Toyota Airbag Control Unit Settlement: What Owners Can Claim

This reimbursement is for people with vehicles included in the January 2020 Recall. The expense must be reasonable and connected to completing that Recall.

You need to submit a claim. The Settlement Special Administrator reviews the claim materials, determines the payment amount, and its decision cannot be appealed.

• Rental-car or other transportation costs for travel to or from a Toyota dealer for the Recall.
• Towing charges to get the vehicle to a Toyota dealer for the Recall.
• Necessary childcare while the dealer performs the Recall.
• Unreimbursed ZF-TRW ACU repair costs.
• Lost wages for time away from work to drop off or pick up the vehicle for the Recall.

The notice specifically describes documentation for out-of-pocket expense claims. It does not clearly state what supporting documents, if any, are needed when registering only for a residual distribution payment or seeking future-recall rental reimbursement.

• A receipt or invoice for the expense, if available.
• A signed affidavit if you do not have a receipt or invoice.
• Your VIN and a completed Claim Form for an online submission.

This is not a guaranteed $250 payment. Both recalled and unrecalled vehicle owners or lessees can seek it, but the amount depends on money left in the Settlement Fund after the earlier payments and costs.

• The payment is available only if money remains after eligible out-of-pocket payments and other settlement costs.
• It is divided per person among Class Members who submitted an out-of-pocket claim or registered only for this payment.
• It is capped at $250 per Class Member unless the parties agree to a higher cap and the Settlement Special Administrator approves it.

The warranty does not apply to the Tacoma, Tundra, and Sequoia vehicles that were not included in the existing Recall. If one of those vehicles receives a future ZF-TRW ACU recall, Toyota is to offer an extended warranty for the new parts installed in that future recall.

• The vehicle must complete the Recall.
• The warranty lasts 12 years beginning July 31, 2023.
• It covers repair or replacement, including parts and labor, for the new parts installed through the Recall.
• The coverage stays with the vehicle if it is sold.
• Inoperable vehicles and vehicles with salvaged, rebuilt, or flood-damaged titles do not qualify.

For example, a person with two recalled vehicles may seek the separate costs of completing the Recall for each vehicle, as long as the same cost is not duplicated.

• You can submit a separate reimbursement claim for each recalled vehicle you owned or leased.
• You cannot claim reimbursement twice for the same expense.

These future-recall benefits apply only if a ZF-TRW ACU recall for an unrecalled vehicle is issued before the Claims Deadline. The notice does not spell out the supporting-document requirement for the future rental-car claim.

• You may request a courtesy loaner vehicle while the Toyota dealer performs a future ZF-TRW ACU recall.
• If no loaner is provided, you may instead submit a Registration/Claim Form for reasonable rental-car costs from the Settlement Fund during the Claims Period.
• Toyota is also to provide outreach about that future recall.
• A future extended new-parts warranty would be offered for the parts installed in that future recall.

After final approval, Toyota is to establish the inspection program for Subject Vehicles meeting both conditions.

• The vehicle was involved in a frontal crash.
• Toyota was told that the seatbelt pretensioner and/or airbag did not deploy.

If the settlement becomes final and you do not opt out, you give up the settlement-related claims described in the release. The notice says the listed injury, death, and physical-property-damage claims are reserved, although the earlier notice summary separately notes an exception for damage to the ZF-TRW ACU itself.

• Claims for personal injury.
• Claims for wrongful death.
• Claims for actual physical property damage arising from an incident involving a Subject Vehicle, including airbag deployment or non-deployment.

The notice does not promise a payment by a particular date. Payment depends on the court approval process, the outcome of any appeals, and approval of the claim.

• Out-of-pocket claims are reviewed by the Settlement Special Administrator.
• Payments are to begin on a rolling basis within 60 days after final approval and after any appeals of that order are resolved in favor of the settlement.
• Later approved claims are also to be paid on a rolling basis.

The notice does not identify a particular charity. It says any such distribution would be handled after eligible claims, settlement costs, and residual payments are addressed.

• If practical and economically reasonable, remaining funds are addressed through residual payments to people who submitted claims or registered.
• If another distribution is not practical or economically reasonable, the balance goes to charitable causes that indirectly benefit the class.
• Any recipient must be agreed to by the parties and approved by the court.

The notice repeatedly lists December 11, 2028 as the Claims Deadline. It also says the Effective Date and deadline were not yet determined when parts of the notice were written, and that the deadline may change. Treat December 11, 2028 as the notice’s stated date, not a guarantee that it cannot change.