2020 Toyota Highlander Fuel system Problems

I am having fuel pump issues and my VIN was excluded from the recall from Toyota for similar issues. Toyota’s low-pressure fuel pump recall (originally announced Jan 2020, expanded multiple times through Jan 2025) covers vehicles across several model years, where a defective impeller made from inadequate resin material could swell and cause fuel starvation and sudden stalling. Highlander is mentioned as included for selected model years in some recall summaries

NHTSA ID

11755654

Incident

Aug 1, 2026

I pushed the brake and swerved and the car kept going and a greater speed and surged into a house.

NHTSA ID

11750781

Incident

Jun 28, 2026

Fuel gauge is inaccurate, leading to potential safety issues. The fuel gauge does not show as full, when the car is refueled, and likewise shows as empty when there is enough fuel to drive hundreds of miles. This has led to situations where the fuel light is on, and car is indicating no remaining miles left, but there is plenty of fuel. Toyota knows there is a problem. I started a Lemon Law claim with the Washington State Attorney's General office and notified Toyota. They have offered to replace my vehicle, which is currently in process.

NHTSA ID

11450974

Incident

Feb 9, 2021

Since purchasing this vehicle I began to notice that the fuel gauge is inaccurate. This issue is sporadic. Often after filling the gas tank completely, the gauge will only register as 3/4 full. Like wise, it is inaccurate when the tank gets low, showing that there is 1/4 tank, when in fact it is nearly empty. The "remaining miles" indicator that displays is likewise inaccurate and often the low fuel indicator light comes on when it shouldn't, and doesn't display when it should. I have had it to the deal 4 times now for repair. Initially they told me nothing was wrong, then indicated that a software update was necessary. When that didn't fix it, I returned the vehicle and they indicated an instrument panel sensor chip needed to be replaced. I waited a month for that to happen and it didn't fix the issue. I then opened a trouble incident with Toyota USA and after several weeks received a call back from the dealer indicating this is a known (presumably still developing) issue and has something to do with a faulty gas tank that causes the readings to be inaccurate. The dealer indicated that they know this will require the gas tank to be replaced but that they don't have parts to do this and will contact me at some point in the future. This is a serious safety issue, as it could lead to the vehicle running out of gas while driving, without any indication that the fuel is low. The only way to have any certainty regarding the fuel level is to do a calculation each time you drive based on the estimated fuel economy and # of miles driven since the last fill up.

NHTSA ID

11440447

Incident

Jun 15, 2020

In my 2020 Highlander I approached a stop sign at a "T" intersection behind 4 other cars. After stopping and looking to see road was clear of oncoming traffic, I pulled out and started my left turn. As I was turning into my lane the car engine turned OFF and the steering wheel was LOCKED in the left position. There was no power for the brakes, which left me jamming on the brake pedal as hard as I could only slowing the car slightly. The steering wheel was LOCKED LEFT and I thought I was going to break it trying to force it back. With no ability to move the steering wheel or brake, I braced myself as the Highlander continued turning in the left direction into the other lane. The result was a head on collision with a Mini Cooper, both cars totaled, and injuring both myself and the other driver. Highlander was investigated by forensic company in the employ of the insurance company, but they could not find any error in the cars CDR (Crash Data Retrieval) system.

NHTSA ID

11417587

Incident

Apr 17, 2021

EACH TIME I FILL UP THE CAR WITH GAS I AM UNABLE TO FILL THE TANK TO ITS LISTED CAPACITY. THE VEHICLE HAS A 17 GALLON TANK, BUT WHEN THE VEHICLE IS NEAR EMPTY (1-2 GALLONS REMAINING) I CAN PUMP IN ONLY 12-13 GALLONS OF GAS. THIS GREATLY IMPACTS THE RANGE OF THE VEHICLE. THE DATE SHOWN BELOW IS MY MOST RECENT FILL-UP, BUT IT HAS HAPPENED EACH TIME I FILL UP. I HAVE REPORTED THIS TO MY TOYOTA DEALER.

NHTSA ID

11405736

Incident

Feb 28, 2021

Mileage

4,100 mi

THE VEHICLE IS SOLD AS HAVING A 17 GALLON FUEL TANK. I'VE DRIVEN THE VEHICLE FOR 5000 PLUS MILES NOW. I HAVE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO GET MORE THAN 13 GALLONS OF FUEL INTO THE TANK. I HAVE WAITED UNTIL THE GAGE SAID THERE WAS ONLY 12 MILE UNTIL EMPTY. STILL COULD ONLY FILL UP WITH ON 13 GALLONS OF FUEL. THE GAGE SAY'S IT'S FULL. I HAVE MADE THE TOYOTA DEALERSHIP AWARE OF THE ISSUE. BUT THEY SAID THERE WAS NOTHING ON THEIR SYSTEM ABOUT A RECALL OR NEEDED REPAIR. IF THE VEHICLE IS ADVERTISED AS HAVING A 17 GALLON TANK I SHOULD BE ABLE TO USE THAT WHALE 17 GALLONS OF FUEL. INSTEAD I CAN ONLY FILL UP TO 13 GALLONS.

