Several Prius vehicles that were fixed after recall continued to overheat and lose power, a lawsuit now claims. This report is serious and it shouldn’t be ignored as many drivers may be exposed to accident risks.
According to several news reports, after Toyota launched a recall in 2016 so that an important electronic component was repaired, one of the largest Toyota dealerships in the country claimed that drivers were still coming back after the fix was implemented complaining of overheating vehicles. These drivers would say that the issue left them stranded in traffic.
The owners of the dealership decided to do something, telling customers about the issue and then refusing to resell Prius vehicles used by customers as trade-ins. The 70 cars worth $1 million are still parked at their dealership but seeing more than 100 post-recall failures, they have refused to resell them until Toyota does its part.
In 2017, the dealer’s owner decided to take matters into his hands by filing a lawsuit. In the documents, the dealer alleges that the unresolved issue could cause drivers to operate vehicles that will have no power unexpectedly. On his report regarding the Prius defects recorded with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the dealer said that, unfortunately, these issues are putting lives at risk.
Deciding to put customer safety before profits, the Toyota dealer wants the company to take responsibility for the issue that has been terrorizing Prius owners.
Despite the effort he’s put on ensuring customer safety, Toyota has decided to, instead, reject the dealer’s claims.
As personal injury attorneys, we have seen many similar cases. Product liability cases are serious, especially when they are associated with cars that can put the lives of drivers in danger.
We will be following closely to see how this case ends. Until then, do not let negligent automakers off the hook. If you have been the victim of an accident caused by equipment failure that hasn’t been properly addressed by the maker of your vehicle, act promptly and talk to an attorney to have your case evaluated.
