— A Subaru and Toyota boxer engine lawsuit has been dismissed after the plaintiff claimed her Toyota GR86 boxer engine failed when the car had about 64,000 miles on it.
Filed by Arkansas plaintiff Laura Young, the class action alleges certain Subaru and Toyota sports cars are equipped with defective 2.0-liter and 2.4-liter four-cylinder boxer engines.
These cars are jointly built by Subaru and Toyota and contain the supposedly faulty boxer engines.
- 2013-2016 Scion FR-S
- 2017-2023 Toyota 86/GR86
- 2013-2023 Subaru BRZ
The plaintiff contends her Toyota boxer engine failed because it was starved of oil, a problem she says was concealed by Toyota when the vehicle was built and sold. In addition, the boxer engine was destroyed from a loss of oil film necessary to protect the engine components.
According to the class action lawsuit, Scion, Subaru and Toyota drivers are placed in danger from the overheated boxer engines that may catch fire.
Subaru and Toyota allegedly should have issued recalls long ago to replace the boxer engines with replacement engines that wouldn't fail. The plaintiff complains Subaru and Toyota won't reimburse owners when boxer engine problems arise, and no free replacements have been offered.
The lawsuit alleges boxer engine problems occur because Subaru and Toyota didn't use traditional gaskets for the engines. Instead, "room temperature vulcanizing" (RTV) silicone replaced gaskets, but the silicone breaks apart as engine heat hardens the silicone.
The Subaru and Toyota boxer engines are allegedly damaged and destroyed when the broken hardened silicone travels into coolant and oil passages.
Subaru Toyota Boxer Engine Lawsuit Dismissed
Court documents don't explain much about why the boxer engine was dismissed. But Subaru and Toyota had filed their motions to dismiss the class action in November 2024.
According to dismissal documents:
"Plaintiff Laura Young, in her individual capacity, and Defendants Toyota Motor North America, Inc. and Subaru of America, Inc., by and through undersigned counsel, hereby stipulate and agree that this action is voluntarily dismissed with prejudice as to Plaintiff, and without prejudice as to putative class members, against all named Defendants, with each party to bear her or its own costs and fees."
Due to the voluntary dismissal of the boxer engine lawsuit, Judge Christine P. O'Hearn dismissed all pending motions, including the motions to dismiss, as moot.
The Subaru Toyota boxer engine lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey: Laura Young v. Subaru Corporation, et al.
The plaintiff is represented by Carella Byrne Cecchi Brody Agnello, P.C., and Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C.