The promise of a hydrogen-fueled future has became a nightmare for lots of of automobile homeowners in California. Drivers who bought Toyota’s flagship gas cell automobile, the Mirai, are actually suing the automaker and different key gamers, alleging they have been misled in regards to the viability of the hydrogen fueling community. With infrastructure collapsing and hydrogen costs surging, a number of Mirai drivers have discovered themselves nonetheless paying for automobiles they don’t even drive anymore.
The authorized backlash comes as Toyota and different early champions of hydrogen-powered mobility face rising criticism over whether or not they pushed a expertise too quickly into an unprepared market.
A inexperienced gamble gone fallacious
Sam D’Anna had barely pushed his $75,000 Toyota Mirai in July 2022 when he realized one thing was fallacious. His Mirai’s hydrogen tank was practically empty. A dealership staffer at Roseville Toyota ran over to tell him that the closest fueling station, in Citrus Heights, was offline. The following closest one was in West Sacramento, practically 25 miles away. That shouldn’t be an issue for the Mirai as a consequence of its 402-mile EPA-estimated vary, however because the automobile was virtually empty, his vary indicator confirmed solely 22 miles.
“I’ve already signed,” D’Anna advised the Sacramento Bee. He ended up driving off the lot with the air con turned off to preserve gas. “That is unhealthy. My coronary heart was dropping into my abdomen.”
D’Anna is now one of many plaintiffs in a category motion lawsuit in opposition to Toyota, hydrogen station operator FirstElement Gas, the Hydrogen Gas Cell Partnership, and California Governor Gavin Newsom.
The grievance, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court docket, accuses the defendants of fraud, negligence, and violations of client safety legal guidelines, amongst others. It alleges that Toyota knowingly bought automobiles reliant on a fueling ecosystem that was greater than subpar, trapping consumers in loans for automobiles they will barely use.
D’Anna’s Mirai now sits unused beneath a tarp at his father’s home in El Dorado County. He nonetheless pays practically $1,100 a month on the automobile, on prime of a $1,200 month-to-month fee for a Ford F-150 hybrid he bought in 2023 as a alternative.
Infrastructure that by no means materialized
At its peak, California’s hydrogen imaginative and prescient appeared bold however achievable. The state pledged tens of thousands and thousands of {dollars} to construct a community of fueling stations. Automakers like Toyota, Hyundai, and Honda launched modern zero-emission automobiles powered by compressed hydrogen fuel.
The pitch was compelling. Drivers might refuel in a couple of minutes and emit solely water vapor, a seemingly cheap if not preferable various to electrical automobiles, which have been nonetheless gaining traction.
However the real-world rollout did not maintain tempo with the advertising. California at the moment has about 50 hydrogen fueling stations, as per information from the Hydrogen Gas Cell Partnership. And in 2024, Shell exited the market and shuttered a number of places.
Even when hydrogen stations can be found, they’re typically affected by upkeep points and inconsistent provide. Hydrogen costs have tripled too, and what as soon as price $70 to fill now runs nearer to $200, the Bee famous.
In a press release to Teslarati, Patrick Peterson, auto skilled at GoodCar.com, stated, “Toyota and Hyundai have been among the many first to push hydrogen ahead, and their automobiles are genuinely spectacular. However the subject isn’t the tech, it’s all the pieces round it. The infrastructure simply isn’t prepared. Most drivers aren’t keen to gamble on whether or not they’ll discover a working hydrogen station or take care of points like frozen gas nozzles.”
Peterson stated hydrogen’s largest flaw is its lack of consistency. “EVs, for all their early bumps, have earned client belief. You’ve acquired widespread charging entry, predictable efficiency, and fewer query marks. Hydrogen hasn’t hit that time but. One unhealthy fill-up can bitter somebody’s view of your entire platform.”
The value of religion in an thought
Ricky Yap of West Sacramento purchased his 2016 Toyota Mirai in 2020 from Roseville Toyota. The automobile, priced at $16,000, got here with a pay as you go gas card value the identical quantity. Initially, the fueling expertise was “a bit cumbersome and complicated however not so unhealthy,” Yap advised the Bee. Then issues acquired quite a bit worse.
Shell’s closure of hydrogen stations led to lengthy strains on the solely remaining website in Sacramento. Hydrogen costs soared, and fueling, because of lengthy strains on the station, ended up taking so long as 4 hours. Yap ultimately stopped utilizing the automobile altogether. He canceled the insurance coverage and registered it as a non-operational automobile.
