LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Owners of Honda Acura vehicles featuring the HandsFreeLink Bluetooth phone-pairing system are suing the automaker for a battery-draining defect that has plagued owners since at least 2005 despite Honda knowing about the issue, according to Hagens Berman.

The class-action lawsuit states that Honda’s HandsFreeLink feature will get stuck on even if not in use and even after the car is turned off. Once stuck, the unit creates a constant “parasitic” drain on the electric system, leading to drained and dead batteries, recurring battery replacement and premature failure of other essential electric components such as alternators.

The lawsuit cites complaints to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration detailing the defect’s safety hazard to drivers, including accounts of vehicles unexpectedly stalling during high speeds, and sudden, complete electrical failure.

If you own or lease a Honda Acura with the HandsFreeLink system, you may be entitled to compensation. Find out more about the lawsuit.

“Honda has chosen to turn its back on consumers and leave them with two losing options – either continue to use the HandsFreeLink system and risk being stranded with a dead battery or losing power while driving, or replace it and eat the $1000 expense of doing so with no guarantee that the replacement will function,” said Steve Berman, managing partner of Hagens Berman. “Honda would rather ignore the problem that has plagued Acura owners since 2005 than do the right thing and issue a remedy.”

Acura owners are not only out the cost of potential replacement, the suit states. According to the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, owners find themselves with cars that are less valuable than comparable cars with properly functioning hands-free phone-pairing systems.

“Acura owners are faced with the choice of expensive replacement of the HandsFreeLink™ unit (in excess of $1000.00), with no promise that the replacement also will not get stuck ‘on,’ or disabling the HandsFreeLink™ system by disconnecting the HandsFreeLink™ unit from the car,” the complaint states. “Despite knowing about the issue with its HandsFreeLink™ since at least 2005, Honda has merely issued internal Service Bulletins to its dealers over the years, notifying only the dealers about the problem, but offering no meaningful solution, warranty coverage or recall.”

The complaint states that in its rush to become the first automaker to offer hands-free calling with its HandsFreeLink system starting with 2004 model year Acura vehicles, Honda failed to ensure the unit would reliably switch off, and also failed to adequately notify owners of the issue or remedy the problem.

“Hand-free phone calls in the car may be commonplace technology now, but when Honda first introduced this concept, it was novel and a luxury – something used to make its Acura model more appealing to consumers,” Berman said. “But for more than a decade, Honda has actively ignored this defect that has the potential to leave Acura owners shelling out hundreds of dollars for replacements or new batteries.”

The lawsuit seeks reimbursement for vehicle owners related to the defect and an injunctive order to end Honda’s concealment of the defect and denial of warranty coverage for repairs related to the HandsFreeLink defect.

Learn more about the class-action lawsuit against Honda on behalf of Acura owners.

Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP is a consumer-rights class-action law firm with offices in 10 cities. The firm has been named to the National Law Journal’s Plaintiffs’ Hot List eight times. More about the law firm and its successes can be found at www.hbsslaw.com. Follow the firm for updates and news at @ClassActionLaw.