In a recent legal case, the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) ruled in favor of Sunil Reddy, stating that the Toyota Innova he purchased had a defect, as its airbags failed to deploy during an accident. Consequently, the NCDRC directed Toyota Kirloskar Motors and Nandi Toyota Motor World to either reimburse Reddy Rs 32.07 lakh or provide him with a new vehicle. The dispute stemmed from an accident in August 2011 involving the Toyota Innova, bought by Reddy in March of the same year, which collided with an auto rickshaw in Andhra Pradesh’s Kurnool district.
Following the accident, Reddy’s car was taken to Nandi Toyota Motor World’s service center in Bengaluru for repairs, where welding works were carried out without prior notification to Reddy. Despite legal notices sent by Reddy to Toyota seeking compensation for the malfunctioning airbags, Toyota did not respond, prompting Reddy to escalate the matter to the district consumer forum. Subsequently, the district forum instructed Toyota to either replace the vehicle or refund the purchase amount, along with compensation and litigation costs.
Toyota contested the district forum’s decision, arguing that the collision was a side impact, not frontal, which explained the airbags’ failure to deploy. However, both the district and state consumer commissions upheld the initial ruling, concluding that the collision was indeed frontal and that the airbags’ non-deployment constituted a manufacturing defect and deficient service. Despite Toyota’s appeal to the NCDRC, the commission upheld the previous decisions, affirming the liability of Toyota Kirloskar Motors and Nandi Toyota Motor World to comply with the district forum’s order within 30 days. If Toyota chooses to refund Reddy, the amount would total Rs 32.07 lakh, including interest accrued over the 12.5 years since the accident.