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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
All the above happened to me and I have a Toyota RAV4 2020 when I asked the dealer about the software and I said why wasn’t a notice sent out and he says “ well we don’t send them out unless someone has a problem?” Huh? This doesn’t seem right how do you prevent this and be proactive you don’t you have to wait till there’s a problem which Toyota knew about before they even ruled this out. This infuriates me and I feel for other owners of Toyotas that had the same problems thank you for creating this class, action lawsuit and willing to join and ready. . I am tired being taken advantage of. I just paid $200 for a diagnostic and a software update otherwise it would’ve been covered under , my warranty which ran out 36,000 miles.
I have 50,000 on it just started happening. If I had a software update way back before my warranty was up this would’ve been avoided and spent a couple hundred dollars on other items like battery kit with jumper cables that I could jump it myself. If I’m stranded I rented a truck for an event which I really didn’t need if I had my own car Stuff like that. Total BS sign me up please.
All the above happened to me and I have a Toyota RAV4 2020 when I asked the dealer about the software and I said why wasn’t a notice and he says well we don’t send them out unless someone has a problem? Huh? This doesn’t seem right how do you prevent this and be proactive you don’t you have to wait till there’s a problem which Toyota knew about before they even rule this out. This infuriates me and I feel for other owners of Toyotas that had the same problems thank you for creating this class, action lawsuit and billing to join and ready and tired of being taken advantage of. I just paid $200 for a diagnostic and a software update otherwise it would’ve been covered under , my warranty which ran out 36,000 miles I have 50,000 on it just started happening. If I had a software update way back before my warranty was up this would’ve been avoided and spent a couple hundred dollars on other items like battery kit with jumper cable that I could jump it myself. If I’m stranded I rented a truck for an event which I really didn’t need if I had my own car Stuff like that. Total BS sign me please.
I just replaced the battery for the 3rd time on my 2020 Rav4, XLE gas engine model. I brought it to the Lia Toyota Dealership and they reset the computer firmware in the vehicle at a cost of over $290. dollars. My second battery was replaced at a cost of $200. dollars in May, 2023 and the third battery was installed on Dec. 4th, 2023. Keeping my fingers crossed. There definitely is cause for this lawsuit and Toyota seems to have their head in the sand on this issue.
We are having the same issue on our 2020. Dead batter again this morning. Just bout a new battery 3 months ago. 27 degrees to too cold to be stranded and waiting for help. Luckily I hadn’t picked up my grand baby yet 😡
I own a 2022 Rav4 xle awd anytime we go on vacation and leave the car for 5 days or more it will not start when we return home. We have taken it to
our Toyota of Colorado Springs dealership twice and jumped it ourselves the other times. This has happened 4 -5 times in less than a year of owning. Can these newer cars join the lawsuits? We were told to unplug the battery before leaving on vacation or buy a battery tender to plug to the battery.
I own a 2022 Rav4 xle awd anytime we go on vacation and leave the car for 5 days or more it will not start when we return home. We have taken it to
our Toyota of Colorado Springs dealership twice and jumped it ourselves the other times. This has happened 4 -5 times in less than a year of owning. Can these newer cars join the lawsuits? We were told to unplug the battery before leaving on vacation or buy a battery tender to plug to the battery. If someone can contact me my email is ju35bj@gmail.com.
Same problem here would like to join the suit
I took my Toyota Rav4 Hybrid to be serviced and explained that there seemed to be some electrical “glitches” and it didn’t always start when I pushed the button, even though it was in park and I purchased new batteries for the fob. I was told that the battery was nearly drained (no lights had been left on or doors left open) and I needed to purchase a new one.
I’m having the same issue , with the battery on my 2020 Rav4. I think I’ve had to have it looked at 4-6 times
I have the same issue. My parasitic battery drain is 800 millamps. My fully charged brand new battery would be drained in 4 days if I didn’t drive it.
Have had the same problem with my 2020 Toyota RAV4 4. Would like to get more information on the lawsuit
I would like information on how to join the lawsuit.