Problem: Toyota Prado is presenting as out of fuel

Toyota Prado’s have a unique tank system which involves a dual tank set-up. However, the vehicle can only draw fuel supply from the front or main tank. They have a small fuel pump between the rear and the main tank. The interesting thing is the fuel gauge on the dash gives you an average of both tanks.

So what we have been seeing is a situation where a number of vehicles have actually had a failure of that balancing pump. They will drive down the highway, they show half a tank on the fuel gauge, but they drive until they run out of fuel because the main tank is dry and the sub-tank is full. It can be sometimes hard to diagnose because it looks like its out of fuel, but the fuel gauge says half-tank.

It is quite a common problem, and the only solution is to replace the entire pump assembly. The main indicators for diagnosing this problem are:

To test this diagnosis, just hook up an external fuel supply. It may take 10 seconds of cranking, but if the vehicle starts up right away, you know that it’s a fuel supply problem.

Certainly not a tough one, but one that is becoming increasingly common, and worth making a mental note.

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