NHTSA Complaint #11378566 — 2018 TOYOTA CAMRY

ON 9/29/18, I LEASED A TOYOTA CAMRY HYBRID FROM SMITHTOWN TOYOTA. BEGINNING WITHIN THE FIRST FEW MONTH OF HAVING THE CAR, ON MULTIPLE, RANDOM OCCASIONS GASOLINE LEAKED OUT OF MY GAS TANK DOWN THE SIDE OF MY CAR. IT TENDS TO BE WHEN THE CAR HAS BEEN SITTING FOR A PERIOD OF TIME - AFTER WORK, WHEN IT HAD BEEN SITTING FOR >8 HOURS, WHEN I RETURNED HOME FROM A WEEK VACATION, AND OTHER TIMES WHEN IT HAD BEEN SITTING OVERNIGHT IN MY DRIVEWAY. I WOULD SMELL A POWERFUL ODOR OF GASOLINE WHEN I APPROACHED THE CAR, WHICH IS WHAT WOULD MAKE ME CHECK THE GAS TANK AREA. SEVERAL TIMES, I WITNESSED THE GASOLINE RUNNING DOWN THE SIDE OF MY CAR. IN ALL CASES THERE WERE GASOLINE STAINS ON THE PAVEMENT UNDER THE GAS TANK. AND THE SIDE OF MY WHITE CAR HAS A PERMANENT YELLOW STREAK DOWN THE SIDE FROM THE LEAKING GAS. I BROUGHT IT TO THE DEALERSHIP 3 TIMES TO HAVE THEM DIAGNOSE IT, BUT THEY SAID THERE IS NO WAY IT COULD BE HAPPENING WITHOUT THE WARNING LIGHT GOING ON ON THE DASHBOARD BECAUSE IT IS A CLOSED SYSTEM. THEY SAID I MUST BE OVERFILLING MY GAS TANK OR NOT TIGHTENING THE GAS CAP ENOUGH. I HAVE PICTURES OF THE GAS LEAKING OUT AFTER THE CAR SAT OVERNIGHT, AND I HAD ALREADY DRIVEN 120 MILES SINCE MY LAST FILL UP. EVEN AFTER I SHOWED THE PICTURES TO THE SERVICE MANAGER, HE STILL SAID IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE THAT IT WAS HAPPENING. FINALLY, I CALLED TOYOTA'S CORPORATE LINE AND REPORTED IT. THEY HAD ME GO TO ANOTHER TOYOTA SERVICE CENTER, WHERE THEY FOUND THAT THE GAS LINE WAS NOT CONNECTED PROPERLY, WHICH WAS CAUSING THE LEAK. BUT THEY SAID IT WAS FROM WEAR-AND-TEAR FROM FILLING THE GAS TANK, NOT A MANUFACTURER DEFECT (EVEN THOUGH THE CAR HAD <6000 MILES ON IT WHEN THE LEAK WAS DETECTED). THERE IS A RECALL FOR 2018 TOYOTA CAMRY HYBRIDS (J0G) FOR "FUEL DELIVERY PIPES THAT MAY NOT BE PROPERLY CONNECTED TO THE FUEL HOSES IN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT". I THINK MY CAR IS AFFECTED BY THIS DESIGN FLAW.