Toyota Settles Steering Defect Class Action Lawsuit

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Last week, a settlement agreement was reached in the class action lawsuit accusing Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc. of ignoring steering defects in its Corolla models that called them to drift.

Lead plaintiffs Irene Corson and Susan M. Yacks alleged in their class action lawsuit that a defect in the power steering systems of 2009 and 2010 Corollas caused the cars to lose control and drift. Late last week, the parties filed documents with the court asking for preliminary approval a class action settlement agreement.

Under the terms of the proposed Toyota steering defect settlement, Class Members will either receive a refund for completed repairs or a discount on repairs to address the defect. Class Members, including former and current Corolla owners and lessees around the nation who paid out-of-pocket to have the returned electronic control unit installed may be reimbursed up to $695, according to the memorandum, while those who have not yet had the repair made will receive the fix at no cost to them.

“The parties have zealously litigated the veracity of plaintiffs’ allegations through written discovery, depositions, consultation with experts, and vehicle inspections,” according to the Toyota class action settlement documents. “Though the parties dispute the merits of plaintiffs’ claims, the plaintiffs and class counsel have achieved valuable relief for the class.”

The Toyota class action lawsuit was initiated after an investigation was opened in February of 2010 by the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration. According to court documents, the consumer complaints over the electric power steering system in the Corolla and Matrix concerned operational issues, not failure of steering elements. In May of 2011, the agency closed the investigation.

Toyota issued a service bulletin about the steering system shortly thereafter; however, the class action lawsuit alleged Toyota did not provide adequate notice to consumers and the services were arbitrarily applied. The Toyota steering defect class action lawsuit survived several motions to dismiss, but the plaintiffs had to amend their complaint and the court trimmed several claims from their action.

In April of 2013, the plaintiffs had to clarify the companies responsible. In July of that same year, the plaintiffs were able to successfully argue that Toyota had failed to make a repair procedure known to dealerships or customers. Also, in that same month, a California judge upheld the class action’s California state claims but dismissed federal claims regarding warranties on consumer products.

More information about how to file a claim for the Toyota steering defect class action settlement was not immediately available. Keep checking TopClassActions.com or sign up for our free newsletter for the latest updates. You can also mark this article as a “Favorite” using your free Top Class Actions account to receive notifications when this article is updated.

Corson and Yacks are represented by Thomas D. Mauriello of Mauriello Law Firm APC; John F. Edgar of Edgar Law Firm LLC; and Rosemary F Luzon, Natalie Finkelman Bennett and James C. Shah of Shepherd Finkelman Miller & Shah LLP.

The Toyota Steering Defect Class Action Lawsuit is Irene Corson, et al. v. Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc., et al., Case No. 2:12-cv-08499, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

UPDATE: Instructions on how to file a claim for the Toyota Corolla power steering class action settlement are now available! Click here or visit www.CorollaECUSettlement.com for details.