Whoops! Toyota Sued In US For Fraud Of Forklift Engine Emission Test

The less-wearing news came from Toyota. The world's largest automotive manufacturer has been sued in a class action lawsuit by the United States (US) accusing them of embezzling nine of its forklift engines.

The complaint was filed by forklift buyers on Sunday evening at the San Francisco federal court, USA against Toyota and its affiliate Toyota Industries.

This comes after Toyota's internal investigation found in January, that the company made changes to the software or replaced different machines in emission tests, allowing forklifts to work better than real results.

Launching from Reuters on Wednesday, September 25, the plaintiff said the company's violations first emerged after an investigation from the US Environmental Protection Agency. However, the regulator has not taken any law enforcement actions.

"Toyota has tried to limit the impact it has on Japan, but the culture of fraud, negligence, and non-compliance in weakening forklifting have spread across all markets, including the United States," the complaint said.

The plaintiffs are Broad tandem Lumber & Plywood and Marders and Ferraro Foods, each of which is a supplier company in the southern San Francisco region.

All said they would not buy Toyota forklifts if they knew the vehicle did not meet emission standards, and its performance would be worse than advertised.

In the lawsuit, the party sued asking for compensation and punishments that were not determined, even asking for full refunds.

Previously in Japan, cases of diesel engine manipulation also involved ten vehicles worldwide, including six of them from Japan, which were reportedly using this problematic machine.

There are three types of machines affected, ranging from 1GD used in the Land Cruiser Prado, HiAce, Hino Dyna, Hilux, to Fortuner models produced by Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indonesia (TMMIN). In addition, 2GD and F33A machines were also affected, which were used in the Hilux, Innova, Land Cruiser 300, and Lexus LX500d models.