NHTSA ID

11399660

Incident

Mar 3, 2021

Mileage

5,000 mi

UNABLE TO COMPLETELY FILL FUEL TANK. WHEN FUEL LIGHT COMES ON AND I GO TO FILL IT, I GET NO MORE THAN 13 GALLONS IN MY TANK. THE FUEL GAUGE ONLY READS 3/4 FULL. NEVER COMPLETELY FULL.

NHTSA ID

11397191

Incident

Feb 19, 2021

Mileage

9,000 mi

VEHICLE WILL NOT START WITHOUT A JUMP AFTER 3-5 HOURS. THE BATTERY STAYS CHARGED LESS THAN ONE DAY, BUT TYPICALLY STARTS AGAIN WITHOUT A JUMP IF DRIVEN AGAIN WITHIN A 3-5 HOUR PERIOD. THE VEHICLE STAYS RUNNING ONCE JUMPED. DEALER SERVICE DEPARTMENT INDICATES A SOFTWARE UPDATE MAY BE REQUIRED. THIS HAS HAPPENED SINCE PURCHASE ON JUNE 7, 2020. DATE BELOW IS THE MOST RECENT DATE IT OCCURRED.

NHTSA ID

11395569

Incident

Feb 9, 2021

Mileage

60 mi

2020 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HYBRID AWD. WHEN FILLING FROM ALMOST EMPTY (PER LOW FUEL WARNING LIGHT AND DISTANCE TO EMPTY READING ALMOST 0), TANK ONLY ACCEPTS ~12.5 GALLONS BEFORE GAS STATION FUEL NOZZLE AUTO CLICKS OFF. THE FUEL GAGE AT THIS POINT INDICATES THAT THE VEHICLE IS ~7/8 FILLED. THE OWNERS MANUAL WARNS ABOUT NOT ATTEMPTING TO FILL AFTER THE FUEL NOZZLE AUTOMATICALLY CLICKS OFF. BEING UNABLE TO FILL TANK MAY LEAD TO OWNERS ATTEMPTING TO OVERFILL TANKS AND COULD RESULT IN INADVERTENTLY SPILLING FUEL WHICH POSES A SAFETY RISK AND AN ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE RISK. IT CAN ALSO LEAD TO MORE EMISSIONS. A SIMILAR PROBLEM EXISTS WITH 2019/2020 TOYOTA RAV4 PER NHTSA RECORDS, TOYOTA HAS PROPOSED A FIX FOR THIS VEHICLE BUT HAS STATED THAT NO OTHER MODELS ARE AFFECTED BY THIS ISSUE. THE PROBLEM DESCRIBED ABOVE IS ALMOST IDENTICAL WITH THE EXCEPTION THAT THE VEHICLES HAVE DIFFERENT FUEL TANK CAPACITIES. TOYOTA HAS INDICATED THAT THIS IS "NORMAL".

NHTSA ID

11394879

Incident

Feb 5, 2021

Mileage

5,000 mi

WHEN RE-FUELING THE VEHICLE WITH DTE OF LESS THAN 30 MILES, THE FUEL SHUTS OFF AROUND 12 GAL. 2ND CLICK FOR FUEL STOPPAGE MAY YIELD ANOTHER 0.5 GAL. NOTHING ADDS UP TO 17.1 GAL OF FUEL IN THE TANK. GOING BEYOND THE 1ST CLICK IS BAD FOR THE SYSTEM, YET ONLY FILLS THE CAR UP TO 7/8 FULL ON THE FUEL GAUGE.

NHTSA ID

11389803

Incident

Nov 12, 2020

Mileage

5,000 mi

FUEL GAUGE DOES NOT PROPERLY REGISTER FULL HYBRID FUEL TANK (DESIGN) AND/OR DEFECTIVE FUEL LEVEL SENDING UNIT. TOYOTA SERVICE REPORT (6032680/1- 25 SEP 2020); TOYOTA SERVICE REPORT (6046594/1- 21 JAN 2021).

NHTSA ID

11389244

Incident

Mar 28, 2020

2020 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HYBRID PLATINUM AWD CANNOT FILL UP FUEL TANK ALL THE WAY. MAX CAN FILL IT UP WHEN IT SHOWS 0 MILES LEFT OF FUEL IS LESS THAN 13 GALLON AND CAR HAS OVER 17 GALLONS. TOYOTA IS SAYING THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT THE ISSUE IS. NO SOLUTION AT THIS TIME FOR A $50K CAR

NHTSA ID

11388861

Incident

Aug 1, 2020

THE FUEL TANK CAPACITY LISTED AS 17.1 GALLONS BUT ONLY TAKE BETWEEN 12-12.5 GALLON WHEN FILLED UP, EVEN WHEN THE RESERVE HAS RAN DOWN WHERE MILE TO EMPTY IS NEAR ZERO. TOTAL MILES RANGE BETWEEN FILL UPS IS UNDER 500 MILES, FAR LESS THAN THE 616 MILES RANGE CLAIMED BY TOYOTA.

