$287 Million Toyota Fuel Pump Nationwide Settlement Approved

Beasley Allen lawyers representing 6.5 million class members in the Toyota fuel pump class action litigation were present when Magistrate Judge James R. Cho of the Eastern District of New York granted final approval of a $287 million class settlement. Class members were represented by Dee Miles, the firm’s Consumer Fraud & Commercial Litigation Section Head, along with Demet Basar (serving as co-lead counsel with Miles), Clay Barnett, Mitch Williams and Dylan Martin.

“This settlement provides full relief to millions of consumers who unknowingly purchased vehicles with a defective fuel pump made by Denso and installed in Toyota vehicles” said Beasley Allen attorney Dee Miles. ”This settlement mandates that those fuel pumps be replaced by Denso and Toyota at no cost to the consumer and with a 15-year / 150,000-mile warranty on the replaced fuel pump. It is a complete fix for consumers with the fuel pump problem.”

The firm initiated the litigation for plaintiff Sharon Cheng in February 2020. The lawsuit asserted that Toyota knowingly marketed and sold vehicles fitted with defective fuel pumps and failed to recall all affected Toyota and Lexus models and model years.

In response, Toyota expanded its initial recall, ultimately recalling 3.4 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles with defective fuel pumps manufactured by Denso. In April 2020, the plaintiffs added the faulty fuel pump maker Denso to the lawsuit. The lawyers for the class demanded that additional vehicles that were at risk for faulty fuel pumps be added to the settlement. This resulted in a total of nearly 5 million vehicles being included in the settlement. Preliminary approval was entered in September with a provision allowing implementation of the customer support program before final approval.

Settlement provisions include:

• Toyota agreed to implement a customer support program for the owners and lessees of approximately 1.4 million vehicles that Toyota did not previously recall.
• The owners and lessees of these vehicles are entitled to prospective coverage for repairs (including parts and labor) on their original Denso fuel pumps for 15 years from the date of the vehicle’s original sale.
• The benefit travels with the vehicle, meaning if it is sold or its lease ends before the expiration of the 15 years, the subsequent owner or lessee is still entitled to take advantage of the benefit.
• Toyota also agreed to provide an extended new parts warranty of 15 years, measured from July 15, 2021, or 150,000 miles, whichever comes first on the recall remedy fuel pump kit for owners and lessees of the nearly 3.4 million recalled vehicles and an additional 170,000 hybrid vehicles that were not recalled.
• The recall benefit also travels with the vehicle, so subsequent purchasers or lessees will also be entitled to the extended warranty.
• The owners and lessees of all the vehicles covered by the settlement are entitled to free towing and loaner vehicles while their fuel pumps are being replaced or repaired.  If a class member needs a loaner vehicle that is like her vehicle, Toyota agreed to use good faith efforts to satisfy the request.
• There is an out-of-pocket expense reimbursement program, a reconsideration procedure in connection with the customer support program and the extended new parts warranty.
• A special master will oversee the settlement’s provisions to resolve any issues that may arise during the implementation and administration of the settlement agreement.

During the final approval hearing at a Brooklyn, New York, federal courthouse, no objectors appeared, and Judge Cho overruled four written objections. Additional settlement details are available at www.toyotafuelpumpssettlement.com. The case is Sharon Cheng, et al. v. Toyota Motor Corporation, et al., case number 1:20-cv-00629-WFK-JRC.