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Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. was hit with a class action lawsuit alleging that its 2012 Camry vehicles have a defective air conditioning system that causes mold to grow.
Plaintiff Alan Forsley of Califronia filed his Toyota class action lawsuit in a California state court on March 30. Forsley says he purchased a 2012 Toyota Camry in May 2012 from a Los Angeles area Toyota dealership.
Forsley alleges that the 2012 Toyota Camry’s defective air conditioning system emits “noxious and foul odors from mold growth in the HVAC system” because of a “uniform and widespread defect.”
“Exposure to such smells and mold is extremely dangerous and can lead to sickness and other health related issues,” the California man explained in his Toyota Camry defective air conditioning class action lawsuit.
Forsley cites the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO) and other research institutions that detail the health and safety risk associated with mold exposure.
“Molds can cause symptoms such as nasal stuffiness, eye irritation, wheezing, or skin irritation,” the CDC has stated, according to the class action lawsuit.
According to WHO, exposure to mold has been “clinically associated with respiratory symptoms, allergies, asthma, and immunological reactions.”
The mold problem in the 2012 Camry allegedly “grows on a component called the evaporator, located inside the vehicle’s dashboard. As the cold refrigerant passes into the evaporator, it absorbs heat from the air in the passenger compartment and also collects moisture because of condensation on the evaporator’s surface,” the Toyota class action lawsuit says.
“The moisture, along with pollen, dead insects in the air, and bits of leaves that enter the HVAC system from the outside vents, leads to an environment favorable to mold growth,” it adds.
However, Forsley says that any attempt to fix the allegedly defective HVAC system “merely replaces the defective HVAC components with the same defective components, which never repairs the HVAC defect as warranted.
And it may come to “impermanent repairs which do not address the issue,” such as repeatedly replacing air filters or performing “repeated foam flushes.”
According to Forsley, Toyota knew or should have known about this problem with its air conditioning system, and that it “has acknowledged that the HVAC system used in the Class Vehicles and its attendant problems are the same as the odor issues occurring in other Toyota vehicles” dating back to at least 2005.
In 2005, it was allegedly stated in a Toyota technician training manual that “A/C system odors are a common complaint among users, especially after start up.”
The manual explains that the odors could come from “‘[m]icrobes [i.e., mold] growing on the evaporator surface’ that are ‘small living bacteria carried into the evaporator case [that] grow in the warm, moist environment.'”
“Additionally, it states that there is ‘no permanent mechanical repair’ for this issue,” the Toyota class action lawsuit states.
In February 2014, after putting almost 19,000 miles on the vehicle, Forsley brought his 2012 Camry to the dealership where he purchased the car in Marina del Rey, “complaining that the vehicle’s HVAC system was giving off an odor when the heat or air conditioning were turned on.”
No repair was performed when he brought his Camry in, the service adviser only gave him a pamphlet to read, explaining that there is “‘no permanent mechanical repair'” for these types of odors,” according to his Toyota Camry class action lawsuit.
However, the dealership did repair the air conditioner radiator case, which was part of a recall for “the drain hose for the air conditioner condenser which could become clogged, causing water to accumulate at the bottom of the air conditioning condenser unit housing,” which could potentially cause “air bags to become disabled or inadvertently deploy,” among other problems.
But the repair did nothing to fix the moldy odor coming from the allegedly defective air conditioning unit, the class action lawsuit explains.
Forsley cites complaints by other Toyota Camry owners filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), who had similar problems with the air conditioning systems in their Toyota Camry vehicles.
Forsley wants to represent a class of those who have either owned or leased 2012 Toyota Camry vehicles.
The Toyota class action lawsuit alleges violations of California’s Consumer Legal Remedies Act, violations of the state’s Unfair Competition Law, breach of implied warranty, breach of express warranty and unjust enrichment.
The plaintiffs are represented by Jordan L. Lurie, Robert Friedl, Tarek H. Zohdy and Cody R. Padgett of Capstone Law APC.
Counsel information for Toyota is not yet available.
