Sharon Cheng, et al. v. Toyota Motor Corporation, et al. Frequently Asked Questions

A Court authorized the Notice because you have a right to know about a proposed Settlement of a class action lawsuit and about all of your options before the Court decides whether to give final approval to the Settlement. The name of the lawsuit is Cheng, et al., v. Toyota Motor Corp., et al., Case No. 1:20-cv-00629-WFK-JRC (E.D.N.Y.). The defendants are Toyota Motor Corporation, Toyota Motor North America, Inc. (collectively, “Toyota”), and Denso International America, Inc. (“Denso”) (collectively, “Defendants”). The Notice explains the lawsuit, the Settlement, and your legal rights. You are NOT being sued. The Court still has to decide whether to finally approve the Settlement. Please be patient and check this regularly. Please do not contact the Court. All questions should be directed to the Settlement Notice Administrator, identified below.

The class action lawsuit claims that the fuel tanks in certain Toyota and Lexus vehicles are equipped with defective Denso-manufactured fuel pumps. The lawsuit pursues claims for violations of various state consumer protection statutes, among other claims. You can read the class action complaint here. Toyota and Denso deny that they have violated any law and deny that they engaged in any wrongdoing. The parties agreed to resolve these matters before these issues were decided by the Court.

This Settlement does not involve claims of personal injury, wrongful death, or actual physical property damage arising from the Covered Vehicles.

Various Toyota and Lexus vehicles which were equipped with certain Denso fuel pumps (called the “Covered Vehicles”) distributed for sale or lease in the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and all other United States territories and/or possessions are included in the Settlement.

“Additional Vehicles” means those vehicles that are equipped with Denso low-pressure fuel pumps with part number prefixes 23220- and/or 23221- that are identified in the Long Form Notice and/or in this exhibit.

 “Subject Vehicles” means those vehicles that were identified as part of the Recall, all of which are equipped with Denso low-pressure fuel pumps with part number prefixes 23220- and/or 23221-, and/or are recalled vehicles that are listed in Long Form Notice and/or in this exhibit.

 “SSC Vehicles” means the vehicles identified as part of the Special Service Campaigns 21LC01 and 21TC03, all of which are equipped with Denso low-pressure fuel pumps with part number prefix 04009, and are listed in Long Form Notice and/or in this exhibit. 

In a class action, people called “class representatives” sue on behalf of other people who have similar claims. All of these people together are the “Class” or “Class Members” if the Court approves this procedure. Once approved, the Court resolves the issues for all Class Members, except for those who exclude themselves from the Class.

Both sides in the lawsuit agreed to a Settlement to avoid the cost and risk of further litigation, including a potential trial, and so that the Class Members can get benefits, in exchange for releasing Toyota and Denso from liability. The Settlement does not mean that Toyota and Denso broke any laws or did anything wrong, and the Court did not decide which side was right. This Settlement has been preliminarily approved by the Court, which authorized the issuance of this Website. The Class Representatives and the lawyers representing them called Plaintiffs’ Counsel, including Class Counsel, believe that the Settlement is in the best interests of all Class Members.

You are part of the Settlement if you are a person, entity or organization who, at any time as of September 19, 2022, own or owned, purchase(d) or lease(d) Covered Vehicles distributed for sale or lease in any of the fifty States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and all other United States territories and/or possessions. This is called the “Class.”

Excluded from the Class are: (a) Toyota, its officers, directors and employees; its affiliates and affiliates’ officers, directors and employees; its distributors and distributors’ officers, directors and employees; and Toyota Dealers and Toyota Dealers’ officers and directors; (b) Denso, its officers, directors and employees; its affiliates and affiliates’ officers, directors and employees; its distributors and distributors’ officers, directors and employees; (c) Plaintiffs’ Counsel; and (d) judicial officers and their immediate family members and associated court staff assigned to this case.

If you are not sure whether you are included in the Class, you may call 1-833-512-2318 or go to the Am I a Class Member Section of this website, which contains a VIN lookup tool to determine if your vehicle is part of the Class.

If you believe that you are a Class Member, but you did not previously receive a Direct Mail Notice, you may contact Class Counsel or the Settlement Notice Administrator. You will need to provide necessary documentation for the Settlement Notice Administrator to confirm that you are Class Member eligible for the relief provided in the Settlement Agreement.

