Mazda Defeats Class Lawsuit Over Faulty Ignition Mode Displays

Mazda Motor Corp. convinced a federal judge to toss a lawsuit alleging some of its vehicles fail to inform drivers when the car is in accessory mode instead of engine-on mode.

The US District Court for the Central District of California dismissed the suit without prejudice Aug. 1.

Plaintiff Joshua Meltzer alleged Mazda vehicles between model years 2017 and 2025 fail to tell drivers what mode the car is in. Meltzer said that drivers who don’t press the brake sufficiently hard while pressing the start button can unknowingly put the car into accessory mode, which lets the vehicle’s battery turn ...