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Certain Toyota Prius vehicles have manufacturing defects and/or design defects that cause their windshields to unexpectedly crack under ordinary driving conditions, a Toyota class action lawsuit alleges.
Plaintiffs William Squires, Jesse Badke, Ahmed Khalil, Dominick Viscardi and Michelle Nidever filed the Prius windshield defect class action lawsuit last week in Texas federal court on behalf of a proposed Class of current and former owners and lessees of Fourth Generation Model Year 2016-2017 Toyota Prius vehicles.
The plaintiffs also seek to represent a Class of consumers who were denied warranty coverage for the repair or replacement of their Prius vehicles’ windshield within the warranty period.
The named defendants include Toyota Motor Corp., Toyota Motor North America Inc., and Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc.
“The Windshield Defect can manifest at any time, while parked or operating at highway speeds, and requires windshield replacement in order to ensure Class members can safely operate Class Vehicles,” the Toyota Prius class action lawsuit says.
The plaintiffs claim the alleged Prius windshield defect poses a substantial safety risk because windshields “are designed to contribute heavily to the overall structural integrity of automobiles,” and their structural integrity is “essential to maintaining the structure of the vehicle’s cabin during collision.”
According to the Toyota Prius class action lawsuit, the Prius windshield defect increases the risk of catastrophic injury if the vehicle is involved in a collision, especially if the windshield was already cracked or chipped.
The plaintiffs argue that the Prius windshield defect often starts as a small chip, but eventually grows and spreads to the point that it impairs visibility and affects the structural integrity of the windshield, “exposing vehicle occupants and fellow drivers to a substantial and unreasonable risk of physical harm.”
Additionally, the Prius windshield defect potentially impairs important safety features, such as the vehicles’ Safety Sense package, which includes sensory technology with a pre-collision system, automatic high beams, lane-changing alerts, and other features that require the vehicles’ front cameras to function properly.
“When the Windshield Defect manifests, the resulting chips and cracks may affect the camera’s visibility, line of sight, and perceived orientation, impairing Safety Sense features and increasing the likelihood of an accident,” the Toyota Prius class action lawsuit alleges.
The plaintiffs point to numerous complaints lodged with the NHTSA about the Toyota Prius windshield defect to show that Toyota was aware of the defect but failed to warn consumers about it.
Further, they claim that Toyota tests its vehicles’ durability and other vehicle qualities and should have learned about the Prius windshield defect.
The Toyota Prius class action lawsuit asserts claims for breach of warranty, breach of implied warranty, breach of written warranty under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, and violations of California, Washington and Rhode Island laws.
The plaintiffs are represented by William B. Chaney, Andrew K. York and Jim Moseley of Gray Reed & McGraw LLP; Daniel O. Herrera, John Scheflow and Bryan L. Clobes of Cafferty Clobes Meriwether & Sprengel LLP; and by Joseph G. Sauder, Matthew D. Schelkopf and Joseph B. Kenney of McCune Wright Arevalo LLP.
The Toyota Prius Windshield Defect Class Action Lawsuit is William Squires, et al. v. Toyota Motor Corp., et al., Case No. 4:18-cv-00138, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Sherman Division.
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20 thoughts onToyota Class Action Lawsuit Alleges Prius Windshield Defect
I have 2016 Toyota Prius. The windshield got crack developed with normal freeway ride. No hitting of rock or anything. Toyota dealer quoted me around $1800 for windshield plus re calibration of sensors. This is very bad, never experienced with any of my old cars
I have a Toyota Prius 2016 eco and the same story.i remember a day before it was windy.anf next day saw big o crack on windshield.inever experience anything like this before.not even with old junk card I had before.it’s fishi.i don’t have that kind of money to fix it right now.it’s not fair.thanks.
I had similar. I was driving on freeway, and crack appeared on windshield half the size of the windshield.
I have a 2017 Prius and just had the windshield replaced.
I have a 2016 Prius. I am about to get my third windeshield replaced. As with your other claims there was no accident that caused my windshield chips they just appeared. My last windshield was replaced in Florida so it is a US windshield. I would like to be part of this class action suit. what do I need to do next??
In November of 2016 I purchased a brand new Toyota Prius Two Eco. It wasn’t but just 6 to 8 months later that I walked outside to get into my car and saw a huge crack in the windshield on the passenger side. I immediately thought to myself I did not recall ever having a stone or anything large enough hitting the windshield to cause such damage. As I am sure anyone can attest to the fact that anytime something hits your windshield you are immediately aware of it and have that omg moment where you frantically look to see how bad the strike was and if it will worsen; none of this happened. I went to Toyota to see if covered under the warrentee and was informed that no it was not and, to say the least I was very upset. I just stumbled on the fact that the law firm of Gray Reed & McGraw LLP is handling a “Class Action Lawsuit” against Toyota and was wondering what progress has been made. It appears that there are, I believe, 17 reports of this happening but as we all know, most people will never report it because they simply don’t know how, if they should, are simply to passive, or don’t even want to bother to do so. With that said, I suspect the number is far higher.
I have a 2014 Toyota Yaris, I have about 50,000 miles and have had to replace the windshield 3 times.
I have a 2017 Prius with a cracked front windshield. It’s hard to even pin point the chip because it’s so small, but the crack has grew and is currently 2ft long. Everything nowadays is not built to last to get us to buy more. Shameful.
I own a 2017 Prius. The whole windshield it pitted and had a texture on it from all the rocks that chipped the windshield. Two of the chips have developed into cracks. I have never seen a car with a windshield like this. It looks like a kid shot BB’s all over my windshield. I don’t drive abnormally, just commuting to work on the freeway. They need to put a protective film over these windshields. This is ridiculous.
I have a 2017 Prius that developed a crack in the windshield several weeks ago. I have been told that there are not yet any aftermarket replacements, so the cost of repair would be about $1000.