NHTSA Complaint #11394879 — 2020 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

Complaint Details

ODI Number	11394879
Vehicle	2020 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER
Component	FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Date of Incident	February 5, 2021
Date Filed	February 5, 2021
Mileage	5,000 miles
Crash	No
Fire	No
Injuries	0
Deaths	0
Vehicle Towed	No
State	CA

Consumer Description

2020 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HYBRID AWD. WHEN FILLING FROM ALMOST EMPTY (PER LOW FUEL WARNING LIGHT AND DISTANCE TO EMPTY READING ALMOST 0), TANK ONLY ACCEPTS ~12.5 GALLONS BEFORE GAS STATION FUEL NOZZLE AUTO CLICKS OFF. THE FUEL GAGE AT THIS POINT INDICATES THAT THE VEHICLE IS ~7/8 FILLED. THE OWNERS MANUAL WARNS ABOUT NOT ATTEMPTING TO FILL AFTER THE FUEL NOZZLE AUTOMATICALLY CLICKS OFF. BEING UNABLE TO FILL TANK MAY LEAD TO OWNERS ATTEMPTING TO OVERFILL TANKS AND COULD RESULT IN INADVERTENTLY SPILLING FUEL WHICH POSES A SAFETY RISK AND AN ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE RISK. IT CAN ALSO LEAD TO MORE EMISSIONS. A SIMILAR PROBLEM EXISTS WITH 2019/2020 TOYOTA RAV4 PER NHTSA RECORDS, TOYOTA HAS PROPOSED A FIX FOR THIS VEHICLE BUT HAS STATED THAT NO OTHER MODELS ARE AFFECTED BY THIS ISSUE. THE PROBLEM DESCRIBED ABOVE IS ALMOST IDENTICAL WITH THE EXCEPTION THAT THE VEHICLES HAVE DIFFERENT FUEL TANK CAPACITIES. TOYOTA HAS INDICATED THAT THIS IS "NORMAL".

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