:welcome: to TN.

I have had my 09 HL since end of March and have never had that happen to me.

Up here in Cda, at least in my area, its been quite some time since any of the gas stations have had the clip that allows you to lock in the position of the trigger on the pump. You need to squeeze the trigger by hand, and when gas reaches the nozzle, the pump shuts off.

You may want to try avoiding the locking clip and try filling by hand until the pump auto shuts off. Not sure why it would make a diff between hand held or clip, but who knows....

 

Gas

Had my 08 HL for over a year and never had that problem. In NY, they prohibit those clips at the pumps. Is even illegal to have something like your gas cap to hold it for self pumping.

 

Probably not the case but are you filling up with the HL's passenger side next the pump and taking the hose across the back and have inserted the nozzle upside down??

If so the nozzle will not shut off properly.

The nozzle has to be inserted with the handle/hose pointing downward to work properly.

 

Thanks for all the replies but no, I am not filling up from the passenger side. I just wanted to see if anyone else has been having this problem. I've been looking all over the internet for something similar and haven't found anything. That tells me its not a model-wide problem but specific to my vehicle. I guess I need to contact Toyota's South East division and see if they can help me.

 

I have never had any problems with fuel gushing out! I have, however, over filled the tank by trying to top it off. I have since stopped trying to top it off.

 

I do the same thing, but practice makes perfect and I rarely overflow my Highlander. Funny thing is that with both my Avalon and Highlander the pump will shut off early, and when I pump the remainder in "by hand" to the brim I always get in an extra 1.3 gallons.

BTW, to mdwebby, do you set the clip on the nozzle to the first notch (lowest setting)? I've found over the years that when pumps overflow it's invariably when someone has the nozzle set to the lowest/slowest setting.

 

I have an 08 Sport and havent had that happen. Ive only driven it 3300 miles though.

 

08 and 09 models are exactly the same. Yes, I recall that same comment in the manual but I have never experienced any delay...the fuel filler door has been opening immediately.

 

Thanks for the update. Let us know if there really is a bladder or not.

Interesting that the problem happens on the highest flow settings. The main reason I never use that setting is since the flow rate is so great when the nozzle clicks off on some car it will be enough for to "eject" the nozzle out of the fill spout. :yikes: Way back in high school when I worked as a gas jockey I learned real quick about that. Certain cars were more susceptible to nozzle ejection because of the angle/fill opening. Anyway, never had an issue with my Highlander other than the early shutoff, but I can live with that since I always brim the tank at each fill up.

 

Here is the latest and maybe last update. I was supposed to get a phone call from my Toyota case manager last Thursday (28 Mar 09), but instead got a call from someone else saying my case manager was unavailable and would call me by the end of business yesterday ( 2 June 09). By 4 pm yesterday I hadnt recieved a phone call so I decided to call and was told she was busy and would get back to me later. Around 5:30 pm the case manager finally called and told me that she had talked to the service manager at my dealership and has decided that because the dealer could not duplicate the fuel gushing out, that there was nothing they could do at this time. She recommended that I bring the car in anytime I need to refuel and ask for a techinician to ride along with me to see if I can duplicate the fuel filler problem. This will probably not happen anytime soon as I am leaving the country today and I'm sure my wife wont drive the 1 hour round trip to go to the dealer just to see if fuel will come out. So when I get back home I'll deal with it again.

About the fuel bladder, my case manager again said that the only Toyota vehicle with a fuel bladder is the Prius (and there have been reports of fuel gushing out on refills). She also told me that all the mechanics at that dealership will be told about the fuel bladders so as not to misinform the customer. I'm not holding my breath on that one.

I'm a bit disappointed that nothing was resolved but I can understand the lack of evidence on Toyota's part. When I am home I will continue to video tape my refills and if I'm in the area have a technician ride along to the gas station.

I'd like to thank you all again for your replies, I will continue to visit this site when my job allows.

 

We'll be looking forward to your return. Best of luck while you're away, and if we turn anything new up we'll bump this thread. :thumbsup:

 

I would have them replace the fuel tube assembly and the tube going into the tank. Take it to the dealer and just tell them to fix it and don't leave until they replace the whole assembly going into the tank. I would not advise filming gas spewing out of your tank. Besides, it has happened enough that your local dealer serivce department should believe you about the problem and not need actual visual verification.

That is a malfunction that is putting you, your family, and all the other people at the gas station, in danger...you should demand replacement of all parts involved in the process of refeuling if they cannot figure out what is causing it!

 

I don't have a solution for you. All I can add is that IMO the mechanic saying to you "not" to pump the fuel in on the fastest setting is bunk. I have nvr had fuel backwash on me and I pump at full speed all the time. I'm from NY so everything is rush..rush...rush..

I am curious about one thing though. Don't the nozzles have an auto shut off senor built into them to prevent this. I can understand not being able to pump at full tilt because the nozzle senses backwash and the lever clicks off but, to allow the fuel to actually spew out is strange......just a thought.

In any case..ya gotta raise hell, and biatch, biatch, biatch until they fix the problem.

 

Is your filling problem still there?

What Happened?

 

I know that even pumping gas while manually holding the trigger once it clicks off don't bother trying to squeeze a little extra gas in. With my 95 4runner I could put in another 3-4 litres. With my highlander the first two fill ups I tried to do the same and the gas shot back out.

 

Bump

I'm have begun having this exact problem. It does not happen every time, maybe 4 ot of 5 times. Have had to dealler 3 times and they say nothing is wrong. Also have strong smell of gas in cab when it happens, My wife sat in the car last time while I filled up. Without opening windows or doors the oder was unbearable.

Any solution,

Thanks,
jim