Toyota Industries Corporation to settle US class actionA United States District Court is expected to approve a class action settlement against Toyota affiliates for emissions cheating on forklifts with settlement class members to receive a cash payment, inspection of relevant Toyota forklifts and a free oil change.
Lawyers representing the more than 20 plaintiffs in the case have filed a motion with the court to approve the settlement, slated to take place on February 26, 2026.
Under the settlement Toyota Industries Corporation, Toyota Material Handling North America and Toyota Material Handling Inc, will make a cash payment to owners and lessees of 272,422 forklifts manufactured between 2007 and 2021, totalling USD299.5 million.
This equates to USD1,400 to 2,800 per vehicle, dependant on the number of claims submitted.
The settlement, which Toyota’s affiliates have agreed to, also includes inspections and maintenance worth between USD83.7 million and USD189.3 million, depending on the number of forklifts purchased or leased during this period which are still working.
All settlement class members with an operable settlement class forklift, can schedule a visit from an authorised Toyota Material Handling dealership. This visit should include a manufacturer-recommended inspection and, where appropriate, basic services for all the major systems of the forklift, as well as a choice of either a free oil change or a transmission fluid change.
In addition to this, any government emissions-related recall for the class engines in the next three years, requires a warranty on any new engine parts required by that recall.
The parent company of the three affiliates, Toyota Motor Corp, was dismissed from the lawsuit as it was not involved in the emissions testing process of the forklifts.
The Motion for Preliminary Approval of Class Settlement submitted to the court, states plaintiffs began investigating emissions from their own forklifts in 2023 after Toyota Industries Corporation announced it had suspended “domestic shipment in Japan due to potential violation of regulations related to certification of engines for forklifts”.