Toyota regularly ranks among the world’s most reliable car brands, while the Japanese giant and Volkswagen have been vying for the title of the world’s best-selling brand in recent years. The RAV4 even surpassed the Ford F-150 to become the best-selling car in the United States in 2024, indicating global recognition of the brand and a shift in buyer preferences. However, Toyota’s strong sales and quality reputation don’t mean every buyer is satisfied with their car.
In mid-December 2025, attorneys for James LeBoutheller filed a class action lawsuit in the Eastern District Court of Texas, alleging that Toyota knowingly sold vehicles with “defective UA80 8-speed automatic transmissions and torque converters (collectively, the “transmission assembly”) and related software.” The eight-speed transmission is used in some of the manufacturer’s most popular models, such as the Toyota RAV4, Camry and Highlander as well as the Lexus ES 250/350 and NX 250/350. The lawsuit alleges that the UA80, which first appeared in 2017 as a replacement for the older six-speed transmission, suffered from issues related to that evolution.
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Toyota will update software for some models
Front view of blue and white Toyota Highlander parked in driveway of Spanish style home – Toyota
The newer gearbox is lighter and shorter than the model it replaces and is designed to help reduce CO2 emissions. The valve body was moved forward and the shifting mechanism was simplified, but the lawsuit says this actually caused more problems. The new software also initiates upshifts earlier to save fuel, which the proposed lawsuit says causes the transmission fluid to overheat. This reduces the fluid’s ability to lubricate properly, leading to failure through wear and degradation. It also claims Toyota made no changes to the UA80 after complaints surfaced nearly a decade ago, despite the company responding to the complaints at the time. In December 2017, Toyota issued a technical service bulletin stating that some 2018 Camry models behaved erratically when decelerating or accelerating, and recommended a software update for affected vehicles. We reviewed a 2018 Camry about six months before the directive and did not encounter any such issues during our time with it.
In April 2019, Toyota issued a separate notice to its dealer service departments to extend the warranty period for some vehicles equipped with the UA80 transmission to 10 years after first use. As of this writing, the National Highway Transportation Safety Association (NHTSA) has not issued a safety recall for the UA80, but the potential hazards of erratic acceleration may one day prompt such action. The class action lawsuit also seeks compensation for reduced resale values, a trend that will continue the longer Toyota doesn’t correct the underlying issues.
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Read the original article on SlashGear.
