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Toyota battery class action overview:
- Who: A 2020 Toyota RAV4 customer is suing Toyota.
- Why: The customer says the vehicles have a defect that causes the battery to drain while the car is off.
- Where: The Toyota battery class action was filed in a Georgia federal court.
Toyota knowingly made and sold 2020 Toyota RAV4s with a defect that causes the battery to drain while the cars are turned off, a new class action lawsuit alleges.
Plaintiff Nick McClure filed the class action lawsuit against Toyota Motor North America Inc. and Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada Inc. and Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc. Sept. 27 in a Georgia federal court, alleging violations of state and federal consumer laws.
He is looking to represent all current and former owners or lessors of 2020 Toyota RAV4s.
According to the lawsuit, the vehicles suffer from a defect that causes their battery power to drain even while they are turned off.
“The drain of electricity from the battery quickly disables the battery, making it impossible to turn the Vehicle on without exogenous power,” the lawsuit alleges.
The defect then causes other components of the car’s electrical system and safety features to malfunction, posing a safety hazard for drivers and passengers who are “stranded when their vehicle’s battery fails prematurely, its engine stalls suddenly in the midst of traffic, or when the vehicle veers dangerously out of its driving lane because its steering has malfunctioned,” the lawsuit states.
Toyota misrepresented quality of RAV4, lawsuit alleges
According to McClure, Toyota’s marketing aims to convince consumers that the 2020 RAV4 is of the highest quality, made with the utmost care, and are safe and dependable.
“But Toyota has misrepresented and actively concealed the existence, causes, and consequences of the Parasitic Drain Defect, which results in the failure of the Vehicles’ essential purpose to transport drivers and passengers reliably and safely,” he states.
While the battery life is advertised as being three to five years, the battery is depleted in months, “or even days,” of a consumer taking possession of the vehicle, McClure states.
He says Toyota knew of the issues prior to Jan. 2019, but released it anyway without any warning to customers, and then went on to try to conceal that there was an issue, refusing repairs and refunds.
As a result, McClure is suing for breach of warranty and unfair, deceptive, and fraudulent business practices.
He’s seeking an order forcing Toyota to cover the alleged issue under warranty, damages, fees, costs and a jury trial.
Meanwhile, Toyota has recalled more than 4,000 vehicles—including 2022 gasoline-powered Rav4, Rav4 Hybrid, and Rav4 Prime plug-in hybrid vehicles, and 2023 Subaru Solterra and Toyota bZ4X vehicles—due to airbag and wheel detachment issues.
In January, the automaker reached a deal with a group of drivers that alleges certain Toyota 2019, 2020 and 2021 RAV4 Hybrid vehicles are advertised as having 14.5-gallon fuel tanks when owners can only add 10 gallons to the tank.
Have you owned or leased a 2020 Toyota RAV4? Let us know your experience in the comments!
The plaintiff is represented by Stacey A. Carroll of Carroll Law Firm, LLC.
The Toyota RAV4 class action lawsuit is Nick McClure v. Toyota Motor Corporation et al., Case No. 1:22-cv-03898-SEG in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.
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41 thoughts onToyota class action claims defect causes draining battery
My Toyota RAV4 completely burned due to the battery exploding. Total loss! It would cut off just driving down the road. It was so dangerous and I was so scared that my husband had to start driving me. I still don’t have a car. I’m 60 yrs old and can not get to my doctors appointments because of having no vehicle.
My wife and I bought a new 2020 Rav4 and had to replace the first battery within 1-1.5 years. We’re already now having to replace it again, two years later. This suit is the exact issue we have. As an example, we drove it for 4 hours on Saturday and went to turn it on Sunday morning and suddenly the battery was dead. Since it died and we jumped it a month ago, it intermittently forgets where the key fobs are, and flashes warnings about the power steering . The first time we took it in, Toyota replaced the battery for free because it was under warranty, but said nothing else. Of course, now that the warranty is up, they’re charging me $700 out of pocket to “upgrade the software and firmware” so this doesn’t happen anymore. That’s absolutely unacceptable. I cannot wait for this to work its way through the courts!
My wife and I have been driving Toyotas almost exclusively since we were both 17. Time to find a new manufacturer.
Rav4 2020
Leased Rav4 2020 got an engine maintenance required prompt (not the check engine icon) was told it probably just needs to be reset then after 3 tries and a 169.00 engine diagnostic fee they concluded it was an issue with the coolant valve and said this would by 700.. this is ridiculous as this care barely has 27k on it. Why is it starting to come up with such an issue. I found forums stating this is a common issue with RAV4s as well as the above issue.. how can one be added to this? I think it’s awful that they prey on customers… they need to be held responsible.
2020 rav4 hybrid has had battery drain problems since purchased new.
I am having the same problems on my 2020 Rav4. My first brand new car and it keeps dying on me.
Any idea how to be apart of this lawsuit? I have had these same issues with my 2020 Rav 4 baught brand new. The worst part of all this is that they made me pay for the software update because my car was out of the general warranty even though I have extended warranty. They should have sent recall notifications about this issue. Now its costing
Having the same problem with used Toyota Rav 4 2018 AWD XLE bought in 2021. Dealer has never found a problem and propose it’s not driven often enough. I literally have to jumpstart it daily this winter! Frustrated and plan to get rid of it ASAP.
RAV4 Hybrid Limited 2020, bought in Nov 2019, replaced the 12v battery twice in the first 2 years under warranty. In Dec 2023 after the warranty was over, I had to replace the battery again but cost me almost $500.
This is my first Toyota and my first new car. NOTHING but problems. The battery died in 2020, in 2021 and was replaced on March 21st 2022. It just died again. I’ve had to purchase a $130.00 jump box in case I wasn’t at home and the battery died. Today I saw my fully charged jump box struggling to jump the battery. The message on the dashboard kept saying ‘ car not ready to be started’. After 5 mins in 9 degree weather I went inside and call roadside assistance and now I wait for over two hours for a jump (my 6th commercial jump) on a 2 year old car. YOU CANNOT TRUST TOYOTA and that is a shame and a problem. Guess I shoyuld have purchased that Honda CRV after all.
My battery does this
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I have a 2012 RAV4 V6 going on 11years old and have had 5 different batteries in my car.