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Drained and dead 12-volt batteries have caused a class action lawsuit that alleges 2023-2025 Subaru Solterra and Toyota bZ4X electric SUVs are equipped with 12v batteries that constantly drain and end up dead.
The lawsuit alleges Toyota and Subaru built the all-electric vehicles with defective battery charging systems which leave the 12v batteries dead.
Replacing the 12v battery for free under warranty is supposedly meaningless because the replacement battery will drain, then the replacement of the replacement will drain.
Even though the SUVs run on high voltage lithium-ion batteries, the vehicles still need old-fashioned 12-volt lead-acid batteries which run functions like the radio, windshield wipers, lights, powered windows and seats, and heating and cooling fans.
The lawsuit says the 12-volt battery is also involved in operating a switch between the EV battery and the drive motors that allows electricity to begin flowing to the to the motors.
According to the lawsuit, the 2023-2025 Subaru Solterra and 2023-2025 Toyota bZ4X are electric SUVs developed by Subaru and Toyota and based on the same platform and powertrain.
The class action was filed by California plaintiff John Wade who purchased a 2023 Toyota bZ4X in March 2023. Within a few weeks, warning signs appeared on the dashboard and his vehicle stopped because the 12-volt battery was dead. Roadside assistance jumpstarted his battery.
But when his Toyota bZ4X had about 2,000 miles on it, the 12v battery drained again but a jumpstart failed to help, so his vehicle was towed to a Toyota dealership. The plaintiff says he wasn’t offered a loaner vehicle the few days the dealer had his bZ4X, but he was told the 12-volt battery would be replaced.
In December 2024 the same warning signs appeared on the dash and Toyota confirmed the 12v battery was dead. The plaintiff complains the dealer did not provide a loaner vehicle and did not contact him for three weeks. He says he finally called them and was told the 12v battery needed to be replaced again.
“The 12-volt battery equipped in Plaintiff Wade’s Class Vehicle has failed three times after only about 5,000 miles of driving the vehicle. The 12-volt battery in Plaintiff Wade’s vehicle has been replaced twice since March 2023.” — Toyota bZ4X battery drain lawsuit
According to the class action lawsuit, the plaintiff bought a Level 2 battery charger for $4,800 “because he believed the reason his vehicle was experiencing these issues was a result of not using a sufficient EV battery charger….”
The class action alleges Subaru and Toyota knew about the 12-volt battery problems before the vehicles were first sold but failed to warn consumers and failed to fix the problems prior to sale.
The Subaru Solterra and Toyota bZ4X dead 12-volt battery lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California (Sacramento Division): John Wade v. Toyota Motor North America Inc., et al.
The plaintiff is represented by Keller Rohrback L.L.P., Shub Johns & Holbrook LLP, and Wittels McInturff Palikovic.