Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE - STORAGE - TANK ASSEMBLY | |||||
| TSB-0163-08 | 08/05/2008 | 10034264 | Toyota: fuel tank and fuel gauge diagnostic tips. meter/gauge/display. the design and operational characteristics of the bladder tank and fuel gauge system. diagnostic tips for the following customer concerns are also included. *pe | 11/01/2010 | |
| FUEL SYSTEM, OTHER - STORAGE - FUEL GAUGE SYSTEM | |||||
| TSB-0163-08 | 08/05/2008 | 10034264 | Toyota: fuel tank and fuel gauge diagnostic tips. meter/gauge/display. the design and operational characteristics of the bladder tank and fuel gauge system. diagnostic tips for the following customer concerns are also included. *pe | 11/01/2010 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE | |||
| 05/06/2011 | 43000 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2009 toyota prius. the contact stated that the fuel gauge would provide inaccurate readings of fuel levels. while driving 25 mph, the vehicle completely shut down without warning due to a bladder fuel tank problem. the vehicle was towed to the dealer who replaced the bladder fuel tank under warranty. the manufacturer was contacted who offered no assistance. the failure mileage was 43,000. | |||
| 05/06/2011 | 43000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2009 toyota prius. the contact stated while driving 25 mph the vehicle completely shut down due to a bladder fuel tank problem. the fuel gauge has failed it would show half full of fuel but there would be no fuel in the vehicle. there was no warning light illuminating when the vehicle was shutting down. the vehicle was towed to the dealer who replaced the bladder fuel tank under warranty. the manufacturer was contacted who offered no assistance. the failure mileage was 43,000...mw | |||
| 10/10/2010 | 153 | ||
| 2009 toyota pruis, car has had a bad fuel gauge , drove off the lot new and have had fuel tank replaced once. fuel gauge failed again this is the second time.dealer unable to repair, told me it was a design flaw and it could not be repaired, i am running out of gas and i can not use this new car on a long trip.i do not know and i am guessing on how much fuel i have. this is unsafe and uncalled for.running out of glass on freeway and it is dangerous. | |||
| 03/10/2010 | 36000 | 1 | |
| I just bought a 2009 prius & there are so many issues with unexpected acceleration & vehicle not going into park or reverse just stops in neutral, i was at a heb sore trying to park, all of a sudden my car sped up an hit a pole in front of me, i was trying to park, with my foot on break, so as to slow down, yesterday i had my wife drive the prius & the car suddenly stopped would not go into reverse or drive, that was very dangerous then they pull into a target parking lot i had to drive out there to meet them, it took almost 1hr & 3mins to get the car in reverse, off course i called my toyota sales guy this being the third time i have reported this incident & the keep down playing it saying there is nothing wrong, not really looking into it. *tr | |||
| 03/23/2009 | 1500 | 1 | |
| Collapse of fuel bladder cause the prius to run out of fuel with 2 gallons of gas in the vehicle while on freeway. caused towing to dealership. when fuel was added to car only 8.9 gallons could be added to a reported 10.9 gallon tank capacity. *tr | |||
| 11/01/2009 | 9000 | 1 | |
| Fuel bladder seems to have collapsed. when i am showing 1/4 tank left i can only put 6 gallons in the tank. *tr | |||
| 08/17/2009 | 22000 | 1 | |
| I have written toyota on several occasions and they have failed to respond. i own a 2009 prius. first,navigation system is very poor and sends you to wrong addresses. on aug 17,2009,the fuel gauge was at one bar and a red triangle came on dash and car started pulling and dragging. i pulled off of the road on the shoulder and tried to restart car. it started again and then it pulled and dragged and i got back on the shoulder. it would not move.i tried to place the vehicle in neutral but it would only stay in park. this created a dangerous problem especially not being able to move the car and then the tow truck had to make arrangements because car would not leave park. as i waited for 2 hours for the tow truck,the hazard warning lights i turned on and then they only would blink on the right side of the vehicle. this is very dangerous since it was my left side that was exposed to traffic. i was later told that the car ran out of gas. this does not explain the nonfunctional hazard light system,the vehicle being frozen in park and the pulling and dragging on the highway. was the gas gauge malfunctioning? i have written toyota many times and completed surveys explaining these concerns and they fail to acknowledge or respond. i think a safety issue is raised. *tr | |||