Please do not contact the Court. All questions should be directed to the Settlement Notice Administrator at 1-833-512-2318 or through the Contact Us section of this website.

If you are a Class Member, what you are eligible to receive depends on several factors. The Settlement benefits are outlined generally below, and more information can be found on this Settlement website. The Court still has to decide whether to finally approve the Settlement. No benefits have to be provided until and unless the Court finally approves the Settlement and only after any appeal period expires or any appeals are resolved in favor of the Settlement. After the issuance of the Preliminary Approval Order signed by the Court, Defendants, at their sole discretion, may, after consultation with Class Counsel, implement the Customer Support Program in advance of the occurrence of the Final Effective Date. We do not know when the Court will finally approve the Settlement if it does so or whether there will be any appeals that would have to be resolved in favor of the Settlement before certain benefits would be provided, so we do not know precisely when any benefits may be available. Please check this website regularly for updates regarding the Settlement.

The Settlement offers several benefits, depending on the vehicle, including a Customer Support Program which will provide prospective coverage of 15 years, measured from the date of original sale, for any repairs to correct defects in the fuel pumps (see Question 10 below), or an Extended New Parts Warranty of 15 years, measured from July 15, 2021, or 150,000 total odometer miles, whichever comes first (see Question 11 below). The Settlement also offers a complimentary Loaner/Towing Program for vehicles undergoing repairs; reimbursement of certain out-of-pocket expenses; a reconsideration procedure; and settlement oversight by a Settlement Special Master.  Some of these benefits require action by Class Members by certain deadlines.

Please note that you may have to take action within certain deadlines to receive certain benefits, such as completing and submitting a claim form for reimbursement of eligible out-of-pocket expenses (see Question 9 below). If you do nothing, you may not receive certain benefits from the Settlement, and, as a Class Member, you will not be able to sue Toyota and Denso about the issues in the lawsuit.

To determine whether your vehicle is an Additional Vehicle, a Subject Vehicle, or an SSC vehicle, including the specific definitions for each of those terms, please see Appendix A, B, and C, respectively, at the end of the Long Form Notice or by clicking on these exhibits (Additional Vehicles, Subject Vehicles, and SSC Vehicles) or by going to the Am I a Class Member Section of this website.  

Toyota shall extend the new parts warranty coverage for the fuel pump kit replaced (“replacement fuel pump kit”) on the Subject Vehicles and the SSC Vehicles.  The extended warranty will last for 15 years, measured from July 15, 2021, and up to 150,000 total odometer miles, whichever comes first. 

Subject Vehicles and SSC Vehicles: Loaner/Towing Program - Without cost to and upon request from Class Members who own or lease SSC Vehicles or Subject Vehicles whose fuel pumps are being replaced pursuant to the Extended Warranty shall be provided with the same loaner or rental vehicles and/or towing options provided to the Subject Vehicles under the Recall(s).  In appropriate circumstances, where the Class Member has a demonstrated need for a Loaner Vehicle similar to the Subject Vehicle or the SSC Vehicle, Toyota, through its dealers, shall use good faith efforts to satisfy the request.  

In the event that any of the SSC Vehicles becomes the subject of a future recall for the same underlying condition, which is the subject of the Plaintiff’s Class Action Complaint, those SSC Vehicles will be entitled to the relief provided under the settlement as defined above in this subparagraph as well as any additional benefits provided pursuant to a future recall. 

If a Class Member is denied coverage under the Customer Support Program for Additional Vehicles, or the Extended New Parts Warranty for Subject Vehicles and the SSC Vehicles, the Class Member may take the Covered Vehicle to a second Toyota Dealer for an independent determination. If the second Toyota Dealer determines that the Covered Vehicle qualifies the Customer Support Program for Additional Vehicles, or the Extended New Parts Warranty for Subject Vehicles and the SSC Vehicles, the Class Member will be provided those benefits as provided in this Settlement.

