LOS ANGELES — Owners and lessees of the 2019 and 2020 Acura RDX have filed a class-action lawsuit against American Honda Motor Co. alleging the automaker knowingly sold vehicles equipped with defective infotainment systems which it “refuses” to fix, according to Hagens Berman, the law firm representing the aggrieved consumers.

The lawsuit was filed last week in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Attorneys claim the defect renders many of the infotainment system features — including the backup camera and other safety-related systems — inoperable and frequently freezes or crashes entirely, creating a distraction. Owners also report regular failure of the car’s Bluetooth connection to Android and Apple phones.

Attorneys say that Honda knew about the defect through various sources including pre-release design, manufacturing, and testing data, warranty claims, consumer complaints filed with Honda, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, or on public online forums, testing done in response to those complaints and aggregate data, and complaints from dealers.

The lawsuit seeks monetary reimbursement for those who purchased or leased an affected Acura RDX and requests the court bar Honda from continuing to sell affected vehicles.

“Honda and its dealers fail to take responsibility for a clearly broken technology component in the affected Acura RDX vehicles,” said Steve Berman, managing partner of Hagens Berman. “We intend to hold Honda fully accountable for ignoring this serious defect and for failing to deliver on its promises to consumers.”