Toyota in trouble: Mirai buyers sue the company for feeling deceived

Hydrogen fuel cell cars were meant to be one of the great alternatives to combustion engine cars, and several brands dared to move down that path. But it seems they have not done so with the enthusiasm that was expected of them. Toyota was perhaps the company that bet most heavily on this sustainable drivetrain system. Its biggest bet was the Toyota Mirai, a car offered as the ideal solution for entering this world.

But several years later, fuel cell technology seems to have been practically abandoned by the companies that bet on it, and there have been no significant changes on the matter. For example, there is no valid network of charging points for this type of vehicle, nor has there been any significant progress to promote these cars.

Complaints from California owners

One of the places where the most Toyota Mirai units have been sold is California. Users of this model in California have grown tired of the promises they received from Toyota and feel the company has abandoned them. One of the reasons behind the anger of Toyota Mirai users is the closure of the hydrogen stations run by Shell.

Specifically, seven hydrogen refuelling stations have been affected, where operating problems, breakdowns and operational issues have been recorded. That, combined with the shortage of hydrogen supply, has led to the closure of these hydrogen-supplying service stations.

For this reason, owners of this hydrogen model have been left without the ability to refuel their vehicle and have no way to fill up their car’s tank. Before that, they were already finding that filling the tank had tripled in cost over recent months.

Lack of infrastructure and lawsuits

Nothing like the promises of savings and ease of use of hydrogen fuel cell cars that were made by Toyota. Many users, if not all, have had to park their cars in garages and parking spaces, unable to use them. Toyota has tried to offer solutions to users, but they are neither happy with nor in agreement with those solutions.

So the owners of the Toyota Mirai have joined together in a class action lawsuit against Toyota, based on the claim that they have been deceived and subjected to fraud, negligence and violation of consumer protection laws. The complaint also names the hydrogen station operator FirstElement Fuel, the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association, and California Governor Gavin Newsom.

It is the first move made against the failed promises of the companies that promised a practical and accessible infrastructure for owners of these cars. And without that infrastructure, all the functionality and advantage offered by these vehicles is lost. Will other users from other parts of the planet follow suit?