Toyota Class Action

Relating to certain Hilux, Fortuner & Prado diesel vehicles

On 16 May 2022, the Federal Court of Australia delivered an important judgment in favour of the applicants and group members in this class action.

Eligible group members are entitled to be paid money to compensate them for the reduction in value of their effected vehicles and for the excess GST they paid as a result of acquiring their vehicles at prices which were higher than the true value of those vehicles.

IMPORTANT: All Group Members who wish to receive compensation under the Court’s judgment must register their interest in doing so on the Group Member portal (managed by Deloitte) by clicking the ‘Register for Compensation’ button below (including those Group Members who previously subscribed for updates on this website).

You may also read more about the outcome of the legal action by scrolling down or reading our FAQs.

Overview

Gilbert + Tobin is conducting a class action in the Federal Court of Australia against Toyota Motor Corporation Australia Limited (Toyota Australia).

The Toyota class action claimed compensation (that is, money) for defects in Toyota Hilux, Fortuner and Prado vehicles with a 1GD-FTV or 2GD-FTV diesel engine acquired between 1 October 2015 and 23 April 2020 in Australia (Relevant Vehicles).

On 16 May 2022, the Federal Court of Australia delivered an important judgment following the initial trial which took place in December 2021. The Court found that:

all Relevant Vehicles failed to comply with the guarantee of acceptable quality provided in the Australian Consumer Law by reason of their defective DPF systems;
representations made by Toyota regarding the Relevant Vehicles were false or misleading in contravention of the Australian Consumer Law;
Toyota engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct in contravention of the Australian Consumer Law by failing to disclose, or disclose adequately, to purchasers of the Relevant Vehicles, or to the public at large, the issues with the DPF system; and
Toyota’s failure to comply with the guarantee of acceptable quality resulted in a reduction in the value of the Relevant Vehicles in the amount of 17.5% of the average retail price of those vehicles.

Eligible group members are entitled to be paid money to compensate them for this reduction in value and for the excess GST they paid as a result of acquiring their vehicles at prices which were higher than the true value of those vehicles.

The claim

On 16 May 2022, the Court delivered judgment in favour of the applicants and group members. Copies of the judgment orders made on 16 May 2022 and the Court’s reasons for judgment (which sets out the Court’s findings on liability and the applicants’ and group members’ entitlement to receive money (damages) from Toyota, and which was published on 7 April 2022) can be viewed here.

The Court found that:

the Relevant Vehicles were not of acceptable quality because of their defective DPF systems;
Toyota engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct in connection with marketing and selling the Relevant Vehicles;
the value of the Relevant Vehicles at the time of initial supply was reduced because of their defective DPF systems;
the amount of the reduction in value was 17.5% (measured against Average Retail Price); and
eligible group members are entitled to be paid money to compensate them for this reduction in value and for the excess GST they paid as a result of acquiring their vehicles at prices which were higher than the true value of those vehicles.

Read the court documents

Who is eligible?

You may be a group member and able to claim money from Toyota in the event the class action is successful if you:

acquired (including by way of purchase, exchange or taking on lease, or on hire-purchase) one or more models of Toyota motor vehicle in the Hilux, Fortuner and Prado ranges fitted with a 1GD-FTV engine or 2GD-FTV engine;
acquired the vehicle between 1 October 2015 and 23 April 2020;
did not acquire the vehicle in an auction;
did not acquire the vehicle for the purpose of re-supply; and
acquired the vehicle from a Toyota dealership or other retailer, including second-hand through used car dealers, or from any person who directly acquired the vehicle from a Toyota dealership or retailer.

How much does it cost?

It doesn’t cost you anything to be a part of the Toyota class action.

An experienced litigation funder called Balance Legal Capital (Balance) is currently funding the case. Group members are not, and will not be, responsible for any “out of pocket” legal costs by remaining as group members in this class action or by signing up.

Next steps

Group members will receive a notice from the Court in June 2022 inviting them to register their interest in receiving money to which they are entitled under the judgment.

It is in group members’ interests to register in response to the notice they will receive in June 2022. If group members do not register, they will not be able to receive any money to which they may otherwise be entitled under the judgment.

Subscribe for updates about the Toyota Class Action

If you’d like to subscribe to receive updates about the Toyota Class Action, you may do so here.

Further information

You can find more information on the Toyota class action and how to participate in the Frequently Asked Questions.

Contact us

To speak to a member of the team, please call 1800 324 984.

Funded by

Balance Legal Capital

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Prosecuted by

Gilbert + Tobin

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