— A Toyota class action lawsuit alleges Toyota RAV4 and Toyota Corolla coolant bypass valve recall is needed because the coolant bypass valves crack and prematurely fail.
Two customers filed the lawsuit for more than $5 million to cover 2019-2023 Toyota RAV4 and 2019-2023 Toyota Corolla vehicles with the allegedly defective coolant bypass valves.
According to the Toyota class action lawsuit, coolant will leak and the engine will overheat, stall and fail.
Once coolant corrodes the coolant bypass valve sensor, the valve will allegedly get stuck in the open or closed position and not properly direct coolant through the engine.
Coolant can also allegedly leak into the Toyota electrical system and damage the components.
Toyota allegedly concealed the problem, and without a coolant bypass valve recall customers are stuck with paying for costly repairs that don't fix the problem which will allegedly continue to occur.
In addition, Toyota allegedly concealed from owners how the coolant bypass valve problem causes diminished vehicle values.
And as repeated in every automotive class action lawsuit:
"Had Plaintiffs and other Class Members known of the Defect at the time of purchase or lease, they would not have bought or leased their Class Vehicles, or would have paid substantially less for them."
California plaintiff Geri Barrientos purchased a 2020 Toyota RAV4 in June 2020, but she had to pay for a coolant bypass valve failure when the RAV4 had 40,723 miles on the odometer.
Florida plaintiff Michael Foerst purchased a 2020 Toyota RAV4 in January 2020, but the coolant bypass valve failed when the RAV4 had more than 41,000 miles on it.
The plaintiff says he had to pay for the repairs.
Both plaintiffs had to pay for repairs because the RAV4 warranties had expired, but the plaintiffs argue the limited warranty is "unconscionable and unenforceable."
The plaintiffs want Toyota to stop its allegedly "unlawful, deceptive, fraudulent, and unfair business practices," and to recall the vehicles or buy them back from customers.
The Toyota RAV4 and Corolla coolant bypass valve class action lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California (San Francisco Division): Barrientos et al., v. Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. et al.
The plaintiffs are represented by Nye, Stirling, Hale, Miller & Sweet, LLP, and Sauder Schelkopf.
