Camry Hybrid inverter recall lawsuit lands in federal court after owner says his new car sat at the dealer for six months

The case is Jaffe v. Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. Plaintiff Michael Jaffe filed it on September 15, 2026 in the Circuit Court of DuPage County, Illinois (case 2026LA001328). On November 4, 2026, Toyota filed a notice of removal that transferred it to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, where it is now case 1:26-cv-13668 before Judge Sara Lee Ellis. The defendants named are Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. and Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.

The lawsuit is built around recall 25V869, which Toyota filed with federal safety regulators on December 16, 2025. It covers 55,405 vehicles: 2025-2026 Camry Hybrid and 2026 Corolla Cross Hybrid models built from late August to late November 2025. According to the recall, a bolt inside the hybrid inverter, supplied by Denso, may not have been tightened to specification. Poor contact at the inverter terminal can cut drive power, raising the risk of a crash, and a loose bolt can cause an electrical short and a fire risk.

According to the complaint, Jaffe bought a new 2026 Camry Hybrid at an Illinois Toyota dealer on December 10, 2025, six days before the recall was filed. He alleges that Toyota already had field reports of the problem by early November 2025, citing Toyota's own recall report, which lists 34 field technical reports and 15 warranty claims received by December 10, and that dealers kept selling affected cars in the meantime. He took the car to the dealer in late February 2026, drove a series of loaner cars while no fix existed, and got his Camry back on August 18, 2026. The complaint says Toyota did not release the repair to dealers until June 2026.

The complaint seeks damages under the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, including punitive damages, on the theory that buyers paid more than the cars were worth and lost the use of them while waiting for a repair. As filed, the proposed class covers people who bought one of the recalled cars new from a Toyota dealer in Illinois in 2025, although the plaintiff says he may expand it. These are allegations. No class has been certified, no court has ruled on the merits, and Toyota has not yet filed a response to the claims in federal court.

Our recall records show that the remedy for 25V869 is replacement of the inverter assembly at no charge, with owner letters mailed on July 23, 2026. For the 2026 Camry Hybrid, our database holds 145 owner complaints filed with federal safety regulators, 48 of them in the fuel system category where this recall is grouped. That figure covers every fuel and hybrid power complaint for the model year, not only the inverter bolt.

If you own or are shopping for a 2025-2026 Camry Hybrid or a 2026 Corolla Cross Hybrid, run the VIN through a recall lookup and ask for written proof that recall 25V869 (Toyota codes 25TB15 and 25TA15) has been completed. A used car with this recall still open should not be bought until the inverter work is done. Owners who lost the use of their car while waiting for parts should keep loaner agreements and dealer paperwork, which matter if the case ever reaches a settlement.

Owners of the vehicles involved have filed 57 safety complaints in the fuel system category with the federal safety agency.

Court records and sources

• Court docket: Jaffe v. Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., N.D. Ill. 1:26-cv-13668
• Class action complaint (Exhibit A to the notice of removal)
• Recall 25V869: Camry Hybrid and Corolla Cross Hybrid inverter bolt