Consumer Court To Toyota, Dealer: Pay Innova Customer Rs. 32 Lakh For Airbags Failure

The National Consumer Disputes Redressal recently passed a judgment in a case that was over 12 years old. The consumer court, after finding that Toyota had sold a defective car to customers, asked Toyota Kirloskar Motors and an authorized Toyota dealer to pay Rs 32.07 lakh to the customer or provide the customer with a Toyota Innova.

The customer, Sunil Reddy, had bought a brand-new Toyota Innova VX diesel 7-seater MPV from a dealer on March 11, 2011. On August 16, 2011, Mr. Reddy was involved in an accident where his Toyota Innova MPV crashed into an autorickshaw near Ulindakonda village in the Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh.

After the accident, Sunil took the car to Nandi Toyota Motor World’s service center in Bengaluru. It is not clear whether the customer had bought the car from the same dealer or simply took it there as it was the nearest service center to the accident spot. Whatever the case may be, the service center, without providing any estimation, started working on the car and began repairs. They even welded some of the body panels.

When Sunil questioned this, the service center refused to accept any mistake or compensate. Reddy then sent a legal notice to the dealer, to which he never received a response. It was only after this that Reddy took the matter to court. He filed a complaint at the district consumer forum alleging that “During the accident, the airbags failed to deploy. The front portion of the vehicle sustained severe damage, and all the occupants suffered injuries.”

After several hearings, in 2014, the district forum ruled in favor of the customer. The court ordered Toyota Kirloskar and the dealer to replace the vehicle or refund Rs 15,09,415 with an interest of 9 percent per annum from the date of the accident until the date of payment. The district forum also ordered Toyota and the dealer to pay Rs 10,000 as compensation for mental agony and Rs 5,000 towards litigation costs for the complainant.

Toyota challenged this order and filed an appeal with the State Consumer Commission. The appeal was rejected, and the district forum’s order was upheld. Subsequently, Toyota filed an appeal with the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC). The manufacturer argued in court that the technology used in the airbags was approved by ARAI and stated that the sensors for airbag deployment did not require a change, requesting a re-examination of the vehicle.

The NCDRC conducted an examination using an expert who stated that it was a frontal collision and the airbags should have deployed. The expert called in by Toyota claimed that it was a side impact, which was why the airbags didn’t deploy. The driver of the autorickshaw with which the Innova had crashed also stated that the Innova, driven at high speed, had crashed into the autorickshaw from the front.

After analyzing all the arguments and evidence, the NCDRC on February 16, 2024, stated, “We find no reason to interfere with the well-reasoned orders of the District Forum and State Commission. Hence, the order of the State Commission is upheld. Accordingly, the revised petition is dismissed. As the District Forum has held both the OP-1/Petitioner (Toyota Kirloskar) and OP-2 (Nandi Toyota) liable, they shall implement the order of the District Forum within 30 days from today. They are liable jointly and severally. On replacement of the vehicle with a new one or refund of the amount as per the order of the District Forum, the complainant will hand over the existing vehicle to the OP-1 and OP-2.”

Toyota does not offer the Innova in the Indian market anymore. They do have the Innova Crysta and Innova Hycross. It remains to be seen if the customer will receive a replacement or a refund. If the manufacturer decides to refund, then the customer will receive Rs 32,07,506, including the 9% interest per annum for 12.5 years.