— A class action lawsuit filed over the gas tank size of 2019-2021 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid and 2021 Toyota RAV4 Prime vehicles is over after the 39 named plaintiffs settled their individual claims against Toyota.
Multiple lawsuits (DeLuca, et al. v. Toyota, Ly v. Toyota, Coleman v. Toyota, Boulom et al. v. Toyota) were filed related to the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid gas tank size alleging the vehicles were marketed as equipped with 14.5-gallon fuel tanks.
But the class action asserts the gas tanks don't hold that amount, nowhere near that amount.
The plaintiffs claim the tanks are shaped in a way that prevents filling the tank by several gallons, leaving drivers to wonder why the gas nozzles automatically shut off when the tanks are not nearly at 14.5 gallons.
Owners of RAV4 Hybrids say Toyota admits the tanks can't hold the advertised fuel capacity which should take the vehicle 580 miles. The class action alleges drivers complain the SUVs can reach a maximum of 480 miles when the gas tanks say they are full.
Toyota RAV4 Hybrid Gas Tank Size Settlement
With multiple RAV4 Hybrid class action lawsuits filed across the country, all the lawsuits were consolidated into one which reached the settlement stage.
Toyota and the plaintiffs reached a settlement agreement that left some RAV4 Hybrid owners with questions about the benefits of the settlement.
In objecting to the settlement agreement, several owners said customers would get hardly anything while attorneys would receive more than $1 million.
The Toyota RAV4 Hybrid owners who filed the objection claimed numerous moves were made by various lawyers that left out the original plaintiff who filed the first gas tank size class action lawsuit.
Objectors to the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid class action lawsuit settlement agreement, represented by Schubert Jonckheer & Kolbe LLP, have announced the claims have been settled on an individual basis.
In addition, "the Court has approved the parties’ request to dismiss absent class members’ claims without prejudice."
"[I]f any individuals wish to proceed with claims against Toyota regarding the alleged RAV4 fuel tank defect, they should be aware that such claims are subject to a statute of limitations and they should contact another attorney to file suit on their behalf if so desired." — Schubert Jonckheer & Kolbe
The Toyota RAV4 Hybrid gas tank size class action lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California (Case No. 3:20-cv-00337-EMC).