In the event there remains a dispute by a Class Member relating to entitlement to any benefit under the Customer Support Program, the Extended New Parts Warranty, the Loaner/Towing Program, and/or Out-of-Pocket Claims Process that is not resolved after exhausting all other means of resolution available under this Settlement,  the Settlement Claims Administrator or the Settlement Notice Administrator, as the case may be, shall provide a written notice of same, together with all necessary documentation, to the Settlement Special Master, Class Counsel, Toyota’s Counsel and Denso’s Counsel within fifteen days of the final act constituting the denial of the benefit. Class Counsel, Toyota’s Counsel, and Denso’s Counsel shall confer and either make a joint recommendation to the Settlement Claims Administrator or separately relay their positions concerning the dispute to the Settlement Claims Administrator within thirty days. The Settlement Claims Administrator shall make a final determination concerning the dispute and provide written notice of same, with directions for implementation, to the Parties, or Settlement Notice Administrator within thirty days. Toyota’s Counsel, Denso’s Counsel, and/or the Settlement Notice Administrator shall implement the Settlement Claims Administrator’s determination within thirty days; provided, however, that if the determination was to allow, in full or in part, a previously denied Claim, the Settlement Notice Administrator shall pay the Claim in the next distribution of checks for allowed Claims.

If the Settlement becomes final, Class Members who do not exclude themselves from the Class will release Toyota and Denso from liability and will not be able to sue Toyota and Denso about the issues in the lawsuit, but will not be releasing any claims for personal injury, wrongful death or physical property damage (except to the Fuel Pump in the Covered Vehicle itself) from the Covered Vehicle. The Settlement Agreement at Section VII describes the released claims in necessary legal terminology, so read it carefully. For ease of reference, we also attach the full release section in Appendix A to the Long Form Notice. The Settlement Agreement is available here. You can talk to one of the lawyers listed in Question 18 below for free or you can, of course, talk to your own lawyer at your own expense if you have questions about the released claims or what they mean.

If you exclude yourself, you do not get Settlement benefits and you will not be bound by anything that happens in this lawsuit. If you ask to be excluded, you cannot object to the Settlement. But, if you timely and properly request exclusion, the Settlement will not prevent you from suing, continuing to sue or remaining or becoming part of a different lawsuit against Toyota and Denso in the future about the issues in the lawsuit.

Unless you exclude yourself, you give up the right to sue Toyota and Denso for the claims resolved by this Settlement. If you do not exclude yourself and the Settlement is finally approved, you will be permanently enjoined and barred from initiating or continuing any lawsuit or other proceeding against Toyota and Denso about the issues in the lawsuit.

To exclude yourself from the Settlement, you must submit a written request saying that you want to be excluded from the Settlement. In your letter, you must include: (a) a heading which refers to the lawsuit, Cheng, et al., v. Toyota Motor Corp., et al., Case No. 1:20-cv-00629-WFK-JRC (E.D.N.Y.); (b) the excluding Class Member’s full name, current residential address, mailing address (if different), telephone number, and email address; (c) an explanation of the basis upon which the excluding Class Member claims to be a Class Member, including the make, model year, and VIN(s) of the Subject Vehicle(s); (d) a request that the Class Member wants to be excluded from the Action; and (e) the excluding Class Member’s dated, handwritten signature (an electronic signature or attorney’s signature is not sufficient). You can’t ask to be excluded over the phone or on this Settlement website. You must mail your letter with your exclusion request postmarked no later than December 2, 2022 (This date has already occurred). to:

Your letter with your exclusion request must be postmarked no later than December 2, 2022 (This date has already occurred)., to be considered by the Court. The deadlines found in the Long Form Notice may be changed by the Court. Please check this website regularly for updates regarding the Settlement.

Yes. The Court has appointed lawyers to represent you and other Class Members. These lawyers are called “Class Counsel”: W. Daniel “Dee” Miles III and Demet Basar of Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C. are Class Counsel. Their contact information is as follows:

If you want to be represented by another lawyer, you may hire one to appear in Court for you at your own expense.

The law firms that worked on this Action will ask the Court for Attorneys’ Fees in an amount up to $28,500,000.00 (twenty-eight million five hundred thousand dollars and no cents) and Costs and Expenses in an amount up to $500,000.00 (five hundred thousand dollars and no cents).

Class Counsel will also ask the Court to award each of the Class Representatives service awards in an amount up to of $3,500.00 (three thousand five hundred dollars and no cents) each for Class Representatives who had their vehicles inspected, and $2,500.00 (two thousand five hundred dollars and no cents) each for Class Representatives without inspections for the time and effort spent representing Class Members.  A total of up to 4 Class Representatives had their vehicles inspected, resulting in an amount up to $14,000.00.  A total of 29 Class Representatives did not have their vehicles inspected, resulting in an amount of $72,500.00.  The full amount of service awards for all 33 Class Representatives is up to $86,500.00 (eighty-six thousand five hundred dollars and no cents).

