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Toyota could be facing a class action bill of almost $2 billion after a Federal Court judgement found some owners could claim more than $7000 in damages from the auto manufacturer.

A current class action against Toyota Motor Corporation Australia Limited is claiming compensation for alleged defects in several of Toyota's top-selling vehicles including the Hilux, Fortuner and Prado vehicles.

It specifically concerns cars with the 1GD-FTV or 2GD-FTV diesel engine, which contain an allegedly faulty diesel particulate filter – or DPF – that increases fuel consumption and general wear and tear.

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A full list of affected vehicles in the class action can be found here.

Today Justice Michael Lee found that the DPF system involved was defective, with the estimated cost of damages for customers who bought an affected car calculated to be $7,474.59.

This figure was reached based on a number of reasons, primarily that the value of the vehicles was reduced by 17.5 per cent for having the DPF installed.

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"In short, by reason of the Core Defect, the Relevant Vehicles were worth less at the time of supply than they would have been worth if they were not defective," Justice Lee wrote.

"The conduct in marketing the vehicles as being of acceptable quality was misleading."

Given the class action concerns 264,170 vehicles, if every impacted owner claimed the full damages of $7,474.59 Toyota would be facing a bill just shy of $2 billion.

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In a statement to 9News.com.au a spokesperson for Toyota Australia said the manufacturer was reviewing the judgement.

"We are in the process of reviewing the court's judgment," the spokesperson said.

"At every step, we believe that we have implemented customer focused and technically grounded remedies to resolve customers' concerns.

"Toyota will carefully consider the initial trial judgment before making any further comment."

The proceedings will continue.

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A "miracle" flood rescue has been carried out in regional New South Wales but the operation to rescue puppies left behind in the car is ongoing.

Emergency services said a driver became lost in a rural area of Kangaroo Valley after following the wrong GPS coordinates, before he went down a one way street and attempted to cross a flooded causeway.

Fire and Rescue NSW Chad Wallace told 9News the car was washed off the causeway, which had half-a-metre of water on it.

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"He was swept 200 metres down the creek bouncing off trees and the riverbank then came to rest against a tree with around 20 metres of flowing water around him," he said.

Mr Wallace described the rescue as a "superhuman" multi agency response and the driver was brought to safety with no significant injuries.

"The man was rescued from the car in an extremely technical rescue," he said.

"It was a superhuman effort from the helicopter pilot and helicopter crew who were able to winch a crewman down to the man…he was able to lasso the driver and pull him out."

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He added there are puppies in the car and emergency services are working out a way to rescue the dogs.

"They're in the car and they are safe," Mr Wallace said.

"We are working out a plan to rescue those puppies in the next few hours."

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