Tank Assembly problems of the 2008 Toyota Prius

12 problems related to tank assembly have been reported for the 2008 Toyota Prius. The most recently reported issues are listed below.

1 Tank Assembly problem

Failure Date: 07/14/2017

The fuel gauge for my 2008 toyoto Prius recently became inaccurate and it was determined defective according to the toyoto dealership, which required me to spend $1,115 to have it and its gas tank replaced. I wrote toyoto on June 24, 2017 asking that they reimburse me for the defect. When they failed to respond I called toyoto customer experience center, who told me that they would not reimburse me because the defect was "out of warranty" and there had been "no recalls. " please investigate and order toyoto to conduct a recall and reimburse its owners. Inaccurate defective Prius fuel gauges appears to be a widespread problem, with repairpal. Com reporting 119 complaints. And in the past the NHTSA has determined that inaccurate fuel gauges is a safety issue since "it may result in the vehicle unexpectedly running out of fuel and stalling, increasing the risk of a crash. ".

2 Tank Assembly problem

Failure Date: 10/12/2009

The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Prius. While the vehicle was traveling at a speed of 55 mph the contact noticed that the check engine light appeared on the dashboard, moments later the vehicle suddenly shut off. The vehicle was taken to the dealership. The contact was informed that the failure was due to the fuel tank being empty. The failure mileage was 20,000 and the current mileage was 35,000.

3 Tank Assembly problem

Failure Date: 10/12/2009

The contact owns a 2003 Chevrolet trail blazer. The contact stated that the fuel tank was leaking around the spout since there was an inlet check valve fracture. No maintenance was performed on the vehicle prior to the failure. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who confirmed that the inlet valve was cracked. The dealer refused to assume responsibility for the repair cost. There were no recalls or warranties related to the failure. The Chevrolet manufacturer was notified and stated that they would review the case and inform the contact of the outcome. The failure mileage was 119,000.

4 Tank Assembly problem

Failure Date: 08/18/2009

My 2008 Toyota Prius has a defective fuel tank. I can't reliably fill it up or rely on the fuel gage to determine endurance. Running out of fuel in the left lane on a busy highway is a major safety hazard for myself and other drivers on the road.

5 Tank Assembly problem

Failure Date: 03/20/2009

2008 Prius, can not fill gas tank without continuous stops and starts, and then fuel percolates out of the tank, onto shoes and ground. Very unsafe. Can cause fire. This is due to defective "rubber bladder gas tank". Dealers can not fix.

6 Tank Assembly problem

Failure Date: 10/01/2008

The fuel gauge on my Prius registered 3 gallon fuel remaining (according to the owners' manual). I ran out of fuel on a busy expressway without warning. Fortunately, I was not hit. I was towed to a Toyota dealership who informed me that the Prius gas tank is a plastic bag and the fuel gauge does not register correctly. I asked what Toyota was doing about this. I was told that they were "looking into it". That was more than one year ago. The Toyota dealership told me to keep the gas tank 1/2 full in order to prevent my Prius from running out of fuel. Of course, this cuts the vehicle range in half. I assumed that Toyota would work for a solution, but frankly, after all the recent revelations, I wonder if Toyota has looked for a solution. At the very least, Toyota should inform all Prius owners to keep their gas tanks 1/2 full in order to avoid the potentially dangerous event that I experienced. (I am a registered professional engineer, mechanical, state of California. ).

7 Tank Assembly problem

Failure Date: 07/27/2008

I own a 2008 Prius. The fuel gauge does not work at all and the dealer has told me it's a function of the bladder gas tank. I cannot fill the tank because it will not take enough fuel before the pump shuts off. This is a common problem I am told now by other owners. Toyota should tell people before they buy the car. I have less then 1000 miles on the car now.

8 Tank Assembly problem

Failure Date: 06/01/2008

Summary: Prius low fuel warning light/buzzer came on, and only 5 miles later car ran out of gas, in a bad place at night on highway. The manual states that when low light comes on you have three gallons or less. With the Prius, even treating this conservatively as only 1 1/2 gallons, that should still be over 60 miles. I had driven the vehicle between 30 and 50 miles with low light on multiple times previously. This usually works occasionally fails fuel warning is clearly dangerous. And from internet researching, it is clearly a widespread problem, and Toyota not only is completely ignoring it, they denied to me having received any complaints on this (there are previous complaints on this even right on this NHTSA website). Driving from colorado to kansas city on I-70, a little after passing the sign that said "topeka 27 miles", just after 10 at night, the low fuel light illuminated and warning sounded. We planned to stop at the next fuel stop, which we expected to be within 20 miles at the most. About 5 miles after the light illuminated, the car suddenly lost power, the gas engine clearly had quit, the red triangle warning illuminated, along with another warning. After the initial scare, I pulled the vehicle over, slowly, under battery power, not knowing what had happened. In the manual we found that the second warning indicated "hybrid system malfunction", and not to attempt to drive the vehicle. Some 10-15 minutes later, as we were trying to get emergency help, that warning disappeared, and a new message came up, "add fuel". Eventually we borrowed gas from a family that stopped to help us in this rural area, and got help from a highway patrolman. Toyota checked vehicle, denies problems, denies receiving complaints, refuses to send warnings to Prius owners. Nhtsa, this is a safety issue, like your recall 00v384. 6/19/08 add * the consumer believed that the low fuel warning light was defective.

