Toyota agrees to $750 million HiLux, Prado DPF class action settlement

Toyota Australia has agreed to a $750 million settlement covering two class actions relating to defective diesel particulate filters (DPFs) fitted to HiLux, Prado and Fortuner vehicles.

The proceedings concern defective DPF systems fitted to 264,170 Toyota HiLux utes and Prado and Fortuner large SUVs acquired in Australia between October 1, 2015, and April 23, 2020, including certain vehicles subsequently sold by their original owners.

“Toyota Australia has agreed to a settlement in the DPF Class Action case. The settlement is subject to Court approval,” a Toyota Australia spokesperson said in a statement provided to CarExpert.

“We remain committed to assisting any impacted customers and to providing a free-of-charge remedy that has been available since 2020. The trust of our customers has been central to Toyota Australia for more than 70 years, and we do not take that for granted.

“We apologise for any inconvenience or discomfort experienced by our customers.”

The original Williams class action began in 2019 and covers qualifying buyers who acquired affected vehicles during the original period, including some second-hand buyers.

The Taylor class action, launched in July 2025, covers qualifying owners who bought affected vehicles privately between April 24, 2020, and July 31, 2025, directly from their original owners, and still own them.

Affected participants should contact their legal representatives for further details.

The proposed $750 million settlement is nearly double Toyota Australia’s record $380 million after-tax profit for the financial year ended March 31, 2026.

The agreement remains subject to approval by the Federal Court of Australia.

A DPF traps soot from a diesel engine’s exhaust and periodically burns it off through a process known as regeneration. Toyota Australia introduced DPFs to diesel HiLux vehicles with the eighth-generation ute in October 2015.

Following the original class action, the Federal Court found the affected vehicles were not of acceptable quality because their DPF systems were defective. It also found Toyota engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct when marketing and selling them.

The defect could cause the filters to become blocked, resulting in excessive, foul-smelling white smoke, increased fuel consumption and repeated unscheduled inspections, servicing and repairs.

The affected HiLux models are fitted with 2.4-litre 2GD-FTV and 2.8-litre 1GD-FTV turbo-diesel engines. The Prado and Fortuner used the same 2.8-litre engine family.

Toyota introduced several countermeasures, with a manual DPF regeneration switch becoming standard in the HiLux, Prado and Fortuner from June 2018.

An effective repair developed in May 2020 involved updated exhaust-system hardware and software.

The Federal Court initially assessed the vehicles’ reduction in value at 17.5 per cent of their average retail price. This was reduced to 10 per cent by the Full Federal Court in March 2023 following Toyota’s appeal.

In November 2024, the High Court found the assessment should not have been reduced from 17.5 per cent to 10 per cent. However, it returned the matter to the Federal Court to reassess compensation, taking into account the availability of an effective repair.

The 2.8-litre 1GD-FTV turbo-diesel continues to power the current diesel HiLux range, launched in Australia in December 2025, albeit fitted with 48V mild-hybrid technology in some variants – as it is in all versions of the latest Toyota Prado, which arrived in Australian showrooms in 2024. The Fortuner was axed in late 2025 following slow sales.

Toyota Australia vice president of sales, marketing and franchise operations John Pappas told CarExpert at a media briefing last week that the company expects a record finish to 2026, predicting more than 220,000 sales for the calendar year, which would make Toyota Australia’s number one auto brand for the 31st consecutive year.

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