Written by Beasley
Allen on Tuesday, December 2, 2014
9:01
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(full text):
A class action lawsuit has
been filed against Toyota Motor Corp. in a
South Carolina federal court. This is the latest litigation the automaker faces
over allegedly defective dashboards that melt and create a glossy film that
drivers say reduces visibility. Melissa Graham, the Plaintiff in the case,
claims the 2009 Toyota Camry she bought contains
one of the defective dashboards. She says that the manufacturer concealed the
problem from her and all other South Carolina consumers who are now stuck paying
for repairs themselves because the vehicles’ warranties have lapsed. It’s
alleged in the complaint:
Unbeknownst to consumers, Toyota designed,
manufactured, distributed, marketed and sold certain automobiles with defective
dashboards that melt or degrade upon prolonged exposure to the sun. Because the
nature of this defect is that the degradation occurs over time, it was a hidden
defect from consumers at the time of purchase.
The suit lists model year 2007 through 2009 Camrys, as well
as 2006 through 2008 Lexus IS and ES vehicles. The filing expands the reach of
litigation Toyota faces over the
problem from a first class action that was filed
in Florida earlier this year that targeted only the Lexus brand.
At press time it was unclear whether class actions have been
filed in other states. However, a number of complaints have been filed with the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) over Toyota vehicles with melting
dashboards. In 2011, after most of the models’ warranties had expired, Lexus
issued a technical service bulletin notifying customers that the 2006-2008 Lexus
IS 250 and IS 350 “may exhibit sticky interior panels that have a shiny/degraded
appearance.”
But it’s contended in the Graham complaint that Toyota used a similar
defective dashboard design for the 2006-2008 Lexus ES and the 2007-2009
Toyota Camry and did not notify
customers who had purchased those vehicles of a potential problem. Additionally,
Toyota did not inform buyers
that it had found a way to fix the defective dashboards and deliberately
concealed the nature of the defect from consumers. Because the repairs were
needed outside the time frame of the warranty, Toyota profited off of the
defect by offloading the responsibility for repair costs to
consumers.
The proposed class action was filed on
behalf of all South Carolina residents who purchased the models-in-suit and
accuses Toyota of breach of express
and implied warranty. The case is in the U.S. District Court for the District of
South Carolina.
Source: Law360.com
