Toyota Class Action Alleges Highlander Fuel Tanks Don’t Fill All The Way

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Toyota Highlander Fuel Tank Defect Class Action Lawsuit Overview: 

• Who: Samuel J. and Belinda A. Prince filed a class action lawsuit against Toyota Motor Sales, USA. 
• Why: The Princes claim Toyota fails to disclose that the fuel tanks in its 2020-2021 Toyota Highlander vehicles are defective.
• Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in New Jersey federal court.   

Toyota sells model year 2020-2021 Toyota Highlander vehicles with defective fuel tanks that can’t be filled to their advertised capacity, a new class action lawsuit alleges.

Plaintiffs Samuel J. and Belinda A. Prince claim the alleged fuel tank defect increases emissions, alters the vehicle’s promised driving range and increases risk of overflow while gassing up. 

Toyota fails to disclose the alleged fuel tank defect to consumers prior to them purchasing the vehicles, the class action lawsuit alleges. 

The Princes claim that, despite the 2020-2021 Toyota Highlander vehicles having an advertised fuel tank capacity of 17.1 gallons, gas pumps will automatically shut off at between 12 to 14 gallons when filling up an empty tank. 

Toyota has acknowledged that only approximately 14.2 gallons of the fuel tank are usable even though the fuel tanks technically have a capacity of 17.1 gallons, according to the class action lawsuit. 

“Consumers can attempt to force the tank to accept more fuel by slowly adding gas after the automatic shut-off has been triggered, but many have reported gas then spilling out of the vehicle well before the tank has actually been filled to the advertised capacity of 17.1 gallons,” the class action lawsuit states.

Toyota Highlanders Don’t Reach Promised 615 Miles, Class Action Says

The Princes claim the alleged fuel tank defect causes the Toyota Highlander vehicles to fall below their advertised driving range of 615 miles on a full tank. 

Further, they argue Toyota continues to advertise that the vehicles have a 17.1 gallon fuel tank capacity despite knowing that not all of the space is usable. 

The Princes claim Toyota is guilty of breach of express warranty and breach of implied warranty of merchantability, and in violation of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act and the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act.

They want to represent a New Jersey class of consumers who purchased or leased a 2020-2021 Toyota Highlander equipped with a hybrid powertrain. 

Plaintiffs are demanding a jury trial and requesting declaratory relief along with compensatory, statutory and exemplary damages for themselves and all class members. 

A similar class action lawsuit was filed last June by consumers in California who claim Toyota failed to disclose that the fuel systems in its 2020-2021 Toyota Highlander vehicles are defective.

Have you purchased or leased a model year 2020-21 Toyota Highlander? Let us know in the comments! 

The plaintiffs are represented by Simon B. Paris and Patrick Howard of Saltz Mongeluzzi & Bendesky, PC, and Daniel E. Gustafson, David M. Goodwin and Ling S. Wang of Gustafson Gluek PLLC. 

The Toyota Highlander Fuel Tank Defect Class Action Lawsuit is Prince, et al., v. Toyota Motor Sales, USA, et al., Case No. 2:22-cv-01682, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.

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