Toyota Gets Sued Again For Its Faulty Automatic Gearbox

December 21, 2025

Another Month, Another Lawsuit

Toyota can’t seem to catch a break in court lately. Last month, the company dealt with a $5.7-billion lawsuit over the hydrogen-powered Mirai, with owners saying the car was basically unusable because there’s nowhere to refuel. Now, Toyota’s back in the hot seat, but this time it’s about something significantly more common: automatic transmissions.

The latest lawsuit was filed this month in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, led by a Camry owner named James LeBoutheller. He says his car’s transmission started acting up, but every time he brought it to the dealer, he was told it was just “normal operation.” Only after things got worse did someone finally find metal shavings in the transmission fluid – a clear sign something inside had failed. By that point, Toyota apparently refused to pay for the full repair.

The lawsuit claims Toyota kept selling cars with a known transmission defect and didn’t warn buyers about the risk.

What the Lawsuit is Actually About

The heart of the issue is Toyota’s UA80 eight-speed automatic. According to the lawsuit, it’s got both a mechanical flaw and software that doesn’t help matters. The result? Too much heat, parts wearing out early, and transmissions that eventually give up. It is said that the transmission is “predisposed to premature failure” due to overheating, degraded fluid, and internal component wear, which may occasionally cause stalling or loss of power.

The lawsuit covers a wide range of vehicles, including:

Toyota Camry (2017–2024)
Toyota Highlander (2017–present)
Toyota RAV4 (2019–present)
Toyota Grand Highlander (2023–present)
Toyota Sienna (2017–2020)
Toyota Avalon (2019–2022)
Lexus ES 350 (2019–present)
Lexus ES 250 (2021–present)
Lexus RX 350 (2023–present)
Lexus NX 250 / NX 350 (2022–present)
Lexus TX 350 (2024–present)

Owners say Toyota tried to quietly fix the problem with service bulletins and behind-the-scenes updates, all while still advertising these cars as reliable.

Not the First Time, and Likely Not the Last

This isn’t just a one-off case, either. Earlier this month, another class-action lawsuit popped up in California, asking for about $5 million over the same UA80 transmission. The complaints are almost identical: Toyota knew about the problem, repairs cost a fortune once the warranty runs out, and help from the company is hit or miss.

In both cases, owners point to online complaints, NHTSA filings, and dealership acknowledgments as evidence that Toyota was well aware of the issue. The Texas lawsuit expands the scope by pushing for nationwide class certification and broader remedies, including warranty extensions or recalls.

What happens next is fairly predictable. Toyota is expected to file a motion to dismiss or narrow the claims, while plaintiffs will push for discovery to access internal documents. Whether these cases gain traction or eventually consolidate remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: the UA80 transmission isn’t done causing headaches, for owners or for Toyota.