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A class action lawsuit alleges that most Toyota and Lexus vehicles have a defective heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system that “emits noxious and foul odors into the vehicles.”
In addition, car owners “are exposed to a serious safety hazard because mold and other contaminants are emitted in the air circulated through the Defective HVAC System,” according to the complaint.
The Toyota and Lexus HVAC defect class action lawsuit alleges that the scope of the defect includes most models of Toyota vehicles, as well as Toyota’s luxury brand Lexus model cars. The complaint claims that Toyota has been aware of this issue since at least 1999.
According to the class action, Toyota technical service bulletins issued to its exclusive dealerships acknowledge the HVAC issue and admit that “there is no way to eliminate the odors.”
A course manual on air conditioning and climate control published by Toyota and cited in the complaint states that the noxious odors may be caused by mold “growing on the evaporator surface” because “small living bacteria . . . carried into the evaporator case grow in the warm, moist environment.”
The class action asserts that despite knowing about this defect, Toyota illegally continued to sell defective vehicles without disclosing the defect in the HVAC system, or issuing a recall to fix the problems.
The complaint contends that these are violations of state consumer protection laws, fraud, negligent misrepresentation, and federal warranty law.
The class action argues that “no reasonable consumer” would expect to purchase a new vehicle with a defective HVAC system that emits foul odors.
Plaintiffs Paul and Elizabeth Stockinger, Gailyn Kennedy, Basudeb Dey, Brenda Flinn, and Eliezer Casper all state that they purchased new Toyota or Lexus vehicles in 2014 and 2015, and have experienced noxious odors coming from the vents in their vehicles.
All claim that they would not have purchased their vehicles, or would have paid much less for them, had Toyota disclosed the HVAC defect before the sale.
The HVAC defect lawsuit requests certification of a Class of all people who purchased or leased a Toyota or Lexus model involved in the lawsuit. The complaint lists a page of models affected by the defect, including most Toyota models built between 2009-2015 and several Lexus model vehicles.
The class action seeks restitution, treble damages, punitive damages, and an injunction stopping Toyota from its deceptive sales practices.
This is not the first class action Toyota is facing about its HVAC system. In November of 2015, a class action was filed against Toyota over the HVAC system in its Camry model cars.
That action is still being litigated, and most recently in November of 2016, Toyota filed a motion to dismiss the amended class action complaint. That action alleges similar violations of warranty and consumer protection laws relating to the known mold-causing defect in the vehicle’s HVAC system.
The plaintiffs in this Toyota, Lexus HVAC class action are represented by Paul R. Kiesel, Helen Zukin, Jeffrey A. Koncius and Nicole Ramirez of Kiesel Law LLP; Joseph H. Meltzer, Peter A. Muhic and Melissa L. Troutner of Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP.
The Toyota and Lexus HVAC Defect Class Action Lawsuit is Paul Stockinger, et al. v. Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc., Case No. 2:17-cv-00035, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
UPDATE July 18, 2018: A second Toyota HVAC class action lawsuit has been filed, claiming that certain Camry vehicles contain a defective heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system that causes foul, noxious and/or toxic odors. Plantiffs claim that the Toyota Camry HVAC system defect exposes the putative Class to a “serious health and safety hazard” because the HVAC system allegedly emits mold and other contaminants into the vehicle.
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38 thoughts onToyota, Lexus Class Action Says HVAC Defect Emits Moldy Smell
I have 2001 Lexus RX 300. Check engine light on. I took it to a mechanic. he replace carbon canister, hoses and some valves. Again engine came on. I took it to the dealership. They replace gas cap in the first visit, replaced neck in the second visit and valves in the third visit. All these times I complained about the smell. They were not able to fix it. They say they did not smell it. They have to sit in the car and drive to smell it.But they did not. I took it to muffler shop. They checked and found no leak in exhaust.
2015 Lexus 200nt, I can’t get rid of the odor.
What can you do if you bought a used Lexus and the car smells like rotted leaves and passenger side floor flooded -everytime I drive I get a migraine.
What is the best way to solve this problem?
I bought my Lexus used and I wonder if there is a recall or settlement, if I will be notified.
I can’t believe this!! I have the 2016 LexusNXfsport and have had major issues with bad odour coming from the ventilation system, especially in summer months it’s really bad! To a point where I get sick from it and can’t even go on long trips with it! I have took it for service multiple times and has cost me hundreds of dollars but the smell still comes back! I just got back from the Lexus dealership where they used some specific air cleaning solutions that cost me $169 to try and get rid of the smell for the 4th time in the last year! I am leading the vehicle and the lease is coming up in March of 2021 and I just decided to do some research to see if other people are having similar issues with it because my intentions were to buy it out at the end of my lease and came across this! What’s upsetting is that they pretend like they don’t know anything about it and last year even tried to tell me that it’s because i run the ac in high! I have taken such a good care of it the vehicle and this is upsetting! I guess I will not be keeping it for sure! I also had an issue with the breaks the first year with it too that i had to pay out of pocket because they denied that it was a manufacturing issue and blamed it on my driving but my driving has not changed and I have never had this issue with previous vehicles including their RX model! The navigation system is also an absolute crap! Useless! I had to change the screen the first year and still crap! What do I do now!? If anyone has any advice please help!? I live in Canada. I see this action law suit is in the US so not sure if that’s any good to me! This is beyond not fair that they know about this and expose us to mold issues that has serous heath Consequences!
I WAS JUST ABOUT READY TO PULL THE TRIGGER ON BUYING A LEXUS PRODUCT AND AM GLAD I TOOK THE TIME TO READ THE HORROR STORIES. I WILL FOREGO MY PURCHASE AND INSTEAD TAKE AN UBER.
I bought my 2016 ES 350 used and after about 2-weeks of ownership noticed the musty smell in the cabin. I bought Lysol cleaner and sprayed it in to the HVAC intake & it seemed to quell the smell for a few days but it soon was back. I next had a Toyota dealer “clean” the HVAC sytem & it again smelled ok but the smell was back in about a week. Here’s what I did to solve the problem & the musty smell hasn’t come back since:: I live in Florida & we’re running A/C in our vehicles 95% of the year here so you have to use it. What I did about a year ago was to stop using the “Recirculating” air option and use my A/C strictly on “Outside” air & I haven’t had the moldy musty smell since. It doesn’t cool the cabin down as quickly or maintain it as cold as it would on recirculating air but no more smell & i’m happy. Not happy that Lexus hasn’t fixed this but really happy that I found a fix.
What happened with the class action suit? Is there any solution to this problem? I have a 2015 NX200t and I can not get rid of the smell in my car when I start it up.
I bought a used 2015 Lexus NX 200t in Dec. 2021. It was shipped from out of state so I wasn’t aware of it. Once received, and noticed the smell right away. I had it detailed, and placed air freshener in it but the smell came back after a few days. I really cannot stand it! Dealers should be held accountable for selling vehicles with known factory defects. I may have to trade mine in at this point.
i just spoke to someone about the problem. they said to replace your cabin filter to a charcoal filter.
Same here. Bought a 2016 used Lexus IS 200t. It smells of mold right after the car is started. I don’t know what to do. As of now, I don’t have a warranty on the car. And no budget to get it fixed.