[ARE]

Has anyone with the 3.5-liter V-6 experienced the fuel pump failure problem described in Toyota's recent recall notice? If so, what year is your vehicle and how many miles did it have when this happened? I called the Toyota Customer Experience Office yesterday, but the person I talked to didn't know how common this problem was except to say that it could happen at "high speeds". I asked if that meant high engine speeds (higher RPMs, more fuel used) or high vehicle speeds. Would my 2018 Highlander be at greater risk driving 70 MPH on the highway at 1800 RPM than up a mountain doing 45 MPH at 3500 RPM? The only technical information I could find online said that the fuel pump impellers could deform over time, reducing fuel flow to the engine, causing rough performance or stalling.

 

[thongus]

Doesn't the fuel pump work at its maximum during all times (with the fuel return going back in and the fuel pressure regulator regulating a pressure for the injectors?)
I'm guessing (don't quote me on this) that if some of the impellers are deformed, the problem will probably slowly get worse leading to the pump failing and one day while you may be driving on a highway could cut off unknowingly causing a stall potentially leading to an accident.

 

[ARE]

I asked that question online, and I think you are correct. One article said that rough idle and stalling could be caused by the pump delivering inadequate fuel volume to the engine, not inadequate pressure. I have not found any reports indicating that this is a widespread problem with the 3.5 liter engine, so I assume that Toyota is being proactive in issuing this recall notice.

 

[thongus]

Well here in Australia it seems as toyota are recalling 45000+ vehicles with this issue. I just looked at the kluger affected VIN list and there's about 21000+ gsu5x affected.

 

[Doug Bell]

Has anyone with the 3.5-liter V-6 experienced the fuel pump failure problem described in Toyota's recent recall notice? If so, what year is your vehicle and how many miles did it have when this happened? I called the Toyota Customer Experience Office yesterday, but the person I talked to didn't know how common this problem was except to say that it could happen at "high speeds". I asked if that meant high engine speeds (higher RPMs, more fuel used) or high vehicle speeds. Would my 2018 Highlander be at greater risk driving 70 MPH on the highway at 1800 RPM than up a mountain doing 45 MPH at 3500 RPM? The only technical information I could find online said that the fuel pump impellers could deform over time, reducing fuel flow to the engine, causing rough performance or stalling.

Well here in Australia it seems as toyota are recalling 45000+ vehicles with this issue. I just looked at the kluger affected VIN list and there's about 21000+ gsu5x affected.

I had a 2019 Highlander that had this problem. I had 3 incidents in February 2020. The first was while drive at 60 mph on a rural road in Central Texas. The engine suddenly stalled, and I had to pull over on the shoulder. After a few minutes of wondering what's wrong I turned off the engine and restarted. It was ok for about a week or so. Then while drive in city traffic at slower speed the engine stalled and hesitated. I just slowed down and that solved the problem. The 3rd incident was about 2 weeks later. I was in rush hour traffic on a city street. I stopped for a light. When the light changed the engine stalled and I could not accelerate as fast as the cars around me. I limped into the outside lane and into a parking lot. It took about 5 minutes to get the fuel pump working again this time. So I took it to the dealership. The car only had 20,000 miles on it. The dealership listened to my problem and said I could not drive the car in that condition because it would not be safe. The gave me a loaner, impounded my highlander, and said wait for a pending safety recall in which Toyota would have a repair. Toyota paid for the loaner and will pay for the repair. I waited 6 weeks, but my Highlander was never repaired. Toyota sent out an official safety recall in March that recognized the problem with the low pressure fuel pump. However, they did not have a solution yet and gave no date when it would be repaired. There are 1.2 million Toyotas subject to this recall. I didn't think I would ever get my Highlander back. I wasn't sure that Toyota had solved the problem or if they ever would. So I traded it in for a year 2020 RAV4. Now I'm happy that I am back in an SUV which sits higher on the road than the Camry loaner I was driving temporarly.

