— The 2020 Toyota Highlander Hybrid fuel tank capacity is advertised at 17.1 gallons, but a class action lawsuit filed on behalf of Maryland lessees and owners alleges the tanks cannot hold that amount of gas.
The 2020 Toyota Highlander Hybrid owner's manual says the fuel tanks hold 17.1 gallons and the fuel level warning light activates when the tank has about 2.6 gallons of remaining fuel.
Plaintiff Anan Said lives in Pennsylvania but purchased a 2020 Toyota Highlander Hybrid in April 2020 from a Maryland dealership.
The plaintiff says he relied upon the advertised fuel tank capacity of 17.1 gallons and mileage estimates of “35/35/35” for “city/highway/combined.” This would provide an estimated mileage range of about 600 miles.
According to the plaintiff, he travels between Pennsylvania, D.C. and Massachusetts and "purchased his Highlander with the expectation that the Highlander had great fuel efficiency with a fuel tank capacity of 17.1 gallons as advertised."
However, the plaintiff says the 2020 Toyota Highlander Hybrid fuel tank capacity is only 12-13 gallons of fuel when the tank is nearly empty, far less than the advertised 17.1 gallons. The class action alleges the mileage range is 430-500 miles, not the advertised 616 miles.
The Toyota class action lawsuit alleges since at least April 2020 Toyota knew the Highlander Hybrid's fuel tanks couldn't hold the advertised capacity.
The class action lawsuit also says Toyota promotes the Highlander Hybrid over the non-hybrid version because of the mileage range.
According to the plaintiff, the Highlander Hybrid is nearly $4,000 higher than the non-hybrid Highlander even though the alleged fuel tank defect makes the Hybrid mileage worse than the non-hybrid Highlander. This allegedly makes paying the additional $4,000 completely meaningless for Highlander Hybrid customers.
Despite the alleged problems with the fuel tank capacity, Toyota has not announced a recall of the Highlander Hybrids and has done nothing to repair the gas tanks.
The plaintiff and all Maryland owners and lessees of 2020 Toyota Highlander Hybrids have allegedly suffered diminished market values of their vehicles due to Toyota's misleading advertising.
The 2020 Toyota Highlander Hybrid fuel tank capacity class action lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Francisco Division: Anan Said, v. Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.
The plaintiff is represented by Schubert Jonckheer & Kolbe LLP.
