— A Toyota RAV4 liftgate hinge class action lawsuit has been dismissed after four vehicle owners claimed the hinges cannot withstand the weight and force of opening and closing the power liftgates.
Customers allegedly must sometimes pay thousands of dollars to replace the RAV4 liftgates just because the hinges corrode and fail. A RAV4 driver is faced with constant warnings about open liftgates that won't close due to the hinges.
Toyota allegedly knew the hinges were defective and should have warned customers about the liftgate issues. The class action also alleges dealerships can't or won't properly repair the hinges and liftgates which decreases the values of the Toyota RAV4s.
Toyota also had a problem with the scope of the RAV4 hinge class action lawsuit. The four customers who filed the hinge lawsuit all own 2019 Toyota RAV4s. Yet the nationwide class action includes all owners and lessees of SUVs going all the way back to model year 2014 forward to model year 2021.
According to Toyota, the plaintiffs want the judge to believe warranties should never expire and that Toyota should perform free repairs forever.
Toyota strongly fought the class action and told the judge how the plaintiffs expect the court to believe Toyota knew about alleged RAV4 liftgate problems based on complaints from three unnamed customers over the course of five years before the plaintiffs purchased their RAV4s.
Toyota also argued a technical service bulletin issued to dealerships was about Highlander vehicles and had nothing to do with the RAV4s.
Court documents don't explain a lot, but plaintiffs Zach Hughes, Zach Armstrong, Audie Murphy and Karl Vinola, along with Toyota, filed a stipulation of dismissal.
Judge Edward M. Chen dismissed the RAV4 hinge lawsuit "in its entirety with prejudice as to all plaintiffs’ claims, actions, and causes of action asserted against defendants."
The judge said each party would bear their own costs and fees, including attorney fees and expert fees.
The Toyota RAV4 liftgate class action lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California: Zach Hughes, et al., v. Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. et al.
The plaintiff is represented by Nye, Stirling, Hale, Miller & Sweet LLP, and Sauder Schelkopf.