by Recently, more and more automakers are being accused of selling information about customers’ driving styles to insurance companies. In January, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton initiated an investigation into Toyota, Ford, Hyundai, and FCA over this practice. Now, a Toyota car owner has sued the Japanese company, claiming his data was transferred without permission.
This case could become a serious problem for Toyota, especially if the plaintiff secures a jury trial.
What specific data is being collected?
Philip Sifke from the state of Florida states that Toyota, Progressive, and Connected Analytic Services collect information that could theoretically provide an insurance discount, but in practice often leads to rate increases.
Toyota models starting from the 2018 model year are equipped with special devices that record data on location, fuel level, mileage, speed, tire pressure, and the status of windows and seat belts. Sifke owns a 2021 RAV4 XLE with such a tracker.
According to the plaintiff, he learned about the data transfer in January when trying to arrange insurance with Progressive. After opting out of the information-sharing program, the system showed that the company already had his data until January 20, 2025. Representatives from Progressive confirmed they had received this information from Toyota.
In a conversation with Toyota, Sifke was told that he had automatically enrolled in a trial data collection program when purchasing the car. No one had warned him about the possibility of selling the information to third parties.
Sifke now seeks to grant the case class-action status to protect the rights of thousands of other Toyota owners whose data may have been transferred without consent.