9 Tank Assembly problem

Failure Date: 05/25/2008

The first time this happened was approximately 3 weeks after purchasing my new '08 Prius. I was attempting to fill my nearly empty gas tank, when the gas nozzle clicked off after about 2 seconds of filling. I repeatedly tried to continue filling only to have the nozzle repeatedly click off without filling any further. I would squeeze the handle, a little gas would go into the car and the nozzle would click off. After about 5 minutes of this frustration, I removed the nozzle from the car and whatever gasoline was in the tank came gushing out of the gas tank. A lot of gas, poured down the side of my new car and onto myself. After this, the gas gauge was apparently stuck on ?full?, as I drove the car a about 100 miles and the gas gauge remained at the ?full? setting even though I had not even put in 3 gallons of gas in my seemingly empty tank. With most every subsequent fill after this it would take forever to fill the tank with the nozzle constantly clicking off?plus it is difficult to tell when the tank is actually full. The gas has continued to pour out onto my car and myself on occasional fills over the course of the last 5 months. I've put 16,000 miles on my Prius and it has most always been the same routine when fueling?the nozzle constantly clicking off and me standing there squeezing the nozzle handle over and over and trying to guess when the tank is actually full. I often could not put more than one second of fuel in my Prius before the fuel nozzle would click off and I keep having to pull the pump spigot out until it just barely squirts gas past the little flapper door, and even then it keeps shutting off. It takes me almost 20 minutes to put less than 6 gallons of gas in this car and it is an environmental and a safety concern to continue having gas pour out of the tank to the ground and onto my clothing/body. Toyota will not remedy this problem and it is both an environmental and safety concern to myself and others. There is documentation since 2004.

10 Tank Assembly problem

Failure Date: 05/23/2008

I recently returned from a 2,300 mile road trip that began in woodland wa. During this trip, we filled up in ashland ore on our way to reno nv. Ore requires that an attendant do this and off we went, next gas fill up was to have been reno! we headed east, turned off I-5 and onto hwy 89 and switched drivers. After only 83 miles, the gas tank showed that there was less than 1/2 a tank. Luckily we had not missed mccloud California, last stop for gas for many miles! when we filled up in reno, the gas pump shut off way too soon! we had to pull the gas nozzle way out and extremely slowly managed to fill up the gas tank. During this slow process, air and gas would bubble up and at times out of the tank. We repeated this process at every fill up along the trip and since we have gotten home. Temperature, time of day and altitude seem to not have any effect on getting the tank filled, the pump shut off early at every instance. Another issue is the fuel gauge. The car would travel 200 miles before even one gauge indicator would click off. There are 10 indicators and the tank supposedly holds nearly 12 gallons of gas. I bet that the car does not get 200 miles per gallon! I spoke the owner of a 2005 Prius. He indicated he also has challenges filling his tank. He was told that this has to do with the ambient temperature. I have talked with a Toyota Prius technician. He stated that there are no parts that can fix this issue. He noted that this has been going on since the first Prius, that there is no fix available. He also noted in the winter that at least one Prius owner comes in each and every day with this same gas tank concern. I also did some research on the internet and this appears to be a long outstanding safety hazard! it appears that Toyota is continuing to manufacture a defective, unsafe product with full knowledge of the issue. I thank you in advance for working on this major safety and longstanding safety problem.

11 Tank Assembly problem

Failure Date: 05/05/2008

The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Prius. While placing fuel in the vehicle, it will not fill to its full capacity. This is a continuous failure that occurs in all weather conditions and temperatures. There is a malfunction with the fuel gauge device. The inaccurate readings of the fuel gauge causes discomfort when driving. The Toyota manufacturer stated that the vehicle would only consume 6-7 gallons of gasoline, even though the fuel tank capacity was 11. 9 gallons. The manufacturer is aware of the failure, but the fuel tank cannot be replaced in these vehicles. The tank would need to be redesigned. The contact recently took the vehicle to an authorized dealer and the mechanic stated that the fuel tank failure was related to the bladder system. The vehicle is currently being repaired for the failures. The failure mileage was 5,000 and current mileage was 9,000. Updated 07/07/08. Updated.

12 Tank Assembly problem

Failure Date: 02/09/2008

2008 Toyota Prius, is advertised to have an 11. 9 gallon gas tank - yet when you fill it up it will only take 7 gallons. The dealer says that they cannot fix it. I am uncomfortable with a gas tank that does not work properly and I feel this is a serious safety issue.


Other Gasoline Fuel System related problems of the 2008 Toyota Prius


Safety Ratings of Prius Cars
Fuel Economy of Prius Vehicles
Prius Service Bulletins
Prius Safety Recalls
Prius Defect Investigations