Remedies for rusty cars – Toyota’s $4.3 billion settlement to fix all rusty cars in the U.S.
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Unfortunately, rusty cars aren’t a thing of the past; as the world’s largest car manufacturer, Toyota, has demonstrated.
Toyota has proposed a $3.4 billion settlement in response to a federal class action brought by U.S. vehicle owners to rectify an issue of potential rusting in over 1.5 million vehicles in the U.S.
Although this is a story from the U.S., we often cover them as we work closely with American lawyers for group actions, and many of the issues over there can transfer over here too.
The Japanese manufacturer hasn’t admitted any wrongdoing on their part, but has agreed to a settlement to cover the affected 1.5 million Tacoma compact pickups, Tundra full-size pickups, and Sequoia SUVs. The affected models are from 2005-2010, 2007-2008 and 2005-2008 accordingly.
Rust
According to the court papers, the settlement is to compensate individuals for insufficient rust protection which “could lead to corrosion serious enough to jeopardise their structural integrity”.
Proposed settlement
It’s now for the U.S. District Judge Fernando Olguin to approve the proposed settlement before repairs can be made. If the VW settlement offer is anything to go by, Judge Olguin may confirm the settlement in a bid to speed up the process of granting remedies to affected vehicle owners. VW’s $14.7 billion settlement was approved recently for the German manufacturer’s alleged cheating “defeat device”.
The $3.4 billion settlement offers affected individuals a replacement of their car frames which is estimated to cost around $15,000 per frame. It’ll reportedly cost Toyota $90 to inspect a vehicle.
The Japanese manufacturer also pledged to notify potential consumers by post, public notices, and internet campaigns, which could cost between $1.75 million and $2.5 million. The settlement isn’t made-up of all remedial consumer action, and $9.9 million is set aside for attorney fees.
It is not certain as to whether any Toyota vehicles in the U.K. are affected. On their website, Toyota has developed a three-step process to enable vehicle owners to check if their vehicles are included in any outstanding safety recall.
This can be found at: https://forms.toyota.co.uk/recall-checker?_ga=1.25023226.1136884014.1479201405.
It may give some vehicle owners a peace of mind as Toyota offers a 12-year anti-corrosion warranty, covering against rust perforation affecting the sheet metal body panels as a result of a manufacturing fault. They also offer a three-year surface rust guarantee.
Sources:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-37966426
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