engineer, works in
quality control at an early stage
of each and every vehicle's production.
" It's
about continuous
improvement, "
he said. " I'm supervising
metrology equipment
that allows us to
get precise measurements,
and we use
this to scan our vehicles
to ensure we're
sending quality to the
paint shop and general
assembly. "
Killen leads a team
of operators and millwrights,
who respond
to issues as needed.
The assembly processes
have tolerances,
" and it's my job
to keep those within
their nominal range, "
he said. " But if there's
a stack-up of those
deviations, suddendealers
and automakers.
Supervising four district
managers across Quebec, and
reporting to Hyundai's national
field manager,
Sanchez
divides her
time between
the office and
visiting dealerships.
She
also manages
a district of
three dealerships
in Montreal.
Jason Killen's
expertise with
high-tech
equipment helps
him detect minor
quality variances
at GM's assembly
plant in Oshawa.
PHOTO: GM CANADA
ly there's a slight gap [in the fit].
That's why we do a lot of problem-solving. "
Killen,
30, earned a degree in
psychology and intended to go
into medicine, but he ultimately
decided that wasn't for him.
" Things that click and turn and
make noise make sense, " he
said, and he returned to school
for an engineering degree.
His first job was designing
food-equipment components
using computer-aided design
(CAD). When GM Canada began
hiring in 2020 for the Oshawa
plant reopening, he joined as a
maintenance supervisor. With
his CAD background and having
gained experience fixing the
plant's equipment, he took on
his current role in 2021.
" You have to wear many hats.
You're using technical knowledge,
you're a people leader,
you're communicating technical
information and making it
understandable for those who
aren't experts in that area. You
pool all those resources to come
up with a solution. "
He also has to maintain his
expertise.
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online, train and learn, the better we'll be. "
" The machines used to have
probes that touched the vehicle,
but it's transitioning to laser
systems. [The job] involves committing
to lifelong learning. It's
a challenge, but it's essential
and it's rewarding to stay competitive. "
MARIA
SANCHEZ
IN ANY COUNTRY, CUSTOMER
EXPECTATIONS ARE UNIVERSAL
AT HYUNDAI CANADA'S
eastern regional office in
Montreal, Senior District
Customer Experience Manager
Maria Sanchez helps ensure positive
customer interactions for
" I assist dealers with all
Hyundai customer experience
standards and continuous
improvement, "
she said. " I also do
analysis and reports
for my team, and find
solutions for challenges
our dealers
may encounter. "
Sanchez, 45, is a
native of Mexico City
and was " always passionate
about finding
better ways of doing
things. " When she
was still in school in
Mexico studying for
a degree in industrial
engineering, a Nissan
dealership hired her
to improve its productivity
practices.
" I got a lot of experience,
but I was process-oriented
and my
struggle was [dealing] with people, "
she said. To solve that, and
because she was fond of Canada
from a previous trip, she studied
human resources management
at the University of Winnipeg.
Returning to Mexico, she
worked in customer experience
at Renault's corporate office.
In 2014, " my family made the
decision to come to Canada,
and I found my dream job at
Hyundai, " she said of her initial
role as a district customer service
manager.
She
became
the senior
district
customer
experience
manager a
year ago.
It was a
challenge
to adjust to
the French
language
spoken in
Quebec
from the
French she
spoke at
Renault,
" but my
colleagues
were so
helpful.
And I
Maria Sanchez
earned a degree
in industrial
engineering
in Mexico and
then studied
human resources
management in
Winnipeg. She
moved to Canada
in 2014 and was
hired by Hyundai
Canada.
PHOTO: HYUNDAI
CANADA
knew the
job. The
auto industry
and customer expectations
are the same everywhere in the
world. "
Sanchez especially loves the
challenges and learning opportunities.
" I go to a dealership with
my team and play a role to get
them closer to their goals. That's
the most rewarding for me. "
- ANC
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Automotive News Canada - December 2023

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