COBB COUNTY, Ga. — A Cobb County woman claims an undone recall repair caused the wreck that destroyed her car.
She's suing CarMax for not telling her the car had been recalled for months prior to her buying it.
Consumer investigator Jim Strickland first broke news Monday that federal regulators are getting involved, and that CarMax will soon divulge a car's recall status.
The changes come too late for Joanna Chabla of Acworth.
“It almost felt like I was fighting against it but it would not turn," said Chabla as she demonstrated how she struggled to avoid a 2011 crash after losing power steering control.
She wrecked her 2009 Chevrolet Cobalt less than four months after buying it at CarMax in Kennesaw.
"It had only been a week and a half since the accident. When I open the mailbox and see that postcard my heart just dropped,” she said.
She recalled receiving a notice of a recall announced seven months before buying the car. The repair was to fix a sudden loss of power steering. Chabla said CarMax never told her about a recall nor warned her to look for one herself.
Her lawsuit against CarMax has been dragging on for nearly two years.
"In my mind, you tell me a 125-point inspection, that tells me you've taken a fine-tooth comb through that vehicle, which means you've looks at recalls," said Chabla's attorney, Lisa Johnson.
Her lawsuit seeks at least $100,000 in punitive damages.
"There have been deceptive practices that have put people in harm's way," she said.
Chabla said before getting the recall notice, she thought she must have done something wrong. Chabla even told that to police and got a ticket.
A Carmax spokesperson said Chabla didn't mention steering issues at the time of the wreck and that there's no evidence the recall was to blame.
WSBTV
