— A Toyota Mirai class action lawsuit alleges California consumers wrongly believe buying or leasing the hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles will make their lives easier.
The first generation Toyota Mirai was manufactured from 2015 to 2020 and the second generation from December 2020 to the present, available in two trims, the XLE and the Limited.
The hydrogen fuel-cell cars are sold and leased exclusively in California.
The Toyota Mirai class action lawsuit includes:
"All California citizens who purchased or leased Toyota Mirai vehicles from 2021 to 2024."
Toyota allegedly markets the cars by telling consumers refueling the cars is as easy and comparable as filling the tank with standard gasoline. But the class action says Mirai customers have trouble due to a shortage of hydrogen fuel, leaving customers with cars they cannot drive.
"As such, consumers, including Plaintiffs, who have purchased or leased vehicles expecting them to be readily and feasibly refueled, are unable to use their vehicle, have to travel long distances in order to find hydrogen fuel, and in many cases, cannot find it at all resulting in their vehicle not functioning, being towed and/or them having to use other methods of transport." — Toyota Mirai class action lawsuit
Toyota allegedly sells the cars by failing to tell consumers the "numerous" hydrogen fueling stations are frequently out of fuel or cannot be used because of broken equipment.
The plaintiffs also contend Mirai drivers often have trouble refueling because the machines, "will not accept fuel cards as payment due to various internal issues."
According to the plaintiffs, they must waste their time and fuel driving all over the place just to find hydrogen fuel for their vehicles.
The class action alleges nothing in Toyota's advertising indicates Mirai owners would have these problems.
The automaker further allegedly conceals:
- That at times hydrogen fuel may be unavailable for days at a time.
- That filling up the Mirai with hydrogen fuel takes many hours on average.
- That many times hydrogen fuel pumps freeze up and lock onto the Mirai, resulting in the Mirai owner having to wait over 30 minutes just so the fuel pump can warm up and be removed from the vehicle so they can drive away.
The class action also argues the price of hydrogen fuel, "drastically increased over the last four years, and as such, Toyota’s promise that the Mirai comes with a hydrogen fuel card in the amount of $15,000, which will last for three years or more, is absolutely false."
And according to the lawsuit, the Toyota Mirai cars allegedly receive up to 100 miles less than the promised fuel capacity, decreasing the values of the cars.
The Toyota Mirai class action lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California: Bryan Caluwe et al., v. Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. et al.
The plaintiffs are represented by Beverly Hills Trial Attorneys, P.C.