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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.
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193 thoughts onToyota, Lexus Class Action Says Dashboard Warranty Program is Misleading
I have a 2007 LS-460 The dash board is breaking of .. fabrics are coming off .. if i touch it when hot. my fingers sticks and peal out more fabrics .
I bought a 2010 Lexus IS250c from a dealership 2 years ago and now my dash and door panels are not just sticky but have small tears or cracks. I love my car but I am so unhappy with this defect that obviously Lexus has a problem with fixing. They know a while that this is a problem and still continue to build them with this defect. And Lord know I can afford to fix the door panels and the dash . If anyone know how to fix myself I’m all ears?
I bought a 2010 Lexus IS250c from a dealership 2 years ago and now my dash and door panels are not just sticky but have small tears or cracks. I love my car but I am so unhappy with this defect that obviously Lexus has a problem with fixing. They know a while that this is a problem and still continue to build them with this defect. And Lord know I can afford to fix the door panels and the dash . If anyone know how to fix myself I’m all ears?
I have a 2006 toyota, solara sel convertible bought new off the showroom floor. The glove compartment cracked early on. I received a letter that this was covered by toyota and i would receive another letter advising me how to proceed. That never occurred. I contacted Corporate they nastily advised me the case was closed, no compensation. Now the entire dashboard is cracked with a gummy, tacky, unwashable unit. It is unsitely without a solution. I considered purchasing a used dashboard but probably the same thing would happen. I don’t see how toyota could get away with this. My vehicle only has around 70,000 miles on it. This car is a well running car but this issue is unsitely.
In addition, are the air bags even working properly. If there is an accident will the dashboard breaking into pieces cause additional harm to the passengers of the vehicle. I don’t see how the court through the case out when there are so many toyota vehicles have the same problem. This is more than a cosmetic issue, it’s a hazard!
Tengo un Lexus is 250 2006 y el dasch está defectuoso
2006 RX330 that was bought brand new – car was always in a garage (besides when running quick errands). Dash didn’t start cracking till end of 2019 and now it’s cracked all over. Recently, one of the areas started to chip as well. Very frustrating that Lexus will not replace a faulty dashboard for their customers. I was contemplating a cover, but I’m little nervous about passenger airbag correctly deploying in case of an accident. Lots of family members have been loyal Lexus customers for years, but we might have to look into another car maker once ready to get a new car.
My 2004 Lexus GX dashboard has begin to crack. I would like to be included in any lawsuit to remedy this situation.
2005 Lexus 330 that had approximately 50K in 2015 and always garaged, never in Sun long enough to damage. Cracked around key area and all dash facing driver and passenger rather than where direct sunlight would hit so that is not the problem. Faulty material and Atlanta and Greenville Lexus wi repair for 2,500, we paid big bucks for these vehicles and they should treat their customers like they did when selling the autos. They will lose, matter of time.
I have a 2010 Toyota Avalon that due to being taken very good care of and limited exposure to the sun has a dashboard that is only now beginning to crack in the year 2023!!! But it is cracking nonetheless and in places NOT where the sun would be an issue anyway. I had heard about the replacement program but presumed that replacement would only be done if there were obvious cracks. So I came to the conclusion that Toyota deliberately set a end date to the program to ensure they would never have to replace them before the time limit expired.
I have a 2013 Lexus IS250 that I cannot drive on sunny days because of the glare that the melting dashboard has produced! It is in straightforward line of sight of my driving view! I have almost rear ended vehicles on several occasions because of this. This is a major, major safety hazard that can potentially really hurt someone. Not to mention the few times I have also almost ran over pedestrians walking across the store’s parking lot because I could not see them through the glare. I can understand Lexus/Toyota not wanting to replace cracked dashboards but my dashboard situation is potentially deadly. Please add me to the class action lawsuit list. Thank you.
For two brands that created a reputation for producing high-quality vehicles the melting, sticky, and cracking vinyl and dashboards are an epic failure. Someone messed up and that should be a company liability, not the customers who put their faith and trust in the Toyota/Lexus brands
I have a 2008 Lexus LS 460 that is garage kept with the issue and the response from Lexus was so disappointing that I will not consider purchasing another Lexus or Toyota again after owning over a dozen of different models. Would be receptive to joining a class action.
Really disappointing that they don’t stand behind their product and make things right for customers. I have a 2004 sienna with the cracked dashboard but nothing they’ll do now that the repair program has ended. Maybe another class action lawsuit in the future for them just to get the rest of these cars fixed. They need to make it right