In August 2014, Toyota received customer complaints of fuel odor after turning off the engine on certain Toyota and Lexus vehicles. An inspection of the fuel system found fuel dripping from the end cap of the delivery pipe on the engine due to insufficient welding of the cap. An on site investigation of the supplier found that the cooling air hose for the manufacturing jig used during the welding process was disconnected because of routine maintenance, resulting in an insufficient weld. In this condition, fuel could leak from the fuel delivery pipe and in the presence of an ignition source could increase the risk of a vehicle fire.
The vehicles affected by this problem include:
Toyota will be notifying owners to return to a manufacturer approved repair facility to have the fuel delivery pipe inspected and replaced as necessary. Owners wanting more information about the problem are asked to contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. The NHTSA campaign number for this recall is 14V-576.
