Toyota Touted 2018-2019 Vehicles with Fuel Pump Defect as ‘Safe and Dependable,’ Class Action Lawsuit Says

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Toyota has been hit with another proposed class action centered on what some drivers consider the inadequate recall of more than 695,000 2018-2019 vehicle models equipped with a defective low-pressure Denso fuel pump.

Though this year’s limited recall covered hundreds of thousands of cars, the lawsuit alleges that all 2018-2019 Toyota and Lexus vehicles suffer from the same dangerous condition, a fact the plaintiff alleges has been “long known” to Toyota. Despite the danger presented by the fuel pump defect, Toyota’s marketing of the below vehicle models “was and is replete with assurances about their safety and dependability,” the lawsuit alleges: 

• 2018-2019 Toyota 4Runner;
• 2019 Toyota Avalon;
• 2018-2019 Toyota Camry;
• 2019 Toyota Corolla;
• 2018-2019 Toyota Highlander;
• 2018-2019 Toyota Land Cruiser;
• 2018-2019 Toyota Sequoia;
• 2018-2019 Toyota Sienna;
• 2018-2019 Toyota Tacoma;
• 2018-2019 Toyota Tundra; 
• 2019 Lexus ES;
• 2018-2019 Lexus GS;
• 2018-2019 Lexus GX;
• 2018-2019 Lexus IS;
• 2018-2019 Lexus LC;
• 2018-2019 Lexus LS;
• 2018-2019 Lexus LX;
• 2019 Lexus NX;
• 2018-2019 Lexus RC; and
• 2018-2019 Lexus RX.

Filed against Toyota North America; Toyota Motor Sales, USA; and Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, the lawsuit details that the automaker specified in its January safety recall report that the fuel pumps in certain vehicles were built with a faulty impeller, the component that spins and generates the negative pressure necessary to pull fuel from a gas tank before it’s sent to a vehicle’s fuel filter and into the engine. If a fuel pump’s impeller deforms after absorbing an excessive amount of fuel, the case says, it could interfere with the pump’s functioning and cause an engine to run rough or stall, exposing a driver and vehicle occupants to “extreme danger, bodily injury, or even death.” A faulty fuel pump can also prevent a driver from accelerating at an appropriate speed, according to the suit.

The case claims that while the automaker possessed knowledge of the low-pressure Denso fuel pump defect, Toyota sold and leased vehicles to the general public without disclosing that the above-listed models, as well as the hybrid variants of the cars, were inherently defective. Given that Toyota has to date failed to identify a remedy for the fuel pump problem, owners and lessees of affected vehicles may be unknowingly driving “ticking time bombs” that have decreased in intrinsic and resale value, the suit alleges.

According to the complaint, Toyota has not notified owners and lessees of recalled vehicles of the fuel pump defect. The case contests that Toyota’s business strategy in pulling the cars was to “remain silent and keep consumers in the dark” about the problem until sometime after it identified the issue internally and shared such with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.