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A California couple has filed a class action lawsuit against Toyota, saying 2017 and newer Highlander and Sienna models have a defective transmission.
Dennis and Deborah Murphy say they purchased their 2018 Highlander XL believing it to be safe and reliable. After their purchase, however, they claim they were unhappy to discover that the vehicle possessed a dangerous defect in its transmission.
Just a week after they bought the vehicle, it reportedly started to surge while being driven, putting them at risk for a crash. In their Toyota class action lawsuit, Toyota was aware of the problems with the transmission in Highlander and Sienna vehicles, but concealed the problems from customers. According to the Murphys, Toyota put its own profits ahead of the safety and financial health of drivers.
In an effort to deal with the problem, the Murphys say they took their vehicle to be repaired just one month after they bought it. They explained the problem at a Toyota dealership in Florida outlining the pattern of hesitation and surging they experienced while driving the vehicle.
The Toyota transmission problem class action lawsuit states the dealership ran a diagnostic test showing that the vehicle suffered no abnormalities and was working normally, in contrast to the Murphys’ experience.
A mere four months later, in January 2019, the Murphys were back at the dealership, saying that the problem persisted, according to their complaint. The dealership then supposedly ran another diagnostic test, which also revealed no issues.
On April 3, 2019, Dennis Murphy returned to the dealership for a third time, and again was told there were no problems with the vehicle.
However, during the April visit, a senior technical service advisor allegedly told Murphy the problems he was describing were common to Highlanders and other models.
The plaintiffs state that the service adviser told him both Toyota and dealers were well aware of the problem.
After even more problems, Murphy again returned to the dealership on May 29, 2019, to tell the dealer he was still experiencing the same problem. He says that at that time, he requested that his vehicle be repaired or bought back by the manufacturer.
The dealer did not perform any repair services, according to the Toyota class action lawsuit, but instead scheduled an inspection by a Toyota representative.
Allegedly, the inspector told Murphy he “found it to perform like a known good vehicle” and did “not exhibit any warrantable concern.”
Despite this allegedly clean bill of health given to the vehicle, the Toyota operations manager who inspected the vehicle did explain that “today’s vehicles … are driven by a wire which means they do not have a throttle cable so they may exhibit very slight lag due to ECM processing,” the lawsuit says.
He allegedly noted that the system may not meet a customer’s desired performance, but “a little extra pressure on the gas pedal improves responsiveness and customer satisfaction can usually be obtained.”
Then, on Oct. 11, 2019, the plaintiff took the vehicle to a different Toyota dealer, told them of the persisting problem, and received a different answer. He says he was told that the problems were caused by failure on transaxle assembly, so he replaced the transaxle assembly and associated parts.
The Murphys recount that this repair did not fix the problem, and instead made it worse. They say the original problem and the repair made the vehicle unsafe to drive.
Toyota touted the Direct Shift-8AT transmission at issue in the Murphys’ claims as a new and improved transmission that would allow the accelerator to be operated smoothly and quickly, creating an “‘as desired’ direct driving feel,” according to the Toyota class action lawsuit. However, the Murphys say the transmission does not perform this way, asserting that the reality is inconsistent with Toyota’s advertisements.
According to the Toyota Highlander transmission defect class action lawsuit, Toyota is aware of the problem but has not taken sufficient steps to repair it. Though it hasn’t always made legal news, the Murphys note that many consumers have taken issue with the problem and stress that the company did or should have conducted testing on the functionality of the vehicle that should have revealed the problems with it.
Have you had transmission problems with your Toyota? How did you handle it? Share your experiences in the comments below.
The Murphys are represented by Steven R. Weinmann, Tarek H. Zohdy, Cody R. Padgett and Trisha K. Monesi of Capstone Law APC; Russell D. Paul and Amey J. Park of Berger Montague; Lionel Z. Glancy, Mark L. Godino and Danielle L. Godino of Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP; and Mark S. Greenstone of Greenstone Law PC.
The Toyota Highlander, Sienna Transmission Defect Class Action Lawsuit is Dennis and Deborah Murphy v. Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc., et al., Case No. 2:20-cv-05892, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
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68 thoughts onToyota Class Action Lawsuit Alleges Transmission Defect
I have a 2017 Highlander and have had the transmission lock up issue from day one. I’ve taken it to the dealer several times and told the vehicle runs normally. I have had several updates performed to the transmissions, but nothing really fixes it. My complaint is that the vehicle shifts sloppily and erratic, especially at lower speeds (traffic, city, acceleration, going around turns, going up slight grades). It surges and shifts constantly and unnecessarily.
One of the Toyota techs finally told me that I am not alone and that lots of people have the complaint, but that there is no real fix or anything they can do to give me a noticeable result.
I would like to join the lawsuit as well. My car is a 2017, the fist year they put in this less than refined transmission in the cars. Also the same year the car could brag about its higher than average mpg. I’m sure that is the reason the transmission shift so sloppily, but I would gladly take less mpg for a smoother shifting transmission.
I have a 2017 Highlander and have experienced precisely these problems. You are welcome to contact me for further comment and / or inclusion in the class.
I had to replace my 2017 transmission with under 70k miles on it. I would like to know more about the class action suit
Have you heard anything back? My 2019 Lexus with 22k miles is having transmission totally replaced.