| 06/22/2009 | 1 | ||
| I own a toyota prius. on june 22, the fuel gauge started to act up. i took it to the dealership after having my car for almost 2 weeks they claimed it was fixed. they replaced almost everything to do with the fuel. i then took it back less than a month later with the same problem. they told me there was nothing they could do and just to never let my tank go below 1/4. to me, this is a danger. i never know how much gas is in my gas tank or when i may run out of gas. i then took it to another dealership and they explained to me this is a problem with the prius, yet toyota does nothing to fix this. every few days i have to stop and get gas because my gas gauge does not work properly. i am driving around an accident waiting to happen. *tr | |||
| 11/01/2008 | 320 | 1 | |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2009 toyota prius. during the winter months, the vehicle became difficult to add fuel. the dealer has provided the contact with several options to avoid this problem which included turning the nozzle sideways and taking the nozzle out from time to time while adding fuel. the contact found that these techniques are difficult to perform. she also stated that the safety risk is higher since the limited amount of gas could cause the engine to shut off without warning. the current mileage was 9000 and the failure mileage was 320. updated 09/08/09 *bf updated 09/29/09.*jb | |||
| 12/19/2008 | 300 | 1 | |
| Prius bladder tank is a bad and flawed design leaving the consumer with inaccurate tank and mileage readings. *tr | |||
| 03/20/2009 | 4900 | 1 | |
| 2009 toyota prius ran out of gas when it should have had 3 gallons left (based on stated fuel capacity of 11.9 gallons, and on fuel gauge). apparently the fuel bladder does not contain a reliable amount of gas when filled, and the gas gauge warning (which the manual says goes on with about 3 gallons left) may not come on until less than a half a gallon remains. this is dangerous. *tr | |||
| 01/14/2009 | 1 | ||
| Fuel tank capacity dangerously variable in toyota prius. our 2009 prius routinely is unable to fill to full capacity of 11.9 gallons. worse is cold temperatures. was not told of this issue at time of purchase. have since learned more about the fuel bladder from consumer chat forums, but toyota needs to disclose the range of fuel capacity in their manuals, or improve the design to *tr | |||
| 12/28/2008 | 150 | 1 | |
| Unable to properly fill the fuel tank. the fuel bladder collapses. *tr | |||
| FUEL SYSTEM, OTHER | |||
| 10/10/2010 | 153 | ||
| 2009 toyota pruis, car has had a bad fuel gauge , drove off the lot new and have had fuel tank replaced once. fuel gauge failed again this is the second time.dealer unable to repair, told me it was a design flaw and it could not be repaired, i am running out of gas and i can not use this new car on a long trip.i do not know and i am guessing on how much fuel i have. this is unsafe and uncalled for.running out of glass on freeway and it is dangerous. | |||
| 02/02/2010 | 8000 | 1 | |
| My 2009 toyota prius has had occasional bursts of energy and jolts forward on is own. luckily i was in park each time it happened. i wasn't even pushing the gas pedal. it was a very sudden thing, i had no warning. it's definitely not a floor mat issue. now i'm afraid to drive it. the last time this happened was approximately a month ago, i asked if there was recall for my car, and the dealer said no. what's making me worry now is the story on the news about a runaway prius. i thank you in advance for anything you can do to help. *tr | |||
| 12/24/2009 | 13000 | 1 | |
| I was sitting on a road in traffic with my car running but in park because i was waiting for a train to pass before proceeding. the car jumped forward when the vehicle changed fuel modes from the electric engine to the gas engine. i almost hit the person in front of me. when i contacted the dealership service department and had them check the car they told me this was normal. no one ever informed me of this when i bought the car. this is a hazard in the above situation as well as if people have their cars in their garage and running or in a number of other situations. *tr | |||