2022-2023 Toyota Tundra Class Action Alleges Fuel Line Can Rub Against Brake Line, Causing Fuel Leakage, Fire Risk

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A proposed class action alleges the fuel lines of 2022 and 2023 Toyota Tundra trucks can rub against the vehicles’ brake lines, causing fuel and gasoline vapors to leak and posing a significant fire risk. 

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The 27-page complaint was filed in Texas in the wake of an August 2023 recall of nearly 170,000 Toyota Tundras manufactured between November 2021 and July 2023. Per the case, the issue stems from the improper internal routing, fastening, design or production of the Tundra’s plastic fuel lines, which causes them to run against the metallic brake lines and produces wear that ultimately compromises the fuel lines. 

“This is a massive fire risk,” the filing stresses, noting that fuel is highly flammable as both a liquid and vapor. 

Related Reading: Murphy v. Toyota Motor Corp.

The Toyota Tundra fire risk is particularly dangerous given that the truck is often used as a work truck or during outdoor activities such as tailgating, grilling or camping, the suit relays. The case claims the defective Tundra fuel line system can malfunction within the first two years of its lifespan, even though the expected lifespan of fuel lines is often as long as the lifespan of the car itself. 

As the case tells it, Toyota’s recall last month, which included a free fix and repair clause, offers no guarantee that the fuel line defect will no longer be an issue. According to the suit, Toyota’s recall and proposed fix—adding fasteners to certain fuel lines—“will be no more than a constant game of cat and mouse” given the small pathways in which the Tundra’s fuel and brake lines reside and the sheer number of lines that might become compromised. 

“Rather, the Recall mentions installing a fastener to keep the fuel line from rubbing against the brake line,” the suit shares. “However, it does not detail any other fixes to prevent other possibly faulty fuel lines, or rearranging fuel lines elsewhere to prevent a similar rubbing situation.” 

The nature of Toyota’s recall leaves a driver to presume that their vehicle might have other faulty fuel lines that are improperly spaced or too tightly packed, the lawsuit shares. Moreover, it is not out of the realm of possibility that adding a fastener to a Tundra’s fuel lines, given the rigidity of some of the lines and the tightly packed space in which they reside, could foreseeably cause more rubbing and additional fuel leaks, the case contends. 

“Defendant has created a vehicle with small pathways for fuel and brake lines, has improperly fastened these lines throughout the vehicle, and now has a leaking fuel line because of such misfeasance,” the lawsuit summarizes. “Now, Defendant’s solution to this Fuel Line Defect is to fasten the fuel line at its point of contact with the brake line which will cause the fuel line to move and rub against other parts of the various lines throughout the vehicle.”

The plaintiff charges that unless Toyota issues a more comprehensive recall, it is foreseeable that the Tundra’s fuel system will continue to fail. In particular, if one portion of the fuel line is rubbing against another part of the vehicle such that it causes a leak, Toyota has not presented a solution “related to all of the other portions of the fuel line becoming worn or rubbing against other vehicle parts as well,” the case claims. 

“In simple terms, Defendant does not appear to truly know what is wrong with its vehicles,” the suit alleges. 

The lawsuit looks to cover all persons in the United States who bought or leased any 2022-2023 Toyota Tundra vehicle. 

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