Toyota Hands-Free Echo Class Action Settlement

A federal court authorized the notice to inform you of a proposed class action injunctive settlement. You are NOT being sued. The notice explains the litigation, the proposed Settlement, and your legal rights. Judge Terry J. Hatter, Jr. of the United States District Court for the Central District of California, Western Division is overseeing this case and has exclusive jurisdiction over the Settlement. This litigation is known as Kesselman v. Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., et al., Case No. 2:21-cv-06010-TJH-JC.

The table below summarizes your options under the proposed Settlement. Please review this information carefully because your legal rights may be affected even if you do not take any action.

This lawsuit alleges that there is a defect in certain Toyota vehicles ("Subject Vehicles") in which, when the Toyota driver uses the hands-free phone system to make or receive a call, the person on the other end of the phone call hears an echo of his or her own words ("Echo Issue"). Plaintiffs primarily allege that Toyota's failure to disclose to Plaintiffs and the rest of the class members the existence of the Echo Issue violates the consumer protection statutes of California, Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, Washington, Illinois, Georgia, New York, Ohio, Oregon, and Minnesota.

The Subject Vehicles are the 2014-2019 4Runner, 2015-2018 Avalon, 2015-2018 Avalon HV, 2014-2019 Highlander, 2014-2019 Highlander HV, 2016-2018 Mirai, 2016-2019 Prius, 2017-2019 Prius Prime, 2015-2019 Prius V, 2014-2019 Sequoia, 2015-2017 Sienna, 2014-2019 Tacoma, 2014-2019 Tundra, 2015 Venza, and 2018-2019 Yaris vehicles.

The parties have actively litigated the case since 2019, including lawsuits in multiple jurisdictions that were consolidated into this case, Toyota filing multiple motions to dismiss, Toyota' motion to compel arbitration, exchanging discovery including interrogatories and responses to those interrogatories, production of over 90,000 pages of documents, and deposition of 11 plaintiffs.

The operative complaint, the Fifth Amended Class Action Complaint, was filed on January 6, 2025 and raises thirteen causes of action, including violation of California's Unfair Competition Law, violation of Arizona's Consumer Fraud Act, violation of Colorado's Consumer Protection Act, violation of Section 349 of the New York General Business Law, violation of Section 350 of the New York General Business Law, violation of the Washington Consumer Protection Act, violation of the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practice Act, violation of the Missouri Merchandising Practice Act, violation of the Georgia Fair Business Practices Act, violation of Ohio's Consumer Sales Practices Act, violation of Oregon's Unlawful Trade Practices Act, violation of Minnesota's Prevention of Consumer Fraud Act, and violation of Minnesota's Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

Toyota denies all claims and allegations of wrongdoing and denies that they violated any law or duty that would give rise to liability. The Court has not decided who is right.

The Settlement provides for injunctive relief only, consisting of a multifaceted consumer Outreach Program designed to educate Class Members about the existence of the Echo Issue and how to adjust the volume settings on their cell phone and in their vehicle in order to eliminate the problem. Under the Settlement, you are not releasing any claims for monetary or statutory damages, personal injury, or wrongful death.

The Outreach Program includes

• Volume Adjustment Protocol Website, which shall contain:
  • Information about the Echo Issue;
  • Detailed customer instructions related to the Volume Adjustment Protocol, the language of which has been negotiated and agreed to by the Parties,
  • An enhanced video instructing Class Members of the Volume Adjustment Protocol, the script for which has been negotiated and agreed to by the Parties, and
  • A link to this Settlement website;
• Communications sent directly to current owners or lessees of Subject Vehicles in the Class States, via U.S. Mail, or where available, by email, which includes:
  • Information about the Echo Issue;
  • Enhanced instructions for the Volume Adjustment Protocol, the language of which has been negotiated and agreed to by the Parties;
  • A QR code to the Volume Adjustment Protocol Website, and
  • A QR code to this Settlement website;
• Volume Adjustment Protocol IVR phone number, where Class Members can listen to responses for commonly asked questions related to the Volume Adjustment Protocol;
• Social media program which includes social media ads that target Class Members that will provide settlement-related information to Class Members including directing the Class Members to the Volume Adjustment Protocol Website;
• A Renewed Tech Tip, which will be available to Dealers and will include the enhanced instructions and a link to the Volume Adjustment Protocol Website and enhanced video.

