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Toyota has added over 1,327,000 vehicles to its ongoing, unresolved fuel pump recall problem causing so many owners so many problems. That is the bad news. The good news is that Toyota says that there is now a remedy for many of the vehicles covered in the recall. Thus far, the RAV4, Camry, Corolla, Avalon, Sienna, 4 Runner, Land Cruiser, Highlander, Tundra, Tacoma, and other Toyota vehicles are included.
What Toyotas Are Being Recalled For a Fuel Pump Problem?
A recent update sent from Toyota included the below summary:
Related Story: Will This Defect Impact Your Toyota's Resale Value? Experts Weigh In
Does Toyota Have a Fix For Its Fuel Pump Recall?
Yes, Toyota has a solution for some vehicles included in its fuel pump recall. However, many owner comments here at Torque News show that the fix does not work for them.
Toyota Fuel Pump Recall - What Is The Problem?
The problem is that the subject vehicles are equipped with a low-pressure fuel pump which can stop operating. If this were to occur, warning lights and messages may be displayed on the instrument panel, and the engine can run rough. This may in turn cause the vehicle to stall. Even worse, the vehicle may be unable to be restarted. If a vehicle stall occurs while driving at higher speeds, Toyota says that it could increase the risk of a crash.
How Do You Know If Your Toyota Fuel Pump Is Bad?
Toyota says that those with the fuel pump problem can experience rough engine running, warning lights or messages on the instrument panel, engine no start, and loss of motive power.
Related Story: Toyota's Latest Massive Fuel Pump Recall Would Not Have Happened Were Its Cars Electric
How Many Toyota Fuel Pumps Have Failed?
Toyota has just added another 1.3 million vehicles to its massive fuel pump recall. That brings the new total to about 6 Million vehicles in America.
What Should I Do If My Vehicle Is On the Toyota Fuel Pump Recall List?
There are three things to do if your Toyota is on the fuel pump recall list.
- First, contact your Toyota dealer immediately to schedule a service visit.
- Second, prepare to be without your vehicle for a period of a few weeks.
- Third, update your AAA membership and be sure you have both an Uber and Lyft app ready to use at a moment's notice.
We are not being sarcastic. If you need to be towed, many tow truck companies, including those contracted by AAA, will not allow you to ride with them in the cab of the tow truck. You need to have your own emergency transportation plan in the event you are towed.
How Long Does The Fuel Pump Recall Repair Take To Complete At the Dealer?
Owners report having to leave the vehicle for an extended time to have the Toyota fuel pump recall fix performed by the dealer. However, the actual time to do the work varies from one hour to as many as four. In some vehicles, the rear seats and carpet need to be removed before Toyota can even begin the mechanical repairs.
How Can I Check To See If My Vehicle Is On the Toyota Fuel Pump Recall List?
You can input your vehicle identification number into Toyota's online recall lookup tool to see if your vehicle is on this list of six million Toyotas.
Are Any Lexus or Scion Models Included In the Toyota Fuel Pump Recall?
Yes, quite a few Lexus and Scion brand Toyota vehicle models are included in this recall. Here is a list:
• 2018 – 2020 ES 350 • 2018 – 2020 LS 500
• 2017 GS 200t • 2019 LS 500h
• 2019 GS 300 • 2018 – 2019 LX 570
• 2017 – 2019 GS 350 • 2018 – 2019 NX 300
• 2018 – 2019 GX 460 • 2019 RC 300
• 2017 IS 200t • 2019 RC 350
• 2019 IS 300 • 2017 RC 200t
• 2019 IS 350 • 2018 – 2020 RX 350L
• 2018 – 2020 LC 500 • 2017 – 2020 RX 350
• 2018 – 2020 LC 500h • 2019 UX 200
Aside From My Dealer, Where Else Can I Turn For Help From Toyota Regarding The Fuel Pump Issue?
If you have additional questions or concerns, please contact the Toyota Brand Engagement Center at
1-888-270-9371 Monday through Friday, 7:00 am to 7:00 pm, Saturday 7:00 am to 4:30 pm Central
Time.
If you have a Toyota vehicle and have had any difficulty having it repaired by Toyota, please tell us in the comments below what you have experienced. Your comments may help a fellow owner struggling with the Toyota fuel pump recall debacle.