NHTSA ID

11388566

Incident

May 1, 2020

VEHICLE WENT INTO LIMP MODE REIEVED CODE P0300 REDUCED ENGINE POWER ON HIGHWAY WHEN ACCELERATING

NHTSA ID

11387820

Incident

Jan 13, 2021

Mileage

12,995 mi

THE GAS TANKS HOLDS 17 GALLONS OR ~570 MILES TO EMPTY. THE MOST I CAN FILL IT IS ~14 GALLONS OR ~470 MILES TO EMPTY. IT ALWAYS CLICKS OFF LIKE IT'S FULL. I'VE TRIED GENTLY TOPPING OFF, SLIGHTLY PULLING OUT FUEL MODEL ETC. NOTHING HAS WORKED. THIS HAS HAPPENED SINCE THE VEHICLE WAS NEW AND DRIVEN OFF THE LOT. THIS IS ALL WHILE THE VEHICLE IS PARKED AT A GAS PUMP.

NHTSA ID

11378393

Incident

Aug 3, 2020

I PURCHASED A 2020 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER HYBRID AWD IN MAY 2020. IN JUNE 2020, I NOTICED A DISCREPANCY BETWEEN THE GAS GAUGE ABS THE DISTANCE TO EMPTY INDICATOR. THE GAS GAUGE SAID THERE WAS 3/4 OF A TANK LEFT BUT THE DTE SAID I HAD ONLY 43 MILES. I WENT TO THE GAS STATION TODAY (OCTOBER 2020) TO FILL UP MY VEHICLE AND FILLED IT UNTIL THE GAS SHUT-OFF TRIPPED. I TURNED ON MY CAR AND NOTICED THAT MY GAS GAUGE SAID IT WAS ONLY 7/8TH FULL. THINKING IT TRIPPED TOO SOON I REFILLED IT AGAIN BUT ONLY 0.5 GALLONS WENT INTO TANK BEFORE THE SHUT-OFF TRIPPED AGAIN. WHEN I TURNED ON THE CAR THIS TIME THE GAS GAUGE INDICATED IT WAS FULL. I DOUBT THE GAS GAUGE IS FUNCTIONING PROPERLY.

NHTSA ID

11364594

Incident

Oct 15, 2020

Mileage

473 mi

MY NEW 2020 HIGHLANDER HYBRID HAS A BIG ISSUE WITH THE GAS TANK. I GET ONLY 460 MILES, EVEN IF I TOP IT OFF WITH THE GAS SPEWING OUT. TOYOTA ADVERTISED A 600 MILE RANGE TO THE HIGHLANDER HYBRID. THE 600 MILE FUEL RANGE SEEMS VERY OFF WITH THE 2020 HIGHLANDER HYBRID. I HAVE THE XLE AND ALWAYS HAVE KEPT IT IN ECO MODE. I'VE DRIVEN OVER A THOUSAND MILES ON THE CAR, BUT THE MILE RANGE ESTIMATE ON THE CAR IS INACCURATE AND SEEMS TO BE OFF A LOT IF IT'S SUPPOSED TO GET 600 MILES TO A TANK. MORE IMPORTANTLY, WHEN THE TANK IS EMPTY (THE DASH SAYS I HAD 5 MILES LEFT TO EMPTY), THE GAS TANK ONLY HOLDS AROUND 13 GALLONS EVEN THOUGH THE FUEL TANK CAPACITY IS SUPPOSEDLY 17.1 GALLONS. THOSE 4 GALLONS MAKE FOR 140 MILES LESS DISTANCE ON A TANK. IF I WAIT AND KEEP ON FORCING THE GAS IN SLOWLY, I CAN GET 15 GALLONS BUT I DON'T LIKE THE IDEA OF HAVING TO KEEP ON PUSHING THE GAS NOZZLE UNTIL THE GAS SPEWS OUT OF THE TANK JUST TO GET 15 GALLONS IN. I KNOW TOYOTA HAS BEEN HAVING GAS TANK ISSUES IN OTHER MODELS RECENTLY. ONE OF THE MAIN REASONS I BOUGHT THE CAR WAS FOR THE FUEL TANK CAPACITY AND RANGE. A VIDEO EXPLANATION OF THE PROBLEM IS BELOW: HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=HUU649ZRL-G&T=245S. *TR

NHTSA ID

11323593

Incident

May 3, 2020

Mileage

950 mi

TOYOTA ADVERTISES AND REPRESENTS THAT THE HIGHLANDER HYBRID′S FUEL TANK CAPACITY IS 17.1 GALLONS, AND BASED ON ITS 35 MPG RATING, THE RANGE SHOULD BE ABOUT 600 MILES. HOWEVER, I AM NOT ABLE TO FILL THE TANK BY MORE THAN 12 GALLONS THUS REDUCING MY RANGE TO 420 MILES. I BELIEVE THERE IS A DEFECT IN THE NEWLY DESIGNED SADDLE TANK WHICH PROHIBITS THE TANK FROM BEING FILLED COMPLETELY THUS CHEATING ME OUT OF ABOUT 180 MILES OF DRIVING RANGE.

NHTSA ID

11322170

Incident

Apr 22, 2020

Mileage

700 mi