Fuel injection systems are meant to manage the flow of fuel from the vehicle’s fuel tank to its engine. The complaint for this class action alleges that Toyota Motor North America, Inc. and Toyota Motor Corporation have equipped certain Toyota and Lexus vehicles with defective fuel pumps that sometimes stop the flow of fuel, thereby causing the vehicle to stall or shut down.
The class for this action is all persons or entities in the US who owned or leased a Toyota or Lexus equipped with the Denso low-pressure fuel pumps and assemblies for which the part number begins with prefix 23220- or 23221-.
The complaint points out, “If the fuel delivery system in a care is defective, then the car is unsafe to operate because it will not predictably respond to operator input to accelerate and it could stall or completely lose power while in motion.”
Toyota’s first recall report describes the problem this way: “These fuel pumps contain an impeller that could deform due to excessive fuel absorption…. If impeller deformation occurs, the impeller may interfere with the fuel pump body, and this could result in illumination of check engine and master warning indicators, rough engine running, engine no start and/or vehicle stall….”
Although recalls have been issued for a large number of vehicles, the complaint alleges that “the same dangerous condition is present in millions of Toyota and Lexus vehicles equipped with the low-pressure fuel pump” and poses a danger to passengers and surrounding drivers alike.
The complaint alleges that Toyota and Denso have known about the problem for a while but have continued to put them in vehicles. The complaint quotes a 2016 Denso patent application that warns that the plastic impellers in the pumps “may be swelled due to the fuel and water contained in the fuel, therefore a rotation of the impeller may be stopped when the impeller is swelled and comes in contact with the [fuel pump] housing.”
According to the complaint, Toyota first began its investigation of the fuel pump failures in June 2019. The recall notice noted that Denso found “signs of binding/interference between the pump impeller and the pump casing/cover…. [I]t was confirmed that the failed impellers had a lower density. Generally, impellers with lower density are more susceptible to fuel absorption.” Also, some of the impellers were found to be cracking.
Two later notices have extended the recall to more than 1.8 million vehicles, but the complaint claims that even these do not include all the vehicles equipped with the defective fuel pumps.
It claims that Toyota has also not found a fix for the defect and that it does not warn purchasers of the presence of the defect or tell them to stop driving the vehicles until they can be fixed.
The counts include fraudulent concealment and breaches of warranties, among other things.
Article Type: LawsuitTopic: Automobile
Most Recent Case Event
Toyota and Lexus Fuel Pump Stalling Danger Complaint
May 29, 2020
Fuel injection systems are meant to manage the flow of fuel from the vehicle’s fuel tank to its engine. The complaint for this class action alleges that Toyota Motor North America, Inc. and Toyota Motor Corporation have equipped certain Toyota and Lexus vehicles with defective fuel pumps that sometimes stop the flow of fuel, thereby causing the vehicle to stall or shut down.
Toyota and Lexus Fuel Pump Stalling Danger ComplaintCase Event History
Toyota and Lexus Fuel Pump Stalling Danger Complaint
May 29, 2020
Fuel injection systems are meant to manage the flow of fuel from the vehicle’s fuel tank to its engine. The complaint for this class action alleges that Toyota Motor North America, Inc. and Toyota Motor Corporation have equipped certain Toyota and Lexus vehicles with defective fuel pumps that sometimes stop the flow of fuel, thereby causing the vehicle to stall or shut down.
Toyota and Lexus Fuel Pump Stalling Danger Complaint