Montreal hybrid Rav4 owner files class-action against Toyota

Article content

Toyota has been getting heat from some Rav4 Hybrid and Prime owners recently over an alleged issue with an integral high-voltage cable that runs the length of the vehicle and could become corroded. The problem has been given the name #CableGate online. 

Article content

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

Montreal hybrid Rav4 owner files class-action against Toyota Back to video

Now that heat is being turned up from social media call-outs to a class-action lawsuit filed against the Japanese automaker on behalf of a Montreal Rav4 owner. French-language publication LaPresse reports that the owner is seeking $7,000 for the cost of the repairs, plus another $300 in punitive damages.

According to those talking about it online, including one individual who spoke to the Toronto Star last month, the problem concerns the electrical wire harness that transfers power to the rear motor-generator in Rav4 Hybrid models from the 2019 to 2021 model years. Apparently the harness is exposed to the elements and thereby susceptible to corrosion, which in turn could cause the hybrid system to fail completely.

Article content

But when The Star’s source, Jean-Thomas Landry, approached Toyota for repairs, he was handed a bill and told that the issue was not covered by the brand’s eight-year or 160,000-km hybrid component warranty, but rather a three-year/60,000-km warranty, which in his case had expired. The bill totaled $4,600 for the wiring harness, around $1,200 for labour, and another $900 in taxes. 

Toyota Canada spokesperson Philippe Crowe told The Star that “some customers” contacted the company about a potential problem, which it is investigating. “We strongly encourage all of our customers to have their vehicles regularly maintained at their local Toyota dealership. In cases where there is a concern about a product or part that is no longer under warranty, we evaluate each situation on a case-by-case basis,” the statement said.

There is no estimate of the number of Rav4s that may be impacted by this (and their owners’ wallets, by extension, as many of the 40,000 sold in Canada between 2019 and 2021 have already been repaired, and as some Prime models show the signs of corrosion but have not so far been noted to fail. 

An online petition to encourage Toyota to issue a recall over the problem has so far collected over 2,600 signatures.