Toyota, Lexus Class Action Says Dashboard Warranty Program is Misleading

A class action lawsuit alleges Toyota and Lexus manufacturers misled consumers with a warranty program promoted as a fix for millions of car owners with defective dashboards.

The complaint claims “[t]he warranty program made promises Defendants could not keep.”

The Toyota class action lawsuit states that the auto manufacturers released several models of vehicles that had a latent defect in the dashboard – that would “melt or degrade upon prolonged exposure to the sun.”

The complaint asserts that Toyota knew about this defect, but did not inform affected vehicle owners. Instead, Toyota would offer costly repairs, thereby obtaining “further profit from the Defect by shifting responsibility for repair costs and delaying reimbursement for any repair costs for years.”

Several previous class actions were filed against Toyota to rectify this defect, according to the complaint. In 2014, those class actions were dismissed, but only “on the basis that millions of owners of automobiles with defective dashboards would receive voluntary and comprehensive warranty coverage,” according to the complaint.

However, the class action lawsuit asserts that Toyota did not have enough parts in stock to make the necessary repairs for every consumer, and also required the repairs to be done only at certified Toyota dealerships. Because of these restrictions, this lawsuit contends that “most” consumers have not been able to get their warranty work done. More importantly, the warranty period will expire on May 31, 2017, without these consumer being able to complete their repairs.

“Toyota is now in breach of its Program by failing to timely implement the repair component of the Program, leaving millions of consumers with defective dashboards and without any remedy,” the class action alleges.

Plaintiffs Wanda Jeffers and Jill Gibson state that they are mother and daughter, and jointly own a 2009 Toyota Camry affected by the dashboard defect.  They received a notice of the defect and warranty from Toyota, and say they contacted their dealership in Florence, South Carolina. The plaintiffs claim that they made “repeated contacts” with their Toyota dealership but their vehicle has not been repaired.

The misleading dashboard warranty lawsuit requests certification of a Class of all persons in the U.S. who own a vehicle affected by the defect. Affected vehicles include: the “2003-2005 Toyota 4Runner, the 2005-2010 Toyota Avalon, the 2007-2011 Toyota Camry and Toyota Camry Hybrid, the 2004-2010 Toyota Sienna, the 2004-2008 Toyota Solara, the 2006-2008 Lexus ES 350, the 2003-2008 Lexus GX 470, the 2006-2008 Lexus IS 250/350, the 2007 Lexus LS 460, the 2004-2006 Lexus RX 330, the 2007- 2009 Lexus RX 350, and the 2005-2008 Lexus RX 400h.”

The class action seeks compensatory damages, including damages caused by the warranty delay.

Jeffers and Gibson are represented by T. Christopher Tuck, A. Hoyt Rowell III, and Robert S. Wood of Richardson, Patrick, Westbrook & Brickman LLC, Mark C. Tanenbaum and Mia Lauren Maness of the Law Offices of Mark C. Tanenbaum PA, and George D. Jebaily of Jebaily Law Firm PA.

The Toyota Dashboard Warranty Class Action Lawsuit is Wanda E. Jeffers, et al., v. Toyota Motor Corporation, et al., Case No. 4:17-cv-00577, in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, Florence Division.

UPDATE: The Toyota Dashboard Warranty Class Action Lawsuit was dismissed on May 22, 2018.  Top Class Actions will let our viewers know if a new case is filed.