SANTA ANA, Calif. (BRAIN) — A judge approved the class action settlement between a group of plaintiffs and Shimano North America in the Hollowtech II crankset recall because of separation and breakage.
Under the preliminary approval order reached last July 29 in California Central District Court and granted by Judge James V. Selna on Tuesday, consumers will get an extra two years of warranty coverage and must overhaul its voluntary recall inspection process, mandate enhanced training and equipment for retailers handling the recall, and guarantee a free replacement crankset for any units showing signs of bonding separation or delamination, among other remedies.
Shimano will provide retailers with an "approved enhanced manual" developed in consultation with "an expert who reviewed the defendants documents and analyzed the root causes of bonding separation and breakage." The brand also has to make a "retail assistance agent" available to support retailers who have questions about how to perform the inspections.
In addition, Shimano must:
- Notify every recall retailer of the enhanced inspection process and ensure each retailer has reviewed and understands the training materials, use a magnifying device provided during all inspections, and contact the retail assistance agent with any questions regarding inspection protocols. Court documents indicate Shimano will provide a magnifier similar to this $33 Carson device. Previous Shimano dealer recall materials recommended that retailers inspect with an 11x magnifier but did not provide the device.
- Extend its express warranty's coverage of bonding separation and delamination by two years from the date of the settlement's preliminary approval.
- Reimburse settlement class members who previously replaced a defective crankset for out-of-pocket costs associated with those replacements.
- Pay each of the 14 plaintiffs, as Class Representatives, a $500 Service Award.
BRAIN reached out to Shimano North America for comment but has not heard back. Trek Bicycle, Specialized Bicycles, and Giant Bicycles also are defendants in the suit and have not responded to requests from BRAIN for comment.
"The settlement is the result of extensive, good-faith, arm's length negotiations that took place between the parties by counsel who are experienced in similar litigation under the guidance of an experienced mediator, the Honorable Margaret M. Morrow (Ret.), and which followed meaningful investigation, motion practice, and discovery that was sufficient to enable counsel and the court to make informed decisions," Selna wrote in the settlement approval.
Less than two weeks after Shimano announced the recall in September 2023, three Shimano crank owners sued, naming Shimano, Trek, Specialized, and Giant. Eleven more plaintiffs were later added as the case became a consolidated class action suit. None of the plaintiffs was physically injured from a crank failure but said they were harmed and endangered because they said Shimano was aware of the crank failures for 10 years before the recall and the recall action was inconvenient and inadequate.
Shimano and the Consumer Product Safety Commission jointly announced in September 2023 that 760,000 cranks in the U.S. needed to be examined for signs of delamination with consumers being told to visit an authorized retailer for inspection. Shimano submitted the proposed settlement agreement to the CPSC last May; the commission approved the settlement.
The affected cranks — Dura-Ace and Ultegra models manufactured prior to July 2019 — can separate and break; the company received reports of 4,519 incidents of cranksets separating, and six reported injuries, including bone fractures, joint displacement and lacerations.
