2014 Tundra Fueling Issue

[Greg F]

So, three weeks ago, which is about 3 months after buying my 2014 Tundra, I started having trouble adding fuel to the truck. No matter which pump I used, no matter which gas station I used, I suddenly could not get fuel into my truck because the nozzle would "click" off. The only way for me to fuel up is to stand there holding the nozzle valve just barely open so that the fuel would dribble in slowly.

I took the truck to the dealer today and the tech took the truck to the gas station to see what was happening. The service writer called me to tell me that the tech had the same problem, but he was able to put the nozzle in "just so" and was able to fully open the valve to fuel up. The words the service writer used to quote what the technician told her were "it's a poor design." I asked her to clarify, and she said it was a bad design by Toyota.

I asked what I should do about that? She said there nothing wrong with it, it's just a poor design. So not being able to add fuel to my truck in the normal manner is just something I am supposed to live with. I might need to call my lawyer and see if "poor design" should have a legal consequence.

 

[tbplus10]

I used to have a hard time putting fuel in my Harley Davidson, a couple times the pump nozzle left scratchs on the paint around the fuel filler.
One of the Harley techs recomended I try a device called "refuel buddy".
Basically its a rubber donut that goes between the nozzle and tank receptacle, it allowed me to finally get a full tank of fuel and not leave scratchs.

 

[Greg F]

Update. When I went to pick up the truck, the technician went to the gas station with me, and like I suspected, he was also unable to pump fuel into the truck, so he decided to pull the fill tube to see if there was an obstruction. There was. There was a piece of plastic at some sort of valve at the tank (I'm thinking it is a check valve) that he thinks might have been in the tube all along, and finally fell to that spot three weeks ago when I started having the problem. He looked into the "issues" database and found one other similar issue, then talked to an engineer who thought it was possible that a piece of the wrapping of the truck when it was delivered might have somehow gotten into the fill line. I don't know how, but there you go. I know it wasn't me and I don't believe my truck was tampered with.

Anyway, he removed it, put it all together and I was able to fill the tank like normal. Just in case, I went an bought a locking gas cap. The repair was covered under warranty, so I was pretty happy about that!

 

[14TundraSammy]

I am glad they fixed it for you, I would be shocked if Toyota would try to just smooth that one over as a bad design.

 

[Jarred]

Great to hear your technician have a keen eye and able to fix it.
Just the other day I'm talking to a '14 tundra owner always trying to fill the tank but always just getting filled at 21gallons while it suppose to have 26gals. He later found out it has 5-6 gallons reserve.