A large group of Toyota Mirai owners are apparently very frustrated with the reality of owning hydrogen-powered cars and have filed a class-action lawsuit against the automaker. The lawsuit targets Toyota's marketing, accusing the Japanese manufacturer of misleading consumers about the everyday use of the hydrogen-powered cars in question.
The plaintiffs point to a number of frustrations, including the lack of working charging stations, the shortage and skyrocketing prices of hydrogen fuel, and the Mirai's disappointing mileage, which is far below advertised figures. They claim these issues make the car practically "unfit" for daily driving.
According to the lawsuit, Toyota and its dealers told potential buyers that “hydrogen fuel is widely available and that refueling the Mirai is hassle-free”.
The reality of ownership, however, paints a very different picture. Mirai owners report frequent difficulty finding hydrogen stations, and also say that difficulty finding fuel often leads to the need for repatriation.
In addition, the declared range of 575 and 647 km depending on the version are considered unrealistic. Drivers report that it consistently gets 100 miles (160 km) less mileage than they were promised by official Toyota dealers.
The lawsuit also highlights a 200 percent increase in the price of hydrogen fuel over the past few years, from $13/kg in 2022 to around $36/kg in 2024. The increase means that Toyota's $15,000 fuel card given as a purchase incentive will not last for the claimed five years.
Finally, owners of the Japanese hydrogen sedan claim that all of the above problems have seriously affected the value of the used Toyota Mirai - the car retains only 19.4 percent of its original price after five years of use. As a result, the plaintiffs are seeking damages from Toyota.