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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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67 thoughts onToyota Class Action Lawsuit Alleges Transmission Defect
My 2017 Toyota Corolla with under 54,000 miles, the transmission is bad and my mechanic said that it is a factory defect. He could’ve told me something else and gotten a big job from me but he did not. I called Toyota and they said they are not responsible for defects out of warranty. They told me to bring it into the dealership to confirm its defective and they said I had to pay $205 to have it test drove and diagnosed and now they want another $400 to take the transmission pan off to make sure that it didn’t have a leak or damage from a dent on the pan. My mechanic said the pan gasket and transmission filter would not compromise. The dent is typical because it is so low to the ground. The dealership wants another $400 for me to remove the pan to confirm that. I don’t have the extra money and I have to get a loan and I’m sure they probably won’t even do anything. I’m going to see if there’s any class action lawsuits with the Toyota Corolla because my Vin number does not apply to the current recall with the CVT transmissions.
I have a 2020 Highlander. I received news my 2020 highlander needs a new transmission. I’m original owner. Bought brand new. I bought new to avoid huge expensive issues. How do I go about this? They denied any Highlanders with transmission issues. I took my car to my regular outside Toyota mechanic . They first thought transaxle assembly. He got the part and put it in. Test drove car and it wasn’t that. He said I think it’s inside transmission. I then took it to two other transmission specialists to get diagnostic tests before going to Toyota. Took to Toyota yesterday and it’s internal transmission failure. He wouldn’t even tell me what failed. I was told by my outside mechanical bearING inside transmission. Ever since I’ve had the car it had a lag. I though it was normal. What got me into Toyota this last month is q sound. I knew that wasn’t normal. Car drives still. It’s just the sound. What are my options. Email is brandylokken@gmail.com
My 2017 Highlander XLE Transmission just went out, called Toyota and apparently it’s nearly impossible from them to replace the transmission because they are so hard to come by. Which is amazing because we still have a loan out on my Highlander. So we are screwed.
Please contact me about this class action lawsuit. My 2017 Highlander needs a $6500 fix to transmission. Unbelievable. Toyota strikes again, as we were members of the class action lawsuit for the Toyota Frame Defect. Never again. They have lost me as a customer for good.
I just received news that my 2019 Highlander needs a transmission as well. This is almost unheard of for a Toyota. I have just over 100k miles. I would like be added to this lawsuit as well
Please add my name to the lawsuit. Thank you!
I bought my Toyota CHR off a lease. The car was brand new in 2018. I am the sole owner. I brought the car to the dealership on Friday to diagnose a whirring sound coming from the front of the car. They declared it was the transmission and would cost $6,000 to fi!!. It is not covered under warranty. There are also no recalls. The car only has 55,000 miles on it. There is no way the transmission should be dying at this stage. I owe nothing on it and now am forced to pay over $8,000 for a new car in addition to trading in the Toyota I already put money into (new tires and brakes, etc..) so I can drive something safe. The Toyota should last much longer than 55,000 miles. Now I am forced to spend money I don’t have on a safe car prematurely. Toyota needs to face up to the factory defect and compensate for it’s mistakes. This is a lemon car and a waste of my money all because Toyota made a defective transmission.
I took my ’17 Highlander XLE back to the dealer about 8 months ago for a problem with the transmission downshifting when you came to a stop. They could not duplicate this problem. Now the transmission started slipping and over revving the motor. It even went into Limp Mode when we were returning home after it first started acting up. The dealer has it now and says the transmission is bad and needs replacing. They informed me that a new Toyota replacement unit is 5 – 6 weeks away. The vehicle was purchased from this dealer as a “Certified Used” with full powertrain warranty, but 5 -6 weeks is ridiculously long. The vehicle only has 67,000 miles on it. My 2013 Tacoma has 180,000 miles on it and NO PROBLEMS. Toyota needs to get their act together.
Please add me my name is Nichole Morgan. I have a 2018 Toyota c-hr other toyota’s with the same year make and modle have had recalls but they say my vin # is not part of it. How is it when my car has the same everything is it not part of that recall but it’s doing the same thing the recalled transmissions are.
I have a 2016 Toyota Highlander only 67 thousand miles at Toyota dealer waiting on new transmission. I’m have questioned how this is possible. Answer rare but sometimes just happens.