— A ToyotaCare Plus class action lawsuit alleges the maintenance plans are not the deal and savings that Toyota allegedly claims they are.
According to the lawsuit, ToyotaCare Plus is supposed to cover scheduled services typically paid by vehicle owners at specific mileage intervals.
The class action says an example is a customer who instead of paying for maintenance every 5,000 miles, can pay upfront for a ToyotaCare Plus plan to cover all scheduled maintenance for five years and/or up to 55,000 miles.
But the plaintiff asserts Toyota falsely markets the ToyotaCare Plus plan as "a superior value and lower-cost alternative to paying for each scheduled service individually at the time of service."
The class action lawsuit alleges a ToyotaCare Plus plan can cost upwards of $1,000.
The ToyotaCare Plus brochure alleges regular service visits cost $100 and any major service visits would cost $400, and the total value of the maintenance package is allegedly $1,900, but a customer can purchase it for $1,025.
ToyotaCare Plus Lawsuit: The Plaintiff
Plaintiff Teresa Solis says she paid $1,025 for the ToyotaCare Plus package thinking she would be saving $875 in the long run, but she contends eventually she realized the $1,900 value was far from accurate.
The plaintiff claims she took her vehicle to a Toyota dealership but certain work was being performed ahead of schedule or completely skipped.
According to the ToyotaCare Plus class action, the plaintiff brought her vehicle in for the 20,000-mile regular service in January 2022, but Toyota allegedly did not perform the 20,000-mile service and instead performed the service scheduled for 30,000 miles.
The class action alleges the bill for this "major service" was roughly $200, not the $400 she was told it would be.
Then in July 2022 when she brought the vehicle in for the 30,000 major service, she contends she was given the 35,000 regular service and the bill came to $30 (not the $100 she was sold). Had she paid out of pocket, it would have been just $43.
"Ultimately, Ms. Solis realized she would have only paid between $800 and $900 – less than the total price she paid for the Maintenance Plan." — ToyotaCare Plus lawsuit
The plaintiff says she was confused and she questioned the service department at the Toyota dealership as to why maintenance was being performed “ahead of schedule” and why the amounts charged were lower than what Toyota told her they would be.
The plaintiff asserts she was told everything was being done as it should, but at the end of the plan she realized if she had paid out-of-pocket each time she brought her car in for service, she would have only paid between $800 and $900. This is less than the total price she paid for the ToyotaCare Plus plan.
In addition, the class action lawsuit alleges when the plaintiff took her car in at 45,000 miles for scheduled major service, Toyota told her she had only one more service remaining. The plaintiff was also allegedly told she needed to pay extra for cabin and air filters.
The lawsuit alleges the value of the ToyotaCare Plus plan was inflated and designed by Toyota to cost consumers more than if they had paid for repairs and maintenance.
According to the Toyota class action, Toyota makes a lot of profit by deceiving customers about the ToyotaCare Plus maintenance plan.
The ToyotaCare Plus class action lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California: Teresa Solis v. Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., et al.
The plaintiff is represented by Singleton Schreiber.
