Toyota class action claims internet-enabled features no longer work following 3G termination

Toyota 3G class action lawsuit overview: 

• Who: Martin Bennett and Brian Welikson filed a class action lawsuit against Toyota Motor North America Inc. 
• Why: Bennett and Welikson claim Toyota sold vehicles containing “obsolete’ telematics equipment that required — since discontinued — 3G wireless networks to work. 
• Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in California federal court. 

Toyota Motor North America decided to equip some of its vehicles with “obsolete” 3G telematics equipment that makes many of their internet-enabled features inoperable, a new class action lawsuit alleges. 

Plaintiffs Martin Bennett and Brian Welikson claim Toyota equipped the vehicles with telematics equipment that relied on 3G wireless networks that have since been discontinued, rendering them obsolete. 

Bennett and Welikson argue the internet-enabled features that no longer work in the Toyota vehicles include safety features such as collision notification and emergency roadside assistance. 

“This poses a significant safety hazard to drivers and occupants of Class Vehicles, and other members of the public, because disconnecting 3G compatibility has now ‘bricked’ important safety features in the Class Vehicles,” the Toyota class action states. 

Bennett and Welikson want to represent a nationwide class and New York and California subclasses of consumers who have purchased or leased a vehicle containing telematics equipment that needs a 3G network to operate. 

Toyota aware telematics equipment needed working 3G services to operate, class action says

Toyota knew prior to selling the affected vehicles that the ability for the telematics equipment to operate properly “hinged on the availability of 3G services,” the Toyota class action alleges. 

Bennett and Welikson claim Toyota forces affected vehicle owners to pay out of pocket in order to upgrade their telematics technology, while arguing the upgrades often ultimately do not work as intended. 

Toyota is accused of unjust enrichment, breach of express warranty and fraudulent omission, and of violating California’s Unfair Competition Law and New York General Business Law, among other things. 

Plaintiffs are demanding a jury trial and requesting declaratory and injunctive relief along with an award of actual, compensatory and consequential damages for themselves and all class members. 

A similar class action lawsuit was filed against Ford Motor Co. earlier this month by a consumer claiming the company manufactured vehicles with 3G telematics equipment that is now obsolete. 

Has the telematics equipment in your vehicle been affected by the discontinuation of 3G networks? Let us know in the comments! 

The plaintiffs are represented by Tina Wolfson, Robert R. Ahdoot and Deborah De Villa of Ahdoot & Wolfson PC. 

The Toyota 3G class action lawsuit is Bennett, et al. v. Toyota Motor North America Inc., et al., Case No. 2:22-cv-08147, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

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