John Goreham is a life-long car nut and recovering engineer. John's focus areas are technology, safety, and green vehicles. In the 1990s, he was part of a team that built a solar-electric vehicle from scratch. His was the role of battery thermal control designer. For 20 years he applied his engineering and sales talents in the high tech world and published numerous articles in technical journals such as Chemical Processing Magazine. In 2008 he retired from that career and dedicated himself to chasing his dream of being an auto writer. In addition to Torque News, John's work has appeared in print in dozens of American newspapers and he provides reviews to many vehicle shopping sites. You can follow John on Twitter, and view his credentials at Linkedin.
The chart and icon shown in this story were provided by Toyota.
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Comments
My heart breaks for people
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My heart breaks for people when I'm reading this: I'm in the UK have a 2010 RAV4; in 2014 all the described faults under 'What is the problem?' above started - all Engine Management/MIL lights came on; ridiculous lights come on (ABS, Traction Control), Cruise control is inoperable when the fault lights are on, ludicrous loss of power, plus everything described above. At first, the problems were intermittent but as time went on it was just the permanent state of things.
My Toyota Dealership was brilliant in negotiating with Toyota direct, who were awful. First recommendation was the entire Engine Management system had failed, replace it; my dealer disgreed. They tried to get Toyota to fund that suggestion as a result to prove their theory (and they would then charge me if it cured the problem), Toyota refused. Toyota Dealership then carried out other tests and informed me they were in total disagreement with Toyota as they'd proved to their satisfaction there was no fault with the EMS.
Next suggestion was it was the Diesel Particulate Filter - but as I was driving a min of 60miles per day at high motorway speed, the Dealership also rejected this. And so it went on. For *years*. Someone mentioned it could be a fuel problem (even though it had been run from Day1 with additional fuel cleaner as I'd been told our ordinary diesel here in the UK is not as clean as Toyota require) I was advised to use fuel cleaner alongside only using Premium Diesel from the top brand-named forecourts. That did eliminate all the poor/rough running and power loss problems ... but at every ignition start all the lights came on/wouldn't go off, cruise control never worked while the fault lights were on, and 4WD was also always flagged as inoperable. I raised concerns about safety (particularly re the ABS warning), and the Toyota response was that although all these lights came on, it was simply because there wasn't a warning light relevant to the actual problem so it just put all the lights on; the functionality was actually working on all these other things. So why, I asked, did Cruise Control (which I could test) not work; no reply. This ran on for *years* and it was only in 2020 (!!2020!! when the car is 10yrs old and I've not been able to trade it in or sell it!) that I received a diagnosis of what is referred to here in the UK as 'the fuel rail problem' - the next suggestion was that over min £1,000 would needed to be invested to replace 'the fuel rail'. On a vehicle that was then 10yrs old. But still the mechanics were still not confident this would work and so even though I requested the work my requests hit a stonewall where it seems to me the mechanics don't want to 'do the work -v- the residual value of the vehicle' ... and then be left with the mess of 'well, that doesn't work either and I've now just spent £1,000K+ with you'.
Recently, someone kindly smashed into my car and when it went for repairs the garage/mechanic that collected it saw all the lights come on and said "oh, you've got the fuel rail problem!". "OMG!" I said "so you know what to do about it??". "No" he said "if we ever pick these up on trade-ins the lights are just disabled and they're thrown through the junk Auctions".
Apart from this problem my RAV4 had been amazing (*ie it has never had breakdowns or huge repair bills on parts, but maybe this one had been enough!) But I won't ever have another Toyota. I've naively had to drive round in it all these years and have had *no* knowledge at all whether it was actually massively unsafe.
Unless someone can correct me (and please do so!) by properly technically understanding the 'fuel rail' diagnosis as being different to this described fuel pump fault, I think Toyota have had this 'fuel' problem for a *lot* longer than they are admitting. And that globally, there are a *lot* of Toyota owners with older models who, like me, have just had to limp through the life of their vehicle with Toyota saying 'we don't know what this is'.
As much as Toyota 'had' an amazing reputation for reliability and engineering, it's no good if you end up with a vehicle with this problem. I wasn't able to sell or trade-in, I've had to drive around in a vehicle for years that potentially has not been safe on an 'OMG!'/epic level and had no way of knowing. Reading that a problem with *exactly* the same symptoms as I've had unresolved for 12yrs still exists absolutely disgusts me. I won't ever buy another Toyota :o(