Window sticker said 32 gallon tank, received 22 gallon tank

So I recently bought a 2023 Tundra SR5 TRD 4x4, and the window sticker says it has a 32 gallon tank, however the tank is only 22 gallons. Window sticker matches the VIN on the truck. Has this happened to anyone before?

 

Bought it brand new. When the tank is on "E", I fill it and it only takes 20 gallons

 

That is absurd. Why have a 32 gallon tank if you can only burn 20 of it? Just to carry 72 pounds of fuel that you cannot use around endlessly?

 

Electric fuel pumps are kept cool sitting in the fuel. Some will argue that they are cooled by fuel flowing through them. However, not as much as if they are literally submerged in a bath of liquid fuel. There is a reason for most things in life.

 

I put 27 in mine when it was showing 14 miles remaining

 

I just put 29.7 gallons in my truck 20 miles after the “refuel now” message came up. That’s obviously the big 32 gallon tank.

 

Almost through my first tank of fuel from purchase. Will run it down till the light comes on and throw a 5 gal fuel can in so I'm able to see how far I can go with the light on!

 

Welcome to Toyota, my 38 gallon tank at 0 miles only takes 30 gallons, all toyata's have a big safety buffer

 

maybe this will help - shows it is "available" so I'd take to with the window sticker and ask the dealer what the deal is. GL.

 

Highly unlikely that you received the wrong fuel tank. It's the sending unit location coupled with software programing in the 22 and 23 trucks that makes for a terribly inaccurate / inconstant fuel reading. Some days 20 miles to empty may equal 10 gallons in reserve... other days 20 miles to empty may equal 5 gallons in reserve. At least this has been my experience, and many others report similar experiences. It has been reported that Toyota changed the tank design for future model years (24+ IIRC) and there will be two sending units instead of one.

With a little luck, someone will offer a long rang tank. I'd gladly ditch the OEM tank for a ~60 gallon aftermarket tank similar to what S&B offers for Ford and RAM. The 32 gallon tank doesn't provide great range when towing.

 

Showing 1/8 tank in my 32 gal tank.
Fuel receipt showed almost 25 gals so mine is pretty good for now.
Welcome to the forums!

 

Take a picture of the tank and post it up here.

 

Maybe???

 

The 22 gallon tank has the low fuel light come on takes just over 18 gallons to fill it up. If you go a few clicks after the pump stops you can get an extra half a gallon. Mine does have the smaller tank being a 2023 base sr 2wd non crew cab model.

 

You shouldn't go a few clicks after pump stops. Should stop fueling after first click and pump stop. Topping off will cause fuel to get into your vapor canister and damage it. I've done many vapor canister replacement cause people keep trying to round up to next dollar or topping off getting as much as they can into the tank.

 

38?

 

Yes, 38 gallons. The previous gen Tundra had that option from 2016 onward, and it was standardized in 2020 or 2021. His profile pic shows his 2.5 gen truck.

 

As others have said, it's just Toyota's super-ultra-mega safe buffer. I have a 32 gal, and when I fill it up from E it will take anywhere between 20-25 gallons.
Part of it also may be more of a calculation than an actual fuel level reading. When I can fill up +/- 25 gal from E, it's when my full tank's "miles to empty" is closer to 500 miles. That number changes based on prior tank(s) fuel economy. If I've been doing a lot of city driving and my mpg is garbage, it takes closer to 20 gallons to go from E to full.
If I was to bet, I'd say you do have the 32 gal tank. You can look under the truck to confirm. I believe the 32 gal tank is noticeably longer than the 22 gal tank.

 

look under the right side you will be able to tell if you have the big tank

 

It is not all that big if you are towing.
Say your are towing your travel trailer and getting 7.5 mpg. A 10 gallon warning is only 75 miles. This is not much if you are running through some remote areas where stations can be that far apart. I have been there.

 

Well after driving around this week and still not having the low fuel warning come on, I decided to fill up today. It took 25.142 gallons. The gauge was almost to "E", but the low fuel warning did not come on. Apparently, I still had about 7 gallons left.

That's my report!

 

I had 408 miles on trip odometer, it said I had 21 miles to empty and it took 26.9 gallons to fill up. I never add more than the first stop. I have averaged about 15 mpg since I got the truck. Big city driving, all stop and go.

 

@johnhermes no update?

 

This.. it is absurd my 38 gallon tank on the tundra would only take 26 gallons well after the gas light came on.. the 26 gallon tank in my Sequoia will only take 18 gallons well after the light comes on. The 14.5 gallon tank on my wifes Rav4 hybrid only takes about 9 gallons.. which there is a big investigation into that one that Toyota is blaming the tank shape on and leaving enough "reserve" capacity. Apparantly they get to vastly overstate their range when they have these large capacities that are unusable.

https://www.greencarreports.com/new...9-2020-rav4-hybrid-toyota-still-investigating

 

Here’s my math…and I’m not a rocket scientist so take this with a grain of salt.

From my experience, the highest number miles til empty on a full tank I’ve seen is around 480-475. Divide that by approximately 17 mpg and you have around 28 gallons. That leaves 4 gallons in the reserves of a 32 gallon tank.

Not bad. If thats what it takes to keep my fuel pump submerged then I’m all for it.

 

You can burn all of it. It has a buffer so the pump stays cooled and so morons don't run out of gas and complain that they weren't given enough buffer. Easy problem to solve. Fill up at a half or quarter tank.

 

For anyone curious about how accurate the DTE range is and how much "grace" manufacturers build into that estimate...here is a great video. It's a fun video to watch, but a little long at 23 minutes.

https://youtu.be/iFIfFc_wY-w

If you want to skip to the answer...this dude went 49.1 miles after his DTE said 0 miles in his 2015 F-150 with the 5.0.

 

Took mine in for the same reason. Toyota builds in an 8 gallon buffer tank so if you run to E you’ll still have range. 32 gallon tanks you’ll be able to fill to 20-24 while 24 gallon tanks you’ll fill up to 14-16. They lifted the truck and verified it with measurements as well.

 

Most modern fuel pumps sit in a reservoir of fuel for cooling. You don't need X amount of gallons in the tank to cool it. Unless you run it bone dry, it has fuel around it.
Hitch up 10,000 lbs to your truck, then drive until it runs out of fuel. 6 or 7 gallons of fuel won't get you far when you're getting 8 MPG.

 

It doesn't seem like the aftermarket is inclined to make very many replacement tanks for gas powered vehicles. I wouldn't mind a 40+ gallon fuel tank in a 1/2 ton.