Toyota Hybrids Faulty Braking System Class Action

Brakes are a pretty important part of a vehicle. The complaint for this class action alleges that certain Toyota hybrid vehicles have faulty braking systems because of defective booster pump assemblies. These can cause brakes to fail, it says, in certain Prius, Camry, or Avalon hybrids.

The class for this action is all persons or entities who bought or leased a class vehicle:

• 2010-2015 Prius or Prius PHV
• 2012-2015 Prius V, 2012-2014 Camry Hybrid
• 2013-2015 Avalon Hybrid

Arkansas, Florida, and Illinois Classes have also been defined, for those in those states who bought or leased class vehicles.

The defendants include Toyota Motor Corporation, Toyota Motor Sales USA, Inc., and Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.

The complaint alleges that Toyota has known about the defect for some time but has not told consumers about it when they go to buy its vehicles. In fact, it was an owner of two Toyota dealerships that publicly brought the defect to light, when he petitioned the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to start an investigation into the problem. He claimed that the defect was “causing crashes that are injuring people—and Toyota is mishandling it.”

Even where owners or lessees do not experience the brake problem, the possibility of failing brakes has lowered the value of the vehicles.

Four plaintiffs bring this case:

Kamran Khan owns a 2010 Prius he bought in Arkansas. After he bought the vehicle, used, he “noticed that the brakes failed to respond to normal foot pressure, requiring Mr. Khan to apply the brake almost all the way to the floor to get the vehicle to stop.”

Raul and Cristina Rivera, who live in Illinois, bought a used 2010 Prius. Shortly after that, Mr. Rivera, who is the main driver of the vehicle, “noticed that every time he applied the brake and hit a bump in the road, the brake pedal drops to zero pressure causing the vehicle to spring forward. This causes Mr. Rivera to aggressively push down on the brake pedal to avoid slamming into vehicles in front of him.”

Finally, Yvette Winia bought her used 2012 Prius in Florida. In January 2020, her husband was driving the vehicle and passed over a pothole. When he pressed his foot on the brake, “his brakes failed, causing his vehicle to strike another vehicle resulting in damage to both vehicles.”

The complaint claims that Toyota has received reports of the defect for years. It has issued very limited recalls, but none has covered all vehicles included in this case.

Finally, in 2019, the dealership owner brought the problem to the attention of the NHTSA. He claims that many vehicles have the problem but that Toyota has been refusing to correct it until after the brake failure occurs, which puts people at risk.

Article Type: Lawsuit
Topic: Automobile
Tags: Brakes, Defective Automobile