 

[ARE]

I had a 2019 Highlander that had this problem. I had 3 incidents in February 2020. The first was while drive at 60 mph on a rural road in Central Texas. The engine suddenly stalled, and I had to pull over on the shoulder. After a few minutes of wondering what's wrong I turned off the engine and restarted. It was ok for about a week or so. Then while drive in city traffic at slower speed the engine stalled and hesitated. I just slowed down and that solved the problem. The 3rd incident was about 2 weeks later. I was in rush hour traffic on a city street. I stopped for a light. When the light changed the engine stalled and I could not accelerate as fast as the cars around me. I limped into the outside lane and into a parking lot. It took about 5 minutes to get the fuel pump working again this time. So I took it to the dealership. The car only had 20,000 miles on it. The dealership listened to my problem and said I could not drive the car in that condition because it would not be safe. The gave me a loaner, impounded my highlander, and said wait for a pending safety recall in which Toyota would have a repair. Toyota paid for the loaner and will pay for the repair. I waited 6 weeks, but my Highlander was never repaired. Toyota sent out an official safety recall in March that recognized the problem with the low pressure fuel pump. However, they did not have a solution yet and gave no date when it would be repaired. There are 1.2 million Toyotas subject to this recall. I didn't think I would ever get my Highlander back. I wasn't sure that Toyota had solved the problem or if they ever would. So I traded it in for a year 2020 RAV4. Now I'm happy that I am back in an SUV which sits higher on the road than the Camry loaner I was driving temporarly.

Thanks for your post, Doug. It's disturbing to know that your Highlander experienced this problem with only 20,000 miles on it; I expected it to be a high-mileage issue. I checked the 2020 Consumer Reports annual car-buying issue to review the frequency of repair records for 2013-2019 Toyota models with the 3.5 liter V6. Owners reported much lower than average repairs for the fuel systems (i.e., much higher than average reliability), but averages don't mean much if your vehicle is affected. I just received my recall notice yesterday - two months after Toyota announced it.

 

[Gman_yota]

I had a 2019 Highlander that had this problem. I had 3 incidents in February 2020. The first was while drive at 60 mph on a rural road in Central Texas. The engine suddenly stalled, and I had to pull over on the shoulder. After a few minutes of wondering what's wrong I turned off the engine and restarted. It was ok for about a week or so. Then while drive in city traffic at slower speed the engine stalled and hesitated. I just slowed down and that solved the problem. The 3rd incident was about 2 weeks later. I was in rush hour traffic on a city street. I stopped for a light. When the light changed the engine stalled and I could not accelerate as fast as the cars around me. I limped into the outside lane and into a parking lot. It took about 5 minutes to get the fuel pump working again this time. So I took it to the dealership. The car only had 20,000 miles on it. The dealership listened to my problem and said I could not drive the car in that condition because it would not be safe. The gave me a loaner, impounded my highlander, and said wait for a pending safety recall in which Toyota would have a repair. Toyota paid for the loaner and will pay for the repair. I waited 6 weeks, but my Highlander was never repaired. Toyota sent out an official safety recall in March that recognized the problem with the low pressure fuel pump. However, they did not have a solution yet and gave no date when it would be repaired. There are 1.2 million Toyotas subject to this recall. I didn't think I would ever get my Highlander back. I wasn't sure that Toyota had solved the problem or if they ever would. So I traded it in for a year 2020 RAV4. Now I'm happy that I am back in an SUV which sits higher on the road than the Camry loaner I was driving temporarly.

Thanks for posting your experience. Glad you are safe, and that you didn’t have an accident.

 

[BamaGuy]

Doug, How are you liking the RAV4? I have a 2019 HL, and I love the smooth acceleration and quiet ride. How is the noise and ride?Just to stay on topic I have received a recall notice and that is it. We are planning a rather long trip out west, and we are worried that this may jump up and bite us while we are traveling.

