Consumers File Toyota Bluetooth Class Action Lawsuit over Alleged Echo Defect

Two consumers have filed a Toyota Bluetooth class action lawsuit alleging the company knew of a defect in the system for years.

Lead plaintiffs Terry Freeman and Andrew Trout both own Toyota Highlanders with a Bluetooth hands-free phone system. Freeman owns a 2018 model, and Trout owns a 2016 Highlander. Both allege the Bluetooth phone systems cause an echo in the phone of the person on the other end of the line making the Bluetooth system practically unusable.

Toyota began selling vehicles equipped with the Bluetooth system in its 2008 models. The Toyota Bluetooth complaint alleges the company was aware of the echo problem since at least 2007, but failed to inform the plaintiffs or fellow class members of the defect. The company also has not repaired the alleged defect.

Toyota Bluetooth Class Action Lawsuit Allegations

One of the biggest red flags that Toyota knew about the defect was the way the reference to the Bluetooth system was worded in the 2008 Owner’s Manual of the 2008 Highlander. A part regarding the use of the Bluetooth system reds, “If the received call volume is overly loud, an echo may be heard.”

Another section says, “When talking on the phone, keep the volume of the receiving voice down. Otherwise, voice echo will increase.”

The Toyota Bluetooth class action lawsuit alleges that because Toyota says the echo will “increase” rather than “occur” is an admission that the company knew the echo defect existed before the vehicle was even placed on the market.

Plaintiff Freeman said he had to reduce the volume so low that he could not hear the person talking while he was driving. He says he took his vehicle back to the dealership, which told him he had an outdated software that would fix the issue. That update did not resolve the echo, says Freeman.

Plaintiff Trout said he took his Toyota Highlander back to the dealership to fix the echo, but was told the dealership had never heard of such a problem and didn’t know how to fix it. He alleges he then contacted the Toyota Sales customer support department, which told him to turn down the volume on his cell phone and on the head-unit in his vehicle. When the suggested resolution had no effect, he called again and told the customer service representative the echo persisted, but was told the previous suggestion was Toyota’s “final position.”

According to an online forum regarding Toyota vehicles, the echo manifests itself in a way the Toyota driver cannot hear. The person on the other end of the Bluetooth connection hears their own voice repeated back to them with about a one-second delay. This echoing hinders communication.

On another online forum, one consumer who bought a new 2018 Toyota Tacoma said he usually has his volume down, anyway, but he also said, he “did not spend $40k to fudge this..!”

Another Toyota owner said the echo is so bad, he cannot use Bluetooth in the vehicle at all.

Toyota is not the only carmaker to face complaints about in-car Bluetooth systems. Honda and Acura have both been hit with class actions over alleged Bluetooth defects.

The Toyota Bluetooth Class Action Lawsuit is Terry Freeman and Andrew Trout v. Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc., Case No. 19SL-CC03022, in the Circuit Court for the County of St. Louis, Missouri, Twenty-First Judicial Circuit.

Join a Free Toyota Bluetooth Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you own a Toyota vehicle that includes a Bluetooth hands-free phone system that produces an echo when using the phone system, you may qualify to join this Toyota Bluetooth class action lawsuit investigation.

Learn More

This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.