Toyota NZ hit with lawsuit

A class action lawsuit has been filed against Toyota New Zealand alleging it has sold 35,000 faulty diesel vehicles here since 2015.

The case, filed by Shine Lawyers at Palmerston North High Court, relates to defective diesel particulate filters (DPFs) on models such as Toyota’s Hilux, Fortuner and Prado, reports Radio New Zealand (RNZ).

Hamish Davies, a senior associate at Shine, says vehicles involved in the lawsuit were manufactured from October 1, 2015, and fitted with a 1GD-FTV engine or 2GD-FTV engine.

He claims the faulty filters led to those units producing “foul-smelling white smoke” and reduced performance and efficiency.

The proceedings, filed on September 27 on behalf of vehicle owners, allege this would likely have reduced the value of the units. Compensation is being sought for affected owners, according to RNZ.

The class action is being funded by Court House Capital, a Sydney-based litigation funder that will pay all the lawyers’ fees.

A similar case took place across the Tasman in 2019, when the Australian Federal Court ruled in favour of 250,000 owners after finding the value of their vehicles was reduced by 10 per cent.

Toyota NZ says it will defend the lawsuit.

“Toyota has been and remains committed to assisting any customer whose vehicle experiences a [filter] issue and will continue to provide any related repairs free of charge,” a company spokesperson explains. 

“This has been our position to date, and we will defend the class action. As this matter is now before the courts, we have no further comment.”