Thinkware Systems - Dashcams Class Action Settlement

False Advertising · Claims Open

Current Status

Claims are open. The Superior Court of California, County of Placer granted preliminary approval, and the court-authorized notice program is live, so anyone who bought one of the five covered Thinkware dash cams can file now. The claim deadline is December 14, 2026; the online form at the official settlement website accepts submissions through 11:59:59 p.m. Pacific that day, and a printed form may be mailed to the claims administrator instead. The separate deadline to opt out or object is November 30, 2026.

Nothing has been paid yet, and nothing can be. The Final Fairness Hearing is set for January 12, 2027, and payments only follow final approval and the settlement's Effective Date. Thinkware denies the allegations and any wrongdoing, and the court has not decided in favor of either side — the notice says so in as many words.

What Changed Recently?

The court-approved long-form notice was issued in September 2026, which is the event that opened claims. Before that there was nothing for a class member to do: the complaint was filed in January 2023, the parties mediated in June 2024 before a retired judge at a private mediation service, and they reached a settlement in principle in August 2024. Two years of paperwork separate that handshake from the notice now in front of you, which is ordinary for a consumer class settlement and is the reason the class period ends in 2024 while the deadline to claim is in late 2026.

The substance of the case is narrow and easy to state. The lawsuit alleges that Thinkware marketed five dash cam models as having a “Super Night Vision” function but did not disclose that the function was available only in parking mode — that is, while the car was parked and the camera was running on its surveillance setting, not while someone was actually driving at night. Plaintiffs brought the claim under California's False Advertising Law, Unfair Competition Law and Consumers Legal Remedies Act. Thinkware denies the allegations and denies any wrongdoing; it agreed to settle, the notice says, to avoid the uncertainty and expense of further litigation.

Who Qualifies?

You are a member of the settlement class if you purchased one of five specific Thinkware dash cam models in the United States between January 25, 2019 and August 31, 2024. There is no requirement that you still own the camera, no requirement that you registered it, and no requirement that you ever noticed the night vision behavior or complained about it.

The only carve-out is on the company side: current and former employees, officers, directors, agents and legal representatives of Thinkware and its affiliated entities are excluded. Everyone else who bought a covered model in the window is in the class unless they opt out by November 30, 2026.

The five covered Thinkware dash cams

The class definition turns on the model number, not on what the box or the listing was called, so the first thing to do is match the unit on your windshield against the list below. The model number is printed on the camera body and on the original packaging, and it appears on most order confirmations.

Two of the five — the DC-M2-FG and the DC-M2-FG-IR — were sold mainly through dealers, fleet outfitters and car audio installers rather than at retail, so a reader who had one professionally installed may not recognize the model name at all. It is worth checking an installation invoice.

1080p front camera with GPS and an optional parking mode, sold on its own or as a front-and-rear kit

X700 Dual Dash Cam, front and rear · X700 front camera only

1080p front-and-rear two-channel camera with Wi-Fi, GPS and the parking mode the case is about

1080p entry-level camera with Wi-Fi and a smart parking mode, usually bundled with a microSD card

Two-channel windshield unit pairing a forward camera with an interior-facing camera, aimed at fleets and rideshare vehicles

Sold through dealers and installers — no Amazon listing