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Toyota roof rails class action lawsuit overview:
- Who: Todd and Judith Fishkind filed a class action lawsuit against Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A Inc.
- Why: The Fishkind’s claim Toyota manufactured and sold model year 2019-2021 Toyota RAV4 vehicles that were equipped with defective roof rails.
- Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in California federal court.
- What are my options: CarShield provides vehicle service protection to brands like Toyota.
Toyota manufactured and sold model year 2019-2021 Toyota RAV4 vehicles equipped with defective roof rails that can ultimately render them inoperable, a new class action lawsuit alleges.
Plaintiffs Todd and Judith Fishkind claim the alleged roof rail defect allows water to leak into the vehicle, including its dashboard area, causing electrical components to “malfunction without warning.”
“Numerous owners of Class Vehicles have reported to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that this water leak has caused an electrical malfunction in their vehicle, rendering it inoperable,” the Toyota class action states.
The Fishkind’s argue Toyota knew about the alleged defect as early as 2019, but chose to wait until September 2021 to remedy the issue and has since chosen to hide the design change from the public.
“Unfortunately, and despite its purported commitment to customer satisfaction and safety, Toyota concealed this design change,” the Toyota class action states.
Toyota accused of unjust enrichment, fraudulent concealment, law violations
The Fishkind’s want to represent a nationwide class and North Carolina subclass of all persons who have purchased and/or leased a model year 2019-2021 Toyota RAV4 vehicle.
Toyota is accused of unjust enrichment, fraudulent concealment, and breach of implied warranty of merchantability, and of violating the North Carolina Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act and the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.
Plaintiff is demanding a jury trial and requesting class certification along with an award of actual, compensatory, general, special, incidental, statutory, punitive, and consequential damages for themselves and all class members.
In December, a federal judge in New York granted final approval to a class action settlement agreed to by Toyota to resolve claims the automaker manufactured and sold vehicles with a fuel pump defect it allegedly failed to disclose or cover by warranty.
Have you purchased and/or leased a model year 2019-2021 Toyota RAV4 vehicle? Let us know in the comments!
The plaintiffs are represented by Rebecca A. Peterson of Lockridge Grindal Nauen P.L.L.P, Simon Bahne Paris and Patrick Howard of Saltz, Mongeluzzi, & Bendesky, P.C., Daniel E. Gustafson and Karla M. Gluek of Gustafson Gluek PLLC, E. Powell Miller and Dennis A. Lienhardt, Jr. of The Miller Law Firm, P.C., and Christopher D. Moon and Kevin O. Moon of Moon Law APC.
The Toyota roof rails class action lawsuit is Fishkind, et al. v. Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc., et al., Case No. 2:23-cv-02279, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
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22 thoughts onToyota class action alleges some RAV4 vehicles have defective roof rails
I have a 2019 Rav4, I had noticed my dash lights would go dim at times then get bright again? Then after a 4 day hard rain I noticed a wet spot on the pillar of my front passenger side. I thought it may be the moonroof leaking but no it wasn’t. I have now found out it is the roof rails, and that it what may be affecting some wiring and possibly my airbags! So it goes to the shop tues to have new clips and seals etc in the rails. Sad part is my car is a salvage, it had damage to rear only but looks like a new car and has 20,000 miles on it but won’t be covered under this warranty so hard to say what this will cost me if wire harness has to be replaced and Lord knows what else once the work begins.
I just bought a 2019 rav 4 in Jan. of this year. A few days later i had water leaking from roof . I took it to dealership and they inspected and said it was from the roof rails. They ordered parts to fix it ,but everytime i call to see if parts are in they tell me they have no ETA when they will be in. It has been 7 weeks, and evry time it rains i worry about electrical issues.
I have a 2015 Toyota Rav 4. My entire floor board was soaking wet from roof rails, now my headlights don’t work, except on bright. I realize it states 2019-2022. But it was happening before that. I also have a fuel pump or gas leak problem. Smell of gas when vehicle is running. I do not have the money to get this fixed on my vehicle. It was bought brand new off the lot.
Have a 2019 RAV 4 and noticed water damage on the head liner. The dealer untimately did repair the roof racks and I had one issue of the battery that I found loose so it was tightened. I noticed the RAV 2019 was not in the class action for the battery though.
I own a 2020 Nav 4 that I purchased from the dealership a year ago. It had a mold smell and when I Brough it to the dealer they found that there was a water leak coming from the roof clips. The wire harness was damaged and had to be replaced along with most of the interior . My vehicle is currently at the dealership getting repaired for the last three and a half weeks. I wanted to get out of this vehicle and into a new one but they could not agree on a deal. My son uses this car with hand controls an although they gave me a loner this did not help our situation because he could not drive the loner. Also will this damage be reported to Carfax? if so it will lower the value of the car when I go to sell it.
Yes I own a 2021 RAV4 I have constant problems with my electrical that affects my headlights. Every time I take it in there they tell me if it’s not doing it for them they cannot reproduce it but it’s doing it because it won’t work on highbeam, but they will not do anything about it.
Same here. Mine has got to where headl lights aren’t working at all only in bright mode and sometimes that willl just shut off while I’m driving. But my car isnt under warranty anymore as it’s 2015. So it’s only going to get worse and now I have a fuel pump or fuel leak. As it smells of gas when driving. I can’t afford to get any of this repaired and I’ve been the only owner & bought brand new off lot. But didn’t start having problems until 3 yrs ago and fuel problem has been just in last month.
I have a 2019 Rav4 and didn’t even want the roof rack, but they threw it in…. last week the seat got searing hot for no reason. The heat wasn’t even turned on. I was out of state and had to go to dealer in Maryland. They were wonderful but charged me $50 to remove the fuse. My dealership said the roof rack leaked and shorted out the seat. It so far is $219 for the diagnostic. Now I am reading that the airbags can be affected and so much more. I have a loaner car and have not heard from the dealership in two days. What do I do?!?!?! How can I participate in this lawsuit?
Yes, I have a 2019 Toyota RAV4 Limited. I don’t know of any leaks but it good to hear about it
I am having electrical problems. Battery drain. Dealership has not fixed the problem. They have done a quick fix and sent me on my way and I have experienced the problem five times.