Spagolli94

Agree. This seems odd. I would think that the line leading from the tank to the engine is pretty small. Consider that, at 20 MPG in the city, it typically takes a half hour for a gallon of fuel to go through the line, that's not exactly a rushing fire hose. It's odd that the light came on immediately.

LexRX300h

So could the check engine light potentially be triggered by something else?

Spagolli94

Possibly. But that would be a hell of a coincidence.

DizzyEdge

I literally LOLed at work when i read the subject.

They probably have to remove the fuel pump to get that out.
I'd think they have some kind of filter in place so only liquid will get into the pump or even the tank.
Hopefully there's no other damage...good luck.

drbazing

Read this somehwere:

"if its a newer car it will have a screen in the neck of the gas tank which will prevent the object from actually getting into the tank. the screen is usually in there so someone cant siphon gas."

LexRX300h

And so it begins. Tow truck is on the way. I ended up finding a different Lexus dealership that opens at 9:00, so I went ahead and called a tow truck to tow my car over there. What sucks is the fact that the dealership I'm bringing it to, is about 25 miles away, and this company charges $5.30 per mile, which would bring me up to about $133. My relatives told me that $5.30 is about as cheap as you can get around here.

I'm tempted to go out and attempt to start my IS before the tow truck comes, but I'm pretty sure the damage is done.

Swacer

Please tell me you're kidding, right?

You're wiling to cause more damage...to save $130?

I want to help you...but it just seems like you don't want to help yourself...

gmanusmc

Keep your hopes up - if what drbazing found is accurate, the doll may not have gotten all the way to the main part of the tank but is just messing things up enough to keep the car from starting. It makes sense that there would be a safeguard to prevent things just like this from happening.

LexRX300h

I wasn't actually going to go out and start it.

LexRX300h

I have officially just met the most uneducated tow truck driver on the planet. The tow truck arrives , and he asks me for the keys so that he could start the car and put it into neutral. I explain to him the situation at hand and he claims that he "can't" put the car into neutral unless the engine is running. Without a word, I get in, and pop it into neutral for him, since he doesn't seem to be capable of doing this. I can't believe my veins didn't burst under anger. Now I gotta drive the spare Toyota Echo at my relative's house to get to the dealership.

drbazing

That barbie doll is really working you out. Good luck with the dealership, try not to get scammed as much.

Ask them if there is an actual screen for the tank so maybe you can just fish it out. The filter should be another protection but as one of the guys here said, the hair on the doll might have done the damage. Let us know how it goes.

LexRX300h

Alright, as of right now, I'm just waiting at the dealership for their diagnosis. I did ask if there was a screen in the neck of the gas tank, but my service adviser apparently didn't know the answer to that. I was just told that they would look into it. He did mention that even if there was a screen, the hair from the doll most likely tripped the check engine light. What sucks, is the fact that just for the diagnosis, they're charging me $220.

yardie876

Usually the diagnostic fee will be placed towards the cost of the repair. Hopefully you'll get lucky and the fix isn't too costly.

LexRX300h

Got some good news! There was indeed a screen in the neck of the gas tank, so they were able to maneuver the damn barbie out. I was asked if I wanted the barbie back, but after what Barbie has put me through, she can go ****** herself.. The not as good news, is that I was told that the hair from the doll did manage to clog the fuel filter. I was also told that this was the cause of the check engine light, and it's also why it refused to start the night before. They will have to replace the fuel filter.

toyotatom

That's probably the best case scenario you could have happen to fix your problem, the big if is if all the hair was caught in the filter and there is none left in the tank. It may take a couple of filter changes to clean it all out. You might want to buy a couple of filters for your ride home, Im sure any decent garage can change it out if needed.