Toyota customers in California have filed a proposed class action lawsuit against the automaker, alleging that the scarcity of hydrogen fuel for their Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles has made the cars "unsafe, unreliable and inoperable."

Complaint Filed Over Hydrogen Fuel Issues

Despite Toyota's assurances that hydrogen refueling for its two Mirai generations is "available, seamless, and comparable to refueling with gasoline," customers Bryan Caluwe, Shervin Shahhian, Leila Khaje Hoseini, and Soheil Vahedi claim otherwise in their complaint filed in California federal court on Wednesday. The plaintiffs argue that a shortage of hydrogen fuel has forced them to travel long distances to refuel, often unsuccessfully, leading to inoperable vehicles that require towing.

Toyota Sued Over Hydrogen Fuel Scarcity : Allegations Against Toyota

The complaint asserts that Toyota has failed to disclose to its customers that the hydrogen fueling stations promised to be numerous "frequently are out of fuel, are inoperative due to broken equipment, and/or will not accept fuel cards as payment due to various internal issues." This failure to inform has left customers stranded and frustrated.

Additionally, Toyota's claim that the Mirai comes with a $15,000 hydrogen fuel card, supposedly lasting three or more years, is disputed by the customers, who cite rising hydrogen fuel prices since 2022. The plaintiffs also contend that the actual fuel capacity of their vehicles is up to 100 miles less than advertised, significantly affecting the vehicle's usability.

Toyota Sued Over Hydrogen Fuel Scarcity : Impact on Vehicle Value

The plaintiffs further argue that the issues with the Mirai, combined with high operating costs, have drastically reduced the vehicle's resale value. "Indeed, given the various issues with the Mirai vehicle, as well as Mirai's high operating costs, as stated in detail above, the re-sale value of Mirai vehicles has decreased exponentially. In fact, the Toyota Mirai's value retention after five years is only 19.4 percent," the customers said.

Seeking Class Action Status

The customers are seeking to represent a class of California customers who purchased or leased Toyota Mirai vehicles from 2021 to 2024. This class will likely include thousands of customers, said Nilofar Nouri of Beverly Hills Trial Attorneys PC, one of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs.

"The lack of a satisfactory solution has left them with no choice but to file this lawsuit and seek resolution through the courts," Nouri stated. "The problems really affect the reliability and safety of these vehicles. We have clients who have owned the vehicle for two, three years, and they only have 5,000 miles on the car because they just can't really use it given the lack of hydrogen fuel."

Legal Actions Against Toyota

In their complaint, the customers are pursuing six causes of action against Toyota, including fraudulent concealment and misrepresentation, violations of the California Business and Professions Code and False Advertising Law, breach of implied warranty of merchantability, violation of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, and unjust enrichment. The plaintiffs are seeking compensatory damages, restitution and disgorgement of all profits, exemplary and punitive damages, as well as declaratory and injunctive relief to bar Toyota from continuing its alleged unlawful practices.

Toyota Sued Over Hydrogen Fuel Scarcity : Toyota's Response

Representatives for Toyota did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Thursday. The Toyota customers are represented by Azar Mouzari and Nilofar Nouri of Beverly Hills Trial Attorneys PC. Counsel information for Toyota was not immediately available.