Legal Case Research Against Car Dealership

Help researching so I have a strong case against car dealership in small claims court, do more research into the codes and what they represent, if other people have had this problem and anything else that would help be helpful in making our case as strong as possible. Here is the summary of our case: I brought my vehicle in for a specific problem: the regenerative brake error message appears and the car will not start after extended driving (generally two hours or more). I explained this clearly to the service staff and confirmed that they understood.

Later, we were told the error code pointed to the power brake. My husband responded — in writing — that this was not the issue, and that it was the regenerative braking system that needed to be addressed. We explicitly said I did not want the power brake repaired. Your staff told me the systems were connected, and that repairing the power brake would resolve the regenerative brake problem and stop the battery from dying. On that basis, I authorized the repair.

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I was charged over $800 and told the issue was fixed. However, approximately 289 miles later, the exact same problem recurred. I have dashboard photos documenting this. On that occasion, I was left stranded alone in 102° heat with my infant child 3 hours from home.

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When I contacted the dealership, I did not receive a response for six days, until I followed up myself. Eventually, I was told that because the car had been driven an additional 800 miles since the repair, new codes were showing that could cause the same problem. This explanation is not reasonable, since I have evidence that the regenerative brake failure occurred again only 200 miles after the repair (as evidenced by the mileage in photo above and we have record of the mileage of when the car was initially brought in)

I didn’t bring the car back for service right after the error reappeared because I am a full-time working mother with a baby, I live more than an hour from the dealership, and the failure only occurs after driving two or more continuous hours — not on short local trips. My husband also purchased an on-the-go battery starter so that if the issue happened again, I could manage temporarily. Once my schedule allowed, I brought the car back in .

At that point, your staff suggested replacing the battery—a repair they admitted might be the problem, but they were not sure—at an additional cost of about $500. When I declined this speculative repair and wanted a refund for the previous work as it did not fix the problem, I was told I would need to pick up my car immediately, and that the dealership would not guarantee that it would start.

Finally, when I attempted to calmly explain my perspective in person, the service manager, Mark Conrad cut me off and said: “Save your breath. I don’t want to hear it.” This is not only extremely disrespectful, it's just plain rude.