Toyota Told Suing Mirai Owners To Stop Making Payments, They're Now Facing Triple-Digit Credit Score Hits

While hydrogen fuel cell cars seem like a zero-emissions dream on paper, there are fewer than 60 hydrogen filling stations in California and none in the rest of the country. A lawsuit against Toyota filed last month on behalf of Mirai owners claimed they were oversold on the hydrogen fuel cell vehicle's usability. As a token of goodwill, the Japanese automaker told the owners to stop making payments until the lawsuit was resolved. However, multiple owners claimed that their non-payments were reported to collections.

According to Mirai owners, Toyota representatives missed notes on their accounts that payments were being paused. Anthony Escobedo told KTLA that his 814 credit score fell by 100 points. The credit hit caused him to be denied an interest-free loan to help cover his wife's medical care costs. He was forced to use credit cards instead. Toyota did eventually reverse the claim, but the damage was already done. It was a similar story for other owners, with Toyota fixing the egregious errors after being contacted. Jason Ingber, the owners' attorney, said:

"It's one thing if [Toyota] never made this promise at all... That would've been fine. We'd try to get our pound of flesh at the end of the day in [court.] But then to give you false information and actively hurt you and create more confusion, that is really a dark, twisted thing to do to your own customers. That should not go unnoticed. People should be wary of that. This is a very arrogant corporation with bad intentions."

A judge is set to decide on Thursday whether to advance the case. Mirai owners are demanding compensation for their decision to purchase the vehicle. They claim that Toyota dealers misled them about how usable the hydrogen-powered car would be in the near future. One owner claimed that a dealer said that filling stations would be everywhere within a year. Admittedly, it's a bold claim to take at face value, considering how long it has taken to expand the number of electric vehicle charging stations.

Mirai owners are stuck between a rock and a hard place because of how much the model has depreciated. One Marine bought a 2023 Mirai for $42,358.93. While he was stationed in California, he knew that he could be transferred to another part of the country and made the purchase on the promise that he could return his Mirai. Lo and behold, he was transferred to Virginia and only offered $11,000 from the dealer for the hydrogen car. Apparently, he was also unaware that there was no hydrogen infrastructure outside California.