— A Toyota class action lawsuit has been filed by a California consumer who claims Toyota owes customers money for refunds associated with "windfall proceeds tied to tariffs."
The lawsuit says those tariffs were imposed under the International Emergency Economy Powers Act, then to cover the tariffs Toyota allegedly increased the costs to consumers for its products.
According to California plaintiff Ananias Cornejo, the class action includes:
"All individuals in the United States who purchased or leased, through any Toyota retail channel, any good subject to the IEEPA-based tariffs, during the period between February 1, 2025 and February 24, 2026."
The lawsuit says court-ordered refunds to Toyota should be shared with customers who paid the "importer of record" which is Toyota. The plaintiff complains it is the consumers who lose money due to tariffs.
The class action contends Toyota paid about $9 billion in tariff expenses that were passed on to customers. According to the lawsuit, Toyota possibly paid an "astonishing $9.7 billion as a result of its reliance on parts and production from countries such as Japan, Canada, and Mexico.”
A company will typically see the issue as the cost of doing business, but the plaintiff complains Toyota customers were overcharged and "entitled to restitution of the tariff-related overcharges they paid or a proportionate share of any tariff refunds Defendant recovers, along with interest and attorneys’ fees and costs."
An automaker can raise its prices at any time for any reason and let consumers decide if they want to pay the increased price. But the lawsuit alleges the reason Toyota purportedly increased vehicle prices was due to the tariffs.
According to the class action lawsuit:
"Defendant has made no statements as to how it intends to use the IEEPA-based tariff refunds it seeks, and there is no indication that it plans to compensate the specific consumers who overpaid during the Relevant Time Period, nor to provide any restitution for past overcharges."
According to WardsAuto, "despite record-setting revenue and positive sales growth, the impacts of U.S. tariffs erased all of Toyota’s profits in North America for FY [fiscal year] 2026, resulting in a rare operating loss of $1.9 billion for the year ending March 31."
The Toyota tariff refund class action lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California: Ananias Cornejo v. Toyota Motor North America, Inc.
The plaintiff is represented by Ahdoot & Wolfson, PC.