 

[lakefan33]

I had a 2019 Highlander that had this problem. I had 3 incidents in February 2020. The first was while drive at 60 mph on a rural road in Central Texas. The engine suddenly stalled, and I had to pull over on the shoulder. After a few minutes of wondering what's wrong I turned off the engine and restarted. It was ok for about a week or so. Then while drive in city traffic at slower speed the engine stalled and hesitated. I just slowed down and that solved the problem. The 3rd incident was about 2 weeks later. I was in rush hour traffic on a city street. I stopped for a light. When the light changed the engine stalled and I could not accelerate as fast as the cars around me. I limped into the outside lane and into a parking lot. It took about 5 minutes to get the fuel pump working again this time. So I took it to the dealership. The car only had 20,000 miles on it. The dealership listened to my problem and said I could not drive the car in that condition because it would not be safe. The gave me a loaner, impounded my highlander, and said wait for a pending safety recall in which Toyota would have a repair. Toyota paid for the loaner and will pay for the repair. I waited 6 weeks, but my Highlander was never repaired. Toyota sent out an official safety recall in March that recognized the problem with the low pressure fuel pump. However, they did not have a solution yet and gave no date when it would be repaired. There are 1.2 million Toyotas subject to this recall. I didn't think I would ever get my Highlander back. I wasn't sure that Toyota had solved the problem or if they ever would. So I traded it in for a year 2020 RAV4. Now I'm happy that I am back in an SUV which sits higher on the road than the Camry loaner I was driving temporarly.

How badly did the recall effect your trade in?

 

[KA4993]

Just got my safety recall (interim notice) in the mail yesterday. It says Toyota is currently preparing the remedy, and when the remedy becomes available the dealer will replace the low-pressure fuel pump with an improved one.

I've noticed rough idling for a while now. I thought it was normal based on what others have described on the forum about the engine/8-speed transmission in the HL. Curious to see if anything changes after the new fuel pump is installed.

 

[twinster2]

If this had happened to me, I would have used a lemon law, got my money back and left Toyota for good. Not acceptable to be issued a recall, have your vehicle impounded, then give you a cheaper loaner with no fix in site.

 

[ARE]

Has anyone with the 3.5-liter V-6 experienced the fuel pump failure problem described in Toyota's recent recall notice? If so, what year is your vehicle and how many miles did it have when this happened? I called the Toyota Customer Experience Office yesterday, but the person I talked to didn't know how common this problem was except to say that it could happen at "high speeds". I asked if that meant high engine speeds (higher RPMs, more fuel used) or high vehicle speeds. Would my 2018 Highlander be at greater risk driving 70 MPH on the highway at 1800 RPM than up a mountain doing 45 MPH at 3500 RPM? The only technical information I could find online said that the fuel pump impellers could deform over time, reducing fuel flow to the engine, causing rough performance or stalling.

Follow-up: I had my Toyota dealer replace the fuel pump in my Highlander last month. It accelerates and runs smoothly, but my highway gas mileage seems to be about 1 MPG less than before. It's still decent (28-30 MPG at 65-70 MPH), but I wonder if there is any connection to the new fuel pump. Any opinions from others on this?

 

[MasterofNone]

Doug, How are you liking the RAV4? I have a 2019 HL, and I love the smooth acceleration and quiet ride. How is the noise and ride?Just to stay on topic I have received a recall notice and that is it. We are planning a rather long trip out west, and we are worried that this may jump up and bite us while we are traveling.

Personally I think they're crap, but that's me. Terrible of you do lots of stop and go at low speeds. Tsb out for hesitation concerns for these models as well.. only new rav I would buy is the hybrid

 

[MasterofNone]

If this had happened to me, I would have used a lemon law, got my money back and left Toyota for good. Not acceptable to be issued a recall, have your vehicle impounded, then give you a cheaper loaner with no fix in site.

I dont think you quite understand how lemon law works

 

[twinster2]

Actually, in many states, if a vehicle is impounded by the dealership for more than 30 day due to a safety issue, than the lemon law can apply. All depends on the state.