2018 Toyota Highlander FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

I just found out that there was an initial recall #20V012000 and an expanded recall #20V682000 on my 2018 Toyota Highlander that I was unaware of regarding the low-pressure fuel pump inside the fuel tank could fail risking engine stalling and potential crash. I found this out after paying 1100.00 to Sheehy Toyota in Fredericksburg to replace the fuel pump. I reported it to Toyota Brand Services for reimbursment and was told that it was NOT a recall it was a CSP (which to them is different they said) and that the fuel pump that I had replaced was a low pressure fuel pump and the CSP was for a high pressure fuel pump. I need help getting my money back after being charged for a recall.

The fuel pump system is malfunctioning. This vehicle needs to be part of the current recall on 2018 Highlanders with fuel pump issues. This is putting me and my family at risk, as well as others. The code is coming back to the fuel pump. The check engine light is currently on.

My vehicle is stalling when driving and other Toyota Highlanders of same model and year were/are having the same issue and have been recalled for the fuel pump. Having my vehicle stall when driving in the busy highways of Texas are very dangerous especially when some speed limits go up to 80mph. The problem has been reproduced and witnessed by a mechanic. The Toyota dealership stated that my VIN is not included in the recall so they could not fix it. There was no warning before the first time my vehicle stalled while driving in the highway. Unsure of how dealerships only stick to just the specific VINs that are effected when other VINs of the same model and year are having the same issue but are not willing to fix the issue.

Fuel pump was replaced last year in October 2020 and was out of warranty when incident happened. Vehicle stalled again in the middle of my drive and was stranded in the middle of a busy road. Fuel pump found to be failing per my mechanic.

On July 27, I was driving on a major multi-lane road going approximately 35 miles going to the World Toyota for an oil change. All of a sudden, the vehicle decelerated to almost a stop. I gingerly navigated the vehicle to the side of the road. There was no warning that there was something wrong with the vehicle. After navigating to the side of the road a warning light appeared that said traction control is off. I called World Toyota, told them what happened and they suggested that I get the vehicle towed if I felt I couldn’t drive it. I was about 1/4 mile away from the dealer. The vehicle was a safety hazard, therefore, I had the vehicle towed to the dealer. On July 28, the World Toyota service advisor informed me that 2 of the 6 fuel injectors had failed—#s1 and 4. He advised me the best route would be to replace all 6 at a cost of $3500. He agreed with me that it is odd for fuel injectors to fail on a vehicle with only 48K. We have driven this car very little since purchasing shortly before the COVID lock down in early 2020. I spoke with customer relations at Toyota and they have offered to pay to replace the 2 failed injectors, but have refused to pay the installation costs. I am concerned that the failure the injectors is a huge safely issue for Toyota Highlander owners. I saw where the injector issue has been discussed for 2019 model Highlanders. Here is the information in the inspection report from dealer [“ CUSTOMER STATES THE TRACTION CONTROL OFF LIGHT CAME ON AND THE CAR STARTED TO DECELEARATE AND THEN STARTED JERKING. VEHICLE TOWED IN. 1HR DIAGNOSTIC APPROVED. remove intake manifold OBSERVATIONS: MULTIPLE CODES FOR OPEN CIRCUIT TO DIRECT INJECTION.NEED TO REMOVE INTAKE MANIFOLD TO INSPECT FUEL INJECTORS”] The information about which injectors failed was given to me by phone by my service advisor, Matthew Bailey. I uploaded the picture sent of mechanic working on vehicle.

THE RECALL WAS POSTED ON JANUARY 13. TOYOTA DID NOT NOTIFY US UNTIL MID MAY. THERE IS STILL NO REMEDY. IT IS MORE THAN 6 MONTHS. OUR HIGHLANDER IS SITTING IN A TOYOTA SERVICE CENTER FOR OVER A MONTH. WE NEED THEM TO REMEDY THE SITUATION IMMEDIATELY. TOYOTA RENTED A CAR FOR US BUT WE ARE PAYING EXTRA FOR INSURANCE ON THE RENTAL- $400 A MONTH. CAN YOU FIND OUT WHY IT'S TAKING THEM SO LONG TO COME UP WITH A REMEDY? THANK YOU. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2018 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 20V012000 (FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE) HOWEVER, THE PART TO DO THE RECALL REPAIR WAS UNAVAILABLE. MUNGENAST ALTON TOYOTA (850 E HOMER ADAMS PKWY, ALTON, IL 62002) WAS CONTACTED AND CONFIRMED THAT THE PART WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIR. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE ISSUE. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE. VIN TOOL CONFIRMS PARTS NOT AVAILABLE.