The Court must approve the request for Attorneys’ Fees, Costs and Expenses and the request for Class Representative service awards. Class Counsel will file the motion for Attorneys’ Fees, Costs and Expenses and the request for Class Representative service awards with the Court, which will then be posted on the Documents section of this website. The amounts awarded by the Court will be paid by Defendants in addition to all other Settlement benefits. Under no circumstances will Defendants’ payment of Attorneys’ Fees, Costs and Expenses and Class Representative service awards reduce your Settlement benefits.

In order to pay the Attorneys’ Fees, Costs, and Expenses and Class Representative service awards, the Parties, through their respective counsel, shall move the Court to establish and create a Qualified Settlement Fund (“QSF”), pursuant to Internal Revenue Code § 468B and the Regulations issued thereto, which shall be used to deposit and distribute Class Counsel’s Attorneys’ Fees, Costs, and Expenses and Class Representative service awards as may be awarded by the Court, with the QSF to be held by the Escrow Agent. All payments to be made by Defendants pursuant to this Agreement shall be made by wire transfer into an Escrow Account, established and controlled consistent with and pursuant to an Escrow Agreement at a mutually-agreed-upon bank with a preference for a bank located in New York State. The Escrow Agent shall invest the payments in short-term United States Agency or Treasury Securities (or a mutual fund invested solely in such instruments), or in a United States Government fully-insured account, and shall collect and reinvest any and all interest accrued thereon, if applicable, unless interest rates are such that they would effectively preclude investment in interest-bearing instruments as defined herein. All (i) taxes on the income of the Escrow Account and (ii) expenses and costs incurred with taxes paid from the Escrow Account (including, without limitation, expenses of tax attorneys, accountants, and the Tax Administrator) (collectively, “Taxes”) shall be timely paid by Defendants without prior Order of the Court. All other expenses related to the Escrow Account and/or QSF (including but not limited to the payment of the Escrow Account officer), shall be paid for separately, by Defendants. The Parties agree that the Escrow Agent, with the assistance of the Tax Administrator, shall be responsible for filing tax returns for the QSF and paying from the Escrow Account any Taxes owed with respect to the QSF.

The Parties hereto agree that the Escrow Account shall be treated as a QSF from the earliest date possible and agree to any relation back election required to treat the Escrow Account as a QSF from the earliest date possible. The Escrow Account shall be initially comprised of one fund which shall be a single QSF. Toyota, Denso, the Settlement Special Master, Class Representatives, and Class Counsel shall have no responsibility with respect to taxes owed by the QSF or Class Members who receive distributions from the QSF pursuant to this Settlement Agreement.

Following the Court’s grant of Final Approval, on agreement by the parties, the Settlement Special Master may distribute funds from the QSF.

If the Court does not grant final approval to the Settlement, any funds remaining in the QSF shall revert to Defendants, as per their contributions, and any such funds paid into the QSF and not returned to Defendants will be credited towards any eventual Settlement that may be approved.

If you are a Class Member, and you do not exclude yourself from the Class, you can object to the Settlement if you do not like some part of it or all of it. You can give reasons why you think the Court should not approve it. You can also object to the request for attorneys’ fees, costs and expenses and the request for Class Representative service awards. To object, you must file electronically or mail to the Clerk of the Court a written objection signed by you saying that you object to the Settlement in Cheng, et al., v. Toyota Motor Corp., et al., Case No. 1:20-cv-00629-WFK-JRC (E.D.N.Y.), to the Clerk of Court (identified below) so that it is received or filed no later than November 25, 2022 (This date has already occurred). and copies must be mailed to the attorneys listed in the section below.