The Volume Adjustment Protocol Website can be found at: www.ToyotaVolumeAdjustmentProtocol.com.

If the Settlement becomes final on April 24, 2026, all Class Members will release Toyota and the Released Parties from liability for injunctive relief and will not be able to sue Toyota about the issues in the lawsuit for injunctive relief.

Under the Settlement, you are not releasing any claims for monetary or statutory damages, personal injury, or wrongful death.

The Settlement Agreement at Section VI and Appendix A of the Notice describe the released claims in necessary legal terminology, so read it carefully. You can talk to one of the lawyers listed in Question 10 for free or you can, of course, talk to your own lawyer at your own expense if you have questions about the released claims or what they mean.

In a class action, people called "class representatives" sue on behalf of other people who have similar claims. All of these people together are known as the "Class" or "Class Members," and the Court must approve this procedure. When a class action of this nature is settled, the Court resolves the issues in the lawsuit for all class members, without the option for exclusion or opting out.

Both sides in the lawsuit agreed to the Settlement to avoid the cost and risk of further litigation, including a potential trial. The Settlement provides benefits to Class Members in exchange for releasing Toyota from liability. The Settlement does not mean that Toyota broke any laws or did anything wrong, and the Court did not decide which side was right. The Class Representatives and the lawyers representing the Class believe that the Settlement is in the best interests of all Class Members.

This website summarizes the essential terms of the Settlement. The Settlement Agreement sets forth in greater detail the rights and obligations of the parties.

You are included in the Class if as of August 18, 2025, you own(ed), lease(d), or purchase(d) a Subject Vehicle in the States of Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Oregon, and Washington. The Subject Vehicles are:

The following entities and individuals are excluded from the Class:

• Toyota, its officers, directors, and employees, affiliates and affiliates’ officers, directors and employees; distributors and distributors’ officers, directors and employees; and Toyota Dealers and Toyota Dealers’ officers and directors;
• Plaintiffs’ counsel;
• Judicial officers and their immediate family members and associated court staff assigned to this case.

For more information, please review the Settlement Agreement.

Yes. The Court has appointed lawyers from the law firms Arias Sanguinetti Wang and Team LLP and Goldenberg Heller & Antognoli, P.C. These lawyers are called "Class Counsel." Their contact information is as follows:

If you want to be represented by another lawyer, you may hire one to appear in Court for you at your own expense.

Class Counsel asked the Court to award the attorneys representing the Class up to $2,850,000.00 to compensate them for their attorneys' fees and up to $273,373.96 for their costs and expenses in litigating this case and securing this nationwide Settlement for the Class. Class Counsel also asked the Court to award the Settlement Class Representatives service awards totaling no more than $95,000.00 for their work in this litigation. The Court approved Class Counsel’s requests for fees, costs and expenses, and Settlement Class Representative service awards to be paid by the Toyota Defendants.

The Court held the final approval or “Fairness Hearing” at 10:00 a.m. PST on March 23, 2026. On March 24, 2026, the Court approved the settlement and entered the Final Order Approving Rule 23(b)(2) Class Action Settlement, Order Granting Plaintiffs’ Amended Motion for Attorney’s Fees, Expenses, and Service Award, and Final Judgment. No appeals were filed and the Settlement is now final.

This website summarizes the proposed Settlement. More details are in the Settlement Agreement. You can also call the toll-free number, 1-888-835-5756, to listen to the answers to frequently asked questions.