CAR HAD PROBLEMS ACCELERATING TWO TIMES FROM AFTER BEING STOPPED AT A STOP LIGHT. IT WAS ROUGH, DASH LIGHTS FLASHED QUICKLY AND I WAS UNABLE TO SEE WHICH LIGHTS WERE FLASHING. AS I COULD NOT RECREATE THE PROBLEM AFTER THAT, I WASN'T SURE ABOUT BRINGING IT TO THE DEALER. TWO WEEKS LATER I RECEIVED MY NOTICE ABOUT THE FUEL PUMP BEING RECALLED. NOW THE CAR IS AT THE DEALERSHIP. I REFUSE TO DRIVE AN UNSAFE CAR. TOYOTA HAS NOT SUPPLIED A TIMELY FIX. THE CAR HAS LESS THAN 20,000 MILES ON IT. TOYOTA SHOULD BUY THE CAR BACK. *TR

TOYOTA HAS NO REMEDY FOR FUEL PUMP RECALL.WITH AIRLINE TRAVEL NO GOOD WITH COUVID19,HOW CAN I SAFELY DRIVE 700-880 MILES KNOWING CAR COULD STALL AT HIGH SPEEDS? I COULD GET REAR ENDED ON INTERSTATE! WHY CAN'T TOYOTA COME UP WITH QUICK REMEDY? NOTHING HAS HAPPENED YET TO THE VEHICLE!! *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2018 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT UPON MAKING A COMPLETE STOP, THE VEHICLE HESITATED TO MOVE FORWARD WHEN DEPRESSING THE ACCELERATOR. THE FAILURE OCCURRED INTERMITTENTLY WITHOUT WARNING. THE CONTACT THEN RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 20V012000 (FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE). THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIR. THE CONTACT CALLED LAKELAND TOYOTA (2925 MALL HILL DR, LAKELAND, FL 33810) AND WAS INFORMED THAT THE VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECALL. THE MANUFACTURER HAD NOT BEEN NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 25,000. VIN TOOL CONFIRMS PARTS NOT AVAILABLE.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2018 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER. THE CONTACT DISCOVERED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS INCLUDED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 20V012000 (FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE) HOWEVER, THE PART TO DO THE RECALL REPAIR WAS NOT YET AVAILABLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIR. THE MANUFACTURER NOR THE DEALER HAD BEEN NOTIFIED OF THE ISSUE. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE. VIN TOOL CONFIRMS PARTS NOT AVAILABLE.

LEARNED OF RECALL IN JAN. 2020--SINCE THEN TOYOTA HAS NOT PROVIDED A REMEDY FOR THIS RECALL BASED ON DIRECT CONTACT WITH TOYOTA, THE DEALERSHIP I PURCHASED VEHICLE FROM,NTHSA AND MEDIA---I HAVE VERY LIMITED USE OF VEHICLE BECAUSE OF THE CHANCE FOR ACCIDENTS AND BEING STRANDED IF VEHICLE SHUTS DOWN,WOUKD LIKE TOYOTA BUY BACK VEHICLE

WHEN FILLING THE VEHICLE WITH GAS, AFTER THE GAS PUMP SHUTS OFF, GAS COMES SURGING BACK OUT OFF THE FILLER NECK WITH ENOUGH FORCE TO SPLASH ON WHOMEVER IS FILLING THE VEHICLE. THIS HAPPENS AT MULTIPLE GAS STATIONS AND DIFFERENT PUMPS WITH DIFFERENT FLOW RATES. EACH TIME, THE HANDLE IS EITHER BEING HELD BY HAND OR BY LATCH ON PUMP HANDLE. WHEN THE TANK IS FULL, PUMP SHUTS OFF AND GASOLINE HAS CEASED TO FLOW FROM THE NOZZLE, THE GASOLINE THEN IMMEDIATELY SURGES BACK OUT OF THE VEHICLE. THERE IS ENOUGH GAS THAT COMES BACK OUT TO MAKE A PUDDLE ON THE GROUND. DEALER DIAGNOSED AND REPLACED A FAULTY VENT VALVE. AFTER TWO MONTHS THE PROBLEM IS HAPPENING AGAIN. HAVE PROVIDED VIDEO EVIDENCE TO THE DEALER. DEALER REFUSES TO ESCALATE OR RECOGNIZE IT AS A SAFETY CONCERN. REFUSES TO PROVIDE LOANER VEHICLE WHILE VEHICLE IS DIAGNOSED AND REPAIRED. DUE TO THE NATURE OF THIS SAFETY ISSUE AND HIGH PROBABILITY OF CONTAMINATION FROM GASOLINE AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS COMPOUNDED BY THE RECURRENT NATURE OF THIS ISSUE, I FEEL THIS NEEDS TO BE ELEVATED EXPEDIENTLY.