A long-running class action lawsuit regarding Toyota Diesel particulate filter issues are not over yet, as the car giant and affected owners are currently appealing last year’s Federal Court ruling to the High Court of Australia.
The High Court hearing takes place today.
The class action lawsuit relates to a defect in the diesel particulate filters (DPF) fitted to 264,170 examples of the HiLux, Prado and Fortuner built between October 2015 and April 2020.
DPFs are designed to capture and burn harmful pollutants.
In April 2022, the Federal Court of Australia found that these DPFs had a defect that could cause the exhaust system of models with 2.4 liter turbo diesel engines (2GD-FTV) and 2.8 liter turbo diesel engines (1GD- FTV) becomes clogged, resulting in excessive white smoke and poor performance.
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Toyota’s “1GD” 2.8 liter turbo diesel engine
Toyota attempted to fix this flaw between 2016 and 2018 through software updates and a retrofitted DPF burn button, and implemented a more comprehensive overhaul on 2020 vehicles.
While owners were offered extended warranty coverage to compensate them, the Federal Court initially found that the depreciation of the affected vehicles was 17.5 percent of their average selling price.
This amount was later reduced to 10 percent by the Federal Court in March 2023 after Toyota appealed. However, it is still estimated that the payout to affected owners in the class action lawsuit could total $1.3 billion.
You can read more about what’s happened in the class action lawsuit so far Here.
Both Toyota and the owners in the class action lawsuit – the latter represented by Gilbert + Tobin – are appealing the Federal Court’s 2023 decision to the High Court.
It is understood that the class members seek restoration of the original 17.5 percent depreciation amount.
Toyota continues to argue that the DPF failure did not result in any lasting impairment of the affected vehicles.
“The Supreme Court has agreed to a full hearing examining the calculation of vehicle diminished value damages in the DPF class action,” a Toyota Australia spokesperson said CarExpert.
“Toyota takes the position that there has been no reduction in the value of the vehicles.
“We remain committed to helping any customer whose vehicle has experienced the DPF issue and providing a free remedy.
“Toyota has always strived to implement customer-focused and technically sound measures to resolve customer concerns.
“We apologize for any inconvenience or inconvenience caused to our customers.”
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