The Toyota Camry Class Action Lawsuit is Forsley et al v. Toyota Motors Sales USA Inc. et al, Case No. BC577240, in the Superior Court of the State of California for the County of Los Angeles.
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149 thoughts onToyota Hit With Class Action Over Moldy Smell in Camry AC System
We leased a 2013 RAV4 and same exact problem. Never had this issue with any other vehicle. It made both me and my wife sick. Toyota said it was an ‘external issue and thus not their responsibility but it is pretty clear to me as a paying customer that this is a problem with the AC design. Neither the dealer or the company has been helpful. We leased from the Atlantic Toyota on the Lynnway in Lynn MA. They were great selling us the lease, but have been terrible at addressing this problem.
This issue about stinking vent is also in the 2013 camry Hybrid. After 2 years of light use the vent stinks when the AC is not running. I only have 10K miles on it.
I own a 2012 Camry SE. My passengers have told me of this odor. I also have condensation on floor mats and a wet floor board. I believe I am nose blind to the smell as the passengers identify the odor as pungent,
I did the exact same thing. I traded in my 2012 Camry because of the smell and bought a brand new 2014. The smell has returned in the new car. I have a call in to the dealership to try and get this fixed. I am mad as hell that this is the second time I’ve had to deal with the bad odor from a Camry. I’m done purchasing toyotas. I just wish I knew where we can collectivley file a law suit since Toyota refuses to fix the problem but has no trouble taking my monthly payment.
Im in Canada and bought a used Toyota Camry 2010 and have been dealing with this smell issue from the vents all summer. Nobody can help me. Ive changed the air filter and it made no difference. Ive been spraying Lysol into the intake and vents and it makes no difference. Im now going to try spraying evaporator cleansing foam up through the drain tube. Im allergic and always feel sick and have nasal congestion after driving.
I bought a new 2013 Toyota Sienna van. At about 22K miles the AC system began to develop a fouling smell and it got worse. I changed the cabin filter with a charcoal filter but that did not fix the problem. At 25K mile service, the service advisor told me that the mildew problem is not covered by the warranty. They charged me $130 to disinfect the AC system. For sure that will fix the problem but it may take a few days for the smell to go away totally. He also told me not to use the AC all the time, do not use recirculating, make sure to turn off the AC and open the window 5 minutes before arriving to the destination, etc. The smell never went away. After waiting for three weeks, I finally brought the van back to the dealer. They said they cannot do anything more about it. I demanded my money back and I got my money back as credit for future spending at that dealer. I have the paperwork to prove what I just went through. Now I have to live with the problem. We have to unite to get Toyota to admit and to fix this problem.
My question is how do we get in the class action lawsuit? I am over the mold smell and my allergies are horrible because of this. Toyota needs to do something about this issue. Do we contact the attorney in California?
Paul Nguyen, first of all I cannot believe Toyota dealers are not aware of the problem with the foul odor coming out of the AC vent. They try to give me the runaround too! They told me they never heard of this being an issue with the Camry and insisted I have it serviced to fix the problem. I did not want to argue with them and I let them try to fix it. They cleaned out the vent system and even changed the air filters. The first couple of days I had it back from the shop it smelled ok…Like they put some sort of deodorizer. But its been about a week and the moldy odor is back! This is more than a service job can fix. I believe it is a defective AC system that needs to be recalled before more people get hurt. Please feel free to keep me in the loop with any legal action. I can be reached at 512.567.3222 or bianca4truth@gmail.com.
I too could not figure out where that smell was coming from until I search this on the internet and found this site. The more I run my A/C unit the worse the smell continues to accumulate. I had purchased air freshers and other smells to offset the smell but to no avail. I have owned this Camry 2012 for 2 years now and the smell is embarrassing to my friends, family, and clients that I may accompany in my vehicle for work purposes.
Leased a 2015 corolla in March 2015. The car have 2500 miles. Start smelling the odor when you start the ac. Smell like someone puke in the car. Right now at the dealer ship Lipton Toyota in Florida. Giving me the bulletin crap here. Recomended ac charcoal cabin ac filter and ac deodorizer service. Redicouls they want me paying for that. Again 2500 miles only.