“I used it very seldom simply due to the very fact I don’t just like the stress,” he stated. “I don’t need to pay insurance coverage on a automobile that I can’t use day-after-day.”
The lawsuit claims that Toyota and its companions misled customers in regards to the viability of the hydrogen ecosystem. Many homeowners have been pushed by environmental motivations, enticed by beneficiant incentives and Toyota’s repute. However the resale worth of hydrogen automobiles has collapsed.
One plaintiff, Parita Shah, a doctor assistant from Sacramento County, advised the Bee that her dealership provided her solely $2,000 for her $36,000 Mirai after stations close to her residence shut down simply months after buy.
Shoppers’ authorized motion turns up the strain
In July 2025, annoyed Mirai homeowners organized an indication in Los Angeles to attract consideration to what they referred to as a damaged promise. Protesters held indicators studying “Mirai is a Lie,” “Toyota Made a Huge Mistake,” and “Mirai Left Me Dry.”
Jason Ingber, legal professional for D’Anna, Yap, and several other different Mirai homeowners, spoke on the occasion. He accused the automaker of knowingly promoting a product right into a failing infrastructure.
“These are manufacturers they thought they might depend on, and so they go in, and so they’re advised ‘That is the following smartest thing!’ and it seems, it’s not,” Ingber advised KTLA 5.
Ingber additionally shared a remark to Teslarati: “Toyota remains to be promoting this automobile. It makes no rattling sense. No gas for drivers. The automobile doesn’t work as marketed,” he stated.
Automakers supply restricted reduction
Toyota has acknowledged the fueling points and confirmed that it stopped promoting new Mirais within the Sacramento space over a yr in the past. In a press release to the Bee, the corporate stated it’s “working with affected Mirai clients to establish methods to assist them on a case-by-case foundation.”
Rental automobiles and repair credit are among the many treatments provided, however plaintiffs argued that these are usually not sustainable options. Shah acknowledged that the rental course of is sort of cumbersome. In her case, she has been counting on a collection of short-term rental automobiles supplied by Toyota, which she should trade each 25 days. She continues to make $326 month-to-month funds on he Mirai, which she can not use.
Hyundai, whose Nexo SUV additionally depends on hydrogen gas, has provided related 21-day rental choices. The corporate additionally issued a recall for about 1,600 Nexo SUVs in late 2024 as a consequence of doable hydrogen leaks and potential fires, warning homeowners to park their automobiles exterior till repairs have been made.
A shrinking market
Since 2012, just below 18,000 hydrogen-powered automobiles have been bought in California. Toyota accounts for the overwhelming majority of them, however the tempo of adoption has slowed dramatically. For comparability, California now has thousands and thousands of battery electrical and hybrid automobiles on the street.
Insurance policies have additionally seen a notable shift. California initially dedicated about $20 million yearly to develop hydrogen fueling infrastructure. That quantity has since dropped to $15 million, and it’s now not restricted to light-duty stations.
Josh Newman, a former state senator and present Mirai proprietor, advised the Bee that authorities assist has fallen brief. “I blame the state. We have been presupposed to have 200 stations up and operating for light-duty hydrogen automobiles by 2025,” he stated.
In a press release to Teslarati, Alex Black, Chief Advertising Officer at EpicVIN, stated the issue now extends past infrastructure. “Sure, hydrogen automobiles do have a picture drawback proper now,” he stated.
“Many simply shouldn’t have confidence within the expertise, largely as a result of they haven’t seen very many on the market, there are usually not many locations to fill them up, and have heard about earlier recall issues or issues. That tends to stay with them.”
Black added that public sentiment performs a robust position. “When public sentiment turns, all exercise involves an finish: diminished demand, diminished funding, and fewer stations are constructed. It’s a vicious circle.”
A clear tech cautionary story
Toyota’s funding in hydrogen was daring and well-intentioned. The expertise gives obvious benefits, particularly for long-haul or business use circumstances the place fast refueling and lengthy vary are essential. However for private mobility, hydrogen’s future stays unsure, if not questionable, as we speak.
The expertise should still discover its place in transportation. However for now, a minimum of, client belief in hydrogen automobiles has been undermined, and infrastructure remains to be unreliable for many who have opted to change into early adopters of the expertise. For individuals who purchased into the imaginative and prescient early, the expertise has became a cautionary story.
“Folks need one thing they will depend upon,” stated Black in his assertion to Teslarati. “And so they need it to be straightforward. Hydrogen will not be fairly there but.”
For Mirai homeowners nonetheless making month-to-month funds on automobiles they can not drive, the concept of a hydrogen powered future could be very sobering.