I have a 2019 sienna, same issues. This has been going on for 2 years now with no issues. Had diagnostic tests run, and nothing. The deals hip said everything is fine. My father was the service manager for a Toyota dealership and said this is not normal. Now my van hardly goes, and it will not go in reverse. 80,000 miles. A mom of 5 kids is not suppose to have this issue and be afraid to be stranded somewhere with a new vehicle.
MY DAUGHTERS 2 YEAR OLD VEHICLE WITH 80,000 HWY MILES IS CURRNTLY AT THE DEALER FOR 7 DAYS. THE TRANS WON’T EVEN PULL ITSELF NOW & HAS BECOME UNSAFE, THAT MY 5 GRANDCHILDREN RIDE IN. I’VE OPENED 2 C.E.C. CASES WITH TOYOTA WHO ONLY OFFERED TO PAY FOR PARTS ONLY WHICH LEAVES APPROX $1800.00 IN LABOR FOR ME TO PAY. THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE FOR A KNOWN PROBLEM THAT TOYOTA IS UNWILLING TO ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE FULL REPAIRS. THEY PUT ME ON HOLD AND SEEMS TO BE UNWILLING TO CALL ME BACK TO RESOLVE MY UNSATISFIED ISSUES. I HAVE BEEN A LOYAL TOYOTA CUSTOMER AND PRIOR SERVICE MANAGER WHO SERVICES & OWNS MULTIPLE TOYOTAS AT THE DEALER FOR OVER 25 YEARS AND FIND THIS UNACCEPTABLE. IT SEEMS IT’S TIME I ADDED MY NAME TO THE CLASS ACTION SUITE & TELL EVERYONE ABOUT HOW TOYOTA IS TREATING IT’S (VALUED) CUSTOMERS.
I have a 2011 Corolla with 80,000 miles and had the Check Engine Light come on. I need the transmission replaced for $8000 as quoted by the dealership. Reached out to Toyota for assistance and after a month of calling and speaking to people was finally told, sorry, can’t do anything for you. I am the original owner and have done constant maintenance. The Lyft driver I had coming back from the dealership said she has a 2010 Corolla needing a new transmission. Anyone knowing of any lawsuits regarding the Corolla, please contact me.
This same surviving started in my 2014 Corolla two weeks ago. On Saturday, I took it to my mechanic because he had just done an oil change. No check engine light. He drove it and the surging didn’t happen when he drove it, but ran a diagnostic for error codes anyway. Nothing. He said that it’s well known in the mechanic world that the new transmissions in Toyota are not reliable and have a lot of issues. He recommended for me to take it to the dealership. Last week, while driving to work on Wednesday and Thursday the RPMs were surging again until it jerked/slipped and stopped accelerating in the middle of the road. Same thing the next day, so I made an appointment and took it to a Toyota dealership. At the dealer I was told there’s a recall on the transmission. However, they determined that my issue was “pre-existing” and not related to the recall. (The service manager told me that the first recall didn’t work as it was a quick fix software update, so 6 months later, they issued a second recall. Basically, they won’t say what’s wrong, just that I need a new transmission. Lucky for them, I’m just outside of warranty, so they’re claiming no responsibility. It’s the consumers responsibility. Heaven told me that I hadn’t taken my car to a dealership since 2015 so “you haven’t maintained the car to Toyota specifications”, which was extremely offensive. The dealerships are outrageous for simple maintenance, doesn’t mean I didn’t take care of my car. Obviously Toyota knows there are issues with their transmissions and won’t take responsibility for putting their consumers in harms way. Sad.
Hello, I’m experiencing this problem but with a 2021 Avalon. Purchased the car two weeks ago and on the highway the transmission just stopped working. Literally was just pressing on the gas pedal and revving the engine and had to glide my car off the freeway and into a safe area. Put my car in park and turned it off and turned it back on again, put my car on drive and my car did not even move. Had to get my car towed. Currently waiting for updates on my car but I’m pretty sure it’s a transmission defect and im very dissatisfied on what is happening because I’m a returning Toyota customer. My vehicle is currently at a Toyota dealership. Very dangerous situation to be in while on the road.
I have a 2017 awd highlander xle and have experienced the exact same problems as described in the article. You can reach out to me for further comment.
I just bought a 2021 Platinum and am having issues. Tried the return the vehicle within the first 40 minutes of driving it. Dealership gaslighting me saying it operates within normal parameters. How do I join this class action lawsuit?
I had a Toyota Sienna. I had to replace the transmission at 43,801 miles and 125,000 miles the new transmission failed again. I sold the van “as is” because I couldn’t no longer afford fixing it.
I have not experienced this concern in a Toyota, so I cannot vouch for the transmission. We have seen a similar hesitation/surge in our late model Outback. This is a common problem and no answers. Yes, everything is working as designed in our Subaru. What is happening is that with lower quality fuel, the knock sensor etc. is retarding the timing and causing the problem. When filled with 91 or higher octane, there is no problems. (I am not sure about 89). When someone else fills the vehicle with 87, the problem comes right back.
We have cured many a hesitation/surge/skip with good fuel. Also remember driving habits/styles are everything. When bringing you vehicle in for repair, take the service writer or mechanic with you and show them what is happening. They may not ever get it to happen when they drive.
I had leased sienna van for 15 years please add me