In your objection, you must include: (a) a heading which refers to the lawsuit, Cheng, et al., v. Toyota Motor Corp., et al., Case No. 1:20-cv-00629-WFK-JRC (E.D.N.Y.); (b) the objector’s full name, current residential address, mailing address (if different), telephone number, and email address; (c) an explanation of the basis upon which the objector claims to be a Class Member, including the make, model year, and VIN(s) of the Covered Vehicle(s), and whether the Covered Vehicle is currently owned or currently leased by the Class Member; (d) whether the objection applies only to the objector, to a specific subset of the Class or to the entire Class and all grounds for the objection, accompanied by any legal support for the objection, and any documents or other evidence the objector believes supports the objection; (e) the number of times the objector has objected to a class action Settlement within the five years preceding the date that the objector files the objection to this Settlement, the caption and case number of each case in which the objector has made such objection and the caption and case number of any related appeal, and a copy of any orders related to or ruling upon the objector’s prior such objections that were issued by the trial and appellate courts in each listed case; (f) the full name, telephone number, mailing address, and e-mail address of all counsel who represent the objector, including any former or current counsel who may be entitled to compensation for any reason related to the objection to the Settlement Agreement and/or the request for Attorneys’ Fees, Costs and Expenses; (g) the identity of all counsel representing the objector who will appear at the Fairness Hearing; (h) the number of times the objector’s counsel has objected to a Class Action Settlement within the five years preceding the date that they have filed the objection, and the caption and case number of each case in which objector’s counsel has made such objection and the caption and case number of any related appeal; (i) if the Class Member or his or her counsel have not made any such prior objection, the Class Member shall affirmatively so state in the written materials provided with the objection; (j) a list of all persons who will be called to testify at the Fairness Hearing in support of the objection; (k) a statement confirming whether the objector intends to personally appear and/or testify at the Fairness Hearing; and (j) the objector’s original signature and date of signature, both of which must be personally signed by the objector (an electronic signature or attorney’s signature is not sufficient).

If not electronically filed, objections must be mailed to:

With copies mailed to:

Excluding yourself is telling the Court that you do not want to be part of the Class. If you exclude yourself, you have no basis to object because the Settlement no longer affects you. Objecting is telling the Court that you do not like something about the Settlement, the requested fees, costs and expenses, and/or Class Representative service awards. You can object only if you stay in the Class.

If you are a Class Member and you do nothing, you will remain a Class Member and all of the Court’s orders will apply to you, you will be eligible for the Settlement benefits described above as long as you satisfy the conditions for receiving each benefit, and you will not be able to sue Toyota over the issues in the lawsuit.

The Court will hold a Fairness Hearing at 10:00 AM Eastern time on December 14, 2022 (This date has already occurred)., at the United States District Courthouse, Eastern District of New York, 225 Cadman Plaza East, Brooklyn, NY 11201. At this hearing, the Court will consider whether the Settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate, and whether to approve the request for attorneys’ fees, costs and expenses, and the request for Class Representative service awards. If there are objections, the Court will consider them. The Court will only listen to people who have met the requirement to speak at the hearing (see Question 24 below). After the hearing, the Court will decide whether to grant final approval of the Settlement, and, if so, how much to pay the lawyers representing Class Members and the Class Representatives. We do not know how long these decisions will take. The Court may reschedule the Fairness Hearing, so check this Settlement website periodically for further updates.

No. Class Counsel will answer any questions the Court may have. But you are welcome to come at your own expense. If you send an objection, you do not have to come to Court to talk about it – but you can if you provide advance notice of your intention to appear (see Question 24 below). As long as you filed a written objection with all of the required information on time with the Court, the Court will consider it. You may also pay another lawyer to attend, but it is not required.

You or your attorney may ask the Court for permission to speak at the Fairness Hearing. To do so, you must send a letter saying that it is your “Notice of Intent to Appear in Cheng, et al., v. Toyota Motor Corp., et al.,” to the Clerk of Court so that it is received and filed no later than December 2, 2022 (This date has already occurred). You must include your name, address, telephone number, the year, make and model and VIN number of your vehicle, the identity of all counsel representing the objector, if any, who will appear at the Fairness Hearing, and your signature. Anyone who has requested permission to speak must be present at the start of the Fairness hearing at 10:00 AM Eastern time on December 14, 2022 (This date has already occurred). You cannot speak at the hearing if you excluded yourself from the Class. 

The Long Form Notice summarizes the proposed Settlement. More details are in the Settlement Agreement. You can get a copy of the Settlement Agreement and other documents and information about the Settlement on the documents section of this website. You can also call the toll-free number, 1-833-512-2318 or write the Settlement Administrator at:

New York, NY 10150-5324

The Settlement is now final and is in the process of being implemented. Please do not contact the Court. All questions should be directed to the Settlement Notice Administrator.