A Toyota Mirai owner is kicking himself after showing just how expensive it is to fill up his hydrogen-powered car, but he says that his wallet-busting mileage costs aren’t his fault.
Being at the behest of fuel companies and high gas prices can be a massive headache—fuel spikes in 2022 doubled costs at the pump and spurred tons of Americans to look for ways to hit the road more affordably.
For some, going full electric was the best course of action—being able to have a dedicated charging station at home is a major plus. For others, purchasing a hybrid vehicle that gets better returns on gasoline is another option or even plug-in hybrids that allow commuters to drive a short distance.
But then there are other alternative driving solutions, like hydrogen-powered vehicles. While nowhere near as prominent as ICE vehicles, HEVs, PHEVs, or EVs, they do exist, and one of the more prominent ones is the Toyota Mirai.
The Toyota Mirai as an eco-friendly option
Boasting an eco-friendly fuel source, the Mirai has an electric drive train powered by refilling it with hydrogen.
You can’t “plug” a Mirai in though, like other electric vehicles—it’s not like there’s a way to charge it at home as you would, let’s say, a Toyota Prius Prime. And there’s also a scarcity of hydrogen fueling stations, and with a max range of 402 miles on a full charge, and the relatively expensive costs of hydrogen, why would anyone get one?
Well, that’s because Toyota offered customers a massive fueling incentive to purchase the Mirai — a $15,000 fueling card that lasts 6 years: “Customers who purchase a 2023 Mirai by March 31, 2024, will receive complimentary fuel for six years or $15,000, whichever comes first. Complimentary fuel term.”
It’s this fueling bonus that influenced TikTok user Landon Jones (@allclearforlandon) to purchase a Mirai. And while he says he loves the car, he didn’t love his experience with the dealership that sold it to him. He claims they “scammed” him into thinking the fuel card was transferable from another owner—which it’s not.
Jones says a rep from the dealership flat out lied to him, and just wanted him to sign on the dotted line for the vehicle. Once he was on the hook for that financing and they got paid, they basically told him he was on his own. To make matters worse, Jones says Toyota hasn’t been any help either.
@allclearforlandon big regret. #fyp #toyota ♬ original sound – Landon Jones
In his viral video, Jones is fulling up his Mirai at the hydrogen gas pump, explaining his frustration.
“I like the car itself, but the dealership I bought it from screwed me over so now I have to pay for the fuel, out of pocket,” he explains.
In the clip, he shows how he had to wait till the pump became available.
“So now I have to sit and wait until it’s available again because this is the cheapest one that I can find,” he says. “And cheap is $30 per kilogram, my car holds 5 kilograms.”
He says the pump was only able to partially fill his vehicle, costing him about $90 in total.
The next shot is of him sitting inside his car, which he starts up.
“Let’s see how much I got in miles,” he says, waiting for the car’s sensors to finish calculating what range he was given for $91 worth of hydrogen at the station: “176 miles.”
Several viewers wanted to know just how Jones was “screwed over” by the car dealership, AutoNation Toyota Irvine, when they sold him his Mirai.
An unexpected ‘scam’ at the dealership
One of the incentives for purchasing a new Mirai is that Toyota offers a $15,000 fuel credit to passengers, which, upon seeing just how expensive hydrogen can be, is definitely something folks are going to want to take advantage of.
@allclearforlandon #stitch with @Landon Jones if enough of u watch the whole video i could maybe get a new car or hire a lawyer 🤭 #fyp #toyota @Toyota ♬ original sound – Landon Jones
In a follow-up video, Jones explains how a representative from the dealership told him that he would receive a fuel card, and they would be able to get a fuel card transferred from the vehicle’s previous owner to put into his possession.
According to the TikToker, the dealership told him that the fuel card had around $13,000 left of on it that he could use exclusively to purchase hydrogen.
This was “fine” with him as he intended on getting rid of the Mirai the second that fuel card ran out. Jones went on to say that the fuel card was a part of the paperwork with the dealership and that this stipulation existed before he signed anything.
However, after he signed the paperwork and agreed to buy the car, which was in Orange County, (he lives in L.A.), Jones says the dealership worker informed him that they didn’t have the fuel card and that it would take two days for them to get it.
So Jones drove to get the fuel card days later, but when he tried to put hydrogen in the Mirai, the card declined. After some back and forth between the dealership, where they promised to give him a new card but never did because “none were available,” Jones says he escalated the issue to corporate.
“I tell them my situation and you wanna know what they said?” Jones tells his views. “They said the dealership committed fraud. They should have never given me a card that belonged to someone else. And I should have gotten a brand new one under my own name.”
Jones explains he now has an open case with Toyota for two months, and he has yet to be assisted.
“They’re supposed to give me my money back for the fuel that I paid for out of pocket. Nothing,” he rants. “So, don’t buy this f*cking car. Because it’s issue after issue after issue it’s the most inconvenient sh*t ever.”
Viewers weigh in
Numerous commenters stated they were shocked at how little mileage the Toyota Mirai received at more than half of its fuel tank capacity.
“My lil Acura is $35 for 415 miles I could nottttt do that,” one person said.
And then several folks didn’t even know hydrogen cars were even a thing.
“Me watching while just learning that Hydrogen cars exist,” one wrote.
“I was today years old when i found out hydrogen cars exist,” another added.
Another replied, “Mirai means ‘future’ in Japanese but it sounds like this car doesn’t have one.”
There was one user on the application who contested that the car itself sounded like a “scam.” However, Jones wrote that he thought the car was amazing, it’s just the way the dealership handled the sale.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Auto Nation Toyota Irvine via live chat, Toyota via email, and Jones via TikTok comment.
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