The B.C. Supreme Court has approved a class-action lawsuit against Mazda Canada for allegedly defective door locks. (David Zalubowski/Associated Press)

The B.C. Supreme Court has certified a class-action lawsuit against Mazda Canada and its network of B.C. auto dealers for an alleged faulty door lock.

The lawsuit was launched by Alisha Koubi of Port Coquitlam on behalf of all owners or lessees of 19,909 Mazda 3 vehicles sold in B.C. between 2004 and 2007.

The lawsuit claims a defective lock mechanism allows the generation of Mazda 3 model vehicles in question to be broken into easily with just a soft shoulder check to the driver's side door.

Koubi's lawyer Jim Hanson said a number of questions will be examined at the trial.

"Was the car defective? Did Mazda make representations about the car that weren't true? Did they do so knowingly? And when did they learn that the representations weren't true?"

In the lawsuit, Koubi says she would not have leased a Mazda 3 had she known about the problem.

Hanson said the judgment is unusual in that it may be possible to obtain an award of damages that is calculated not according to the losses suffered, but according to the profit made by Mazda when it sold the vehicles.

Mazda Canada spokesman Gregory Young argues the issue is not a defect.

However, the company did introduce a steel plate as reinforcement for the locks for those owners who complained.

The problem has been fixed in newer generations of the Mazda 3 car.

"Right now, we're reviewing the judgment and once that is done, we'll make a decision on how we'll proceed further," Young said.

Similar lawsuits have also been launched in Quebec and Ontario.

No date has been decided on when the lawsuit will go to trial.