Toyota is facing another legal challenge over its problematic UA80 eight-speed automatic transmissions, with a new lawsuit filed in New Jersey following a similar case in Texas last year. The transmission issues include excessive heat buildup, burning fluid, and premature wear that can cause vehicles to stall. Plaintiffs report symptoms like early upshifts, delayed engagement, and harsh shifting that create dangerous driving conditions.

This marks the second major lawsuit targeting the UA80 transmission, which affects hundreds of thousands of vehicles across multiple Toyota and Lexus models. The lawsuit alleges that despite technical service bulletins dating back to 2016, Toyota failed to adequately address the problem, leaving customers with expensive repair bills averaging $9,000 or more for replacement transmissions. Models named in the suit include the RAV4, Highlander, Camry, and various Lexus vehicles.

The timing of these failures is particularly concerning, with some owners reporting transmission breakdowns at just 30,000 miles. Given the high sales volumes of affected models and the ten-year span of vehicles involved, the potential scope of this issue is substantial. While many UA80-equipped vehicles operate without problems, the accumulation of lawsuits suggests Toyota may face mounting pressure to resolve what appears to be a systemic transmission defect that has persisted despite years of customer complaints and internal documentation.