Toyota Australia agrees to $750 million settlement over HiLux, Prado and Fortuner DPF defect

A record settlement, still subject to court approval

Toyota Australia has agreed to a $750 million settlement covering two class actions over defective diesel particulate filters (DPFs) fitted to its HiLux, Prado and Fortuner diesel models, the company confirmed in a statement provided to CarExpert. The agreement is subject to approval by the Federal Court of Australia, with a hearing scheduled for November 20. ⁶⁴³

The settlement resolves the long-running Williams proceeding and the newer Taylor action, and covers roughly 264,170 vehicles. It would be the largest damages payout for a class action in Australian history, according to legal affairs reporter Janek Drevikovsky of the Australian Financial Review, who reported that the settlement will be shared among about 136,000 customers covered by the claims. AutoTalk notes no admission of liability has been reported as part of the deal. ¹⁵

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Toyota Australia said: "Toyota Australia has agreed to a settlement in the DPF Class Action case. The settlement is subject to Court approval." The company added that it "remain[s] committed to assisting any impacted customers and to providing a free-of-charge remedy that has been available since 2020", and apologised "for any inconvenience or discomfort experienced by our customers". ⁶³

The vehicles and the defect involved

The proceedings concern DPF systems fitted to 264,170 Toyota HiLux utes and Prado and Fortuner large SUVs acquired in Australia between October 1, 2015 and April 23, 2020, including certain vehicles subsequently sold by their original owners, as reported by CarExpert. The affected HiLux models are fitted with 2.4-litre 2GD-FTV and 2.8-litre 1GD-FTV turbo-diesel engines, and the Prado and Fortuner used the same 2.8-litre engine family. ⁶

A diesel particulate filter traps soot from a diesel engine's exhaust and periodically burns it off through regeneration. According to CarExpert, Toyota Australia introduced DPFs to diesel HiLux vehicles with the eighth-generation ute in October 2015. The systems in the affected vehicles could become blocked, resulting in excessive, foul-smelling white smoke, increased fuel consumption and repeated unscheduled inspections, servicing and repairs. ⁶²

Owners involved in the class actions claimed the DPF systems were defective and not designed to function effectively in normal Australian driving conditions. Law firm representatives argued the filter "was not designed to function effectively during all reasonably expected conditions of normal operation and use in the Australian market", News.com.au reported, and successfully argued that affected vehicles had dropped in value. ³

Countermeasures and the free repair

Toyota introduced several countermeasures as the scale of the problem became clear. A manual DPF regeneration switch became standard in the HiLux, Prado and Fortuner from June 2018, and an effective repair developed in May 2020 involved updated exhaust-system hardware and software, CarExpert reported. Toyota says the free-of-charge remedy has been available since 2020, and owners of affected vehicles who have not had the repair can still have it done free at a Toyota dealer, according to AutoTalk. ⁶¹

Seven years of litigation

The original Williams class action was filed in the Federal Court in 2019 by lead applicant Kenneth Williams, who told News Corp in 2022 that his 2016 Prado produced "horrendous" smoke within a year of purchase. In 2022 the Federal Court found the affected vehicles were not of acceptable quality and that Toyota had engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct in marketing and selling them, and assessed the reduction in vehicle value at 17.5 per cent of the average retail price. ²³¹

The Full Federal Court reduced that assessment to 10 per cent in March 2023 following Toyota's appeal, but in November 2024 the High Court found the assessment should not have been reduced, CarExpert reported. The High Court nonetheless returned the matter to the Federal Court to reassess compensation, taking into account the availability of an effective repair. Earlier calculations cited by Torque Cafe projected Toyota could have faced more than $1.3 billion in compensation costs, almost double the agreed settlement. ⁶⁷

A second proceeding, the Taylor class action, was launched in July 2025 and covers qualifying owners who bought affected vehicles privately between April 24, 2020 and July 31, 2025, directly from their original owners, and still own them, according to CarExpert. AutoTalk reports Quinn Emanuel acts for that group with funding from Balance Legal Capital, and the matter had been set down for trial from October 19, 2026 had no settlement been reached. ⁶¹

What affected owners need to know

Individual payment amounts, the method of distribution and how much of the $750 million will go to legal costs and the litigation funder have not been disclosed, AutoTalk reports. Those details are expected to form part of the settlement scheme put to the Federal Court, and group members will be notified and given a chance to object before the court decides whether to approve it. Eligibility depends on the vehicle, when and how it was acquired, whether it has since been sold and registration for the class action, and the registration deadline for the proposed settlement was August 26, 2026, according to a report by OverSixty. ¹²⁴

The settlement applies to the specified HiLux, Prado and Fortuner vehicles covered by the class actions, rather than every Toyota diesel fitted with a DPF, 4X4 Australia cautions. Owners who believe their vehicle may be affected can find further information through the official Toyota DPF class action website at www.toyotaclassaction.com.au. ²⁴

Context for Toyota's local business

The proposed $750 million settlement is nearly double Toyota Australia's record $380 million after-tax profit for the financial year ended March 31, 2026, as CarExpert noted. The 2.8-litre 1GD-FTV turbo-diesel continues to power the current diesel HiLux range launched in Australia in December 2025, fitted with 48V mild-hybrid technology in some variants, and in all versions of the latest Prado, which arrived in showrooms in 2024 — engines Torque Cafe notes are no longer impacted by the DPF defect. The Fortuner was axed in late 2025 following slow sales. ⁶⁷

Separately, Toyota Australia vice president of sales, marketing and franchise operations John Pappas told CarExpert at a media briefing last week that the company expects a record finish to 2026, predicting more than 220,000 sales for the calendar year, which would make Toyota Australia the number one automotive brand for the 31st consecutive year. ⁶