Faulty diesel particulate filter might see Toyota facing a lawsuit

MANILA: Housing the new 2.8-litre turbodiesel engine, vehicles like Toyota Fortuner, Hilux, and Prado which were produced between the year 2015 and 2018 are supposed to be carrying a defective DPF. The faulty DPF (diesel particulate filter) as a result might drag the Japanese automaker, Toyota into the court very soon.

“Increased fuel consumption and a loss of power of the vehicle” has been reported by the customers from quite some time. It is possibly due to “hard deposits accumulating on the DPF oxidisation catalyst”, which in turn resists the engine from achieving the needed temperatures to operate efficiently. The faulty DPF leads to unburnt particulate matters causing greater wear and tear on the engine, particulate matter buildup, DPF blockage, foul-smelling emissions from the exhaust, and increased fuel use.

Toyota Australia has accepted the issue and is offering the affected customers with a replacement or cleaning of the DPF. However, the legal firm behind bringing the issue in front has said that “unnecessary inconvenience and expense” have been born by some customers for multiple years. The legal firm is also planning to file for “misleading and deceptive conduct” and “omissions equating to misleading and deceptive conduct” in the Australian Consumer Law (ACL).

If the legal firm filed against Toyota, the claim would force the Japanese auto giant to compensate the affected customers for any repairs, a loss of income for tradies with vehicles that were taken off the road because of the faulty part, any excessive depreciation, and increased fuel consumption or loss of power. Addressing the issue, Toyota said that it “launched the latest in a series of initiatives, a customer service campaign, to resolve the potential DPF issue in October”. The manufacturer also added, “Toyota dealers will reprogram the engine control module, ensure the DPF has been regenerated and conduct a smoke test. If the smoke test is negative, the DPF will be replaced. All inspection work and replacement, if required, will be completed free of charge to the customer.”