Class action lawsuit against Toyota Mirai: Cars are not worth it

July 15, 2024 – A class action lawsuit involving the Toyota Mirai alleges that California consumers falsely believe that purchasing or leasing the hydrogen fuel cell-powered electric vehicles will make their lives easier.

The first generation of the Toyota Mirai was produced from 2015 to 2020 and the second generation from December 2020 to the present and is available in two trim levels, XLE and Limited.

The hydrogen fuel cell cars are sold and leased exclusively in California.

The Toyota Mirai class action lawsuit includes:

“All California residents who purchased or leased a Toyota Mirai vehicle between 2021 and 2024.”

Toyota reportedly markets the cars by claiming that refueling is as easy and comparable to filling up with regular gasoline. But the class action lawsuit claims Mirai customers are struggling due to a shortage of hydrogen fuel, leaving them with cars they can’t drive.

“As a result, consumers, including plaintiffs, who purchased or leased vehicles with the expectation that they would be easily and conveniently fueled are unable to use their vehicles and must travel long distances to find hydrogen fuel. In many cases, they cannot find it at all, resulting in their vehicle not working, being towed, and/or having to resort to other means of transportation.” — Toyota Mirai class action lawsuit

Toyota allegedly sells these cars by concealing from consumers that the “numerous” hydrogen filling stations often run out of fuel or cannot be used due to defective equipment.

The plaintiffs also claim that Mirai drivers often have problems refueling because the machines “do not accept fuel cards as a means of payment due to various internal problems.”

According to the plaintiffs, they have to waste their time and fuel driving all over the place just to find hydrogen fuel for their vehicles.

The class action lawsuit claims that there is no indication in Toyota’s advertising that Mirai owners have these problems.

The car manufacturer also allegedly conceals:

• That hydrogen as a fuel is temporarily unavailable for several days.

• On average, refueling the Mirai with hydrogen takes many hours.

• So often it happens that hydrogen fuel pumps on the Mirai freeze and seize up, causing the Mirai owner to have to wait over 30 minutes just for the fuel pump to warm up and be removed from the vehicle so they can drive away.

The class action lawsuit also argues that the price of hydrogen fuel “has increased dramatically over the past four years and that, as a result, Toyota’s promise that the Mirai will come with a $15,000 hydrogen fuel card valid for three years or more is absolutely false.”

And according to the lawsuit, Toyota Mirai vehicles allegedly get up to 100 miles less than the promised fuel tank capacity, which reduces the value of the vehicles.

The Toyota Mirai class action lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California: Bryan Caluwe et al., v. Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc. et al.

The plaintiffs are represented by Beverly Hills Trial Attorneys, PC