My 2025 ES 350 with 5200 miles on the odometer had a fuel issue. Main facts follow:
1. Started a trip with full tank
2. After traveling a highway speeds for 120 miles, Low fuel warning came on and message said only 19 miles of range.
3. Slowed car down to pull of road and could smell gas in interior of car.
4. Had car transported to Lexus dealer
5. The dealer said that they found some fuel on the top of the gas tank, but after several tests (tank pressure and smoke tests) they could find no leaks in the tank. They inspected the fuel pump for cracks and the fuel line to loose connection or holes. All tests were negative for problems
6. Dealership has referred the problem to Lexus for assistance.
7. No resolution yet
Has anyone else had a similar issue.

 

Haven't heard of this issue before. Keep us updated, curious to see how Lexus handles this situation and hopefully it's a quick resolution

 

Was the gas gauge also showing a little above empty?

 

No, the gas gauge was at rock bottom. Wife was driving and knew we had a full tank when we started, but only 120 miles later was empty. Our first thought was that we hit debris, but all tests the dealer did showed that there was no leaks in the tank.

 

Ok seems like with that amount of leak it should be found. Did you open hood to see if strong gas smell there also?

 

Yes, When we pulled over, we did check under the hood and and under the car for leaking gas with negative results. When we got to the Lexus dealer they pulled the back seat to look at the tank and said they saw some gas on the outside of the tank.

 

"they pulled the back seat to look at the tank and said they saw some gas on the outside of the tank." [/QUOTE] Well that would explain the gas odor in the car but what about the missing fuel?

 

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I assume you bought this car new with zip miles so with 5200 miles you have gone thru many fillips, did this happen previously or the last tank fillup trip you describe?

With some fuel noted on fuel tank that needs to be fixed.

With no other fuel spill evidence maybe some sensors have gone out of spec and that will not give a CEL and no codes noted?

Have sensors checked to be in spec along with fuel trim.

If the coolant temp sensor is out of spec when engine warmed and the ECU records engine still in warm - up mode that will signal for more fuel flow. This sensor will kill fuel economy if out of spec, had this happen on cars I have owned.

The Mass Airflow Sensor is another one to check for proper spec to correctly measure air flow amount the engine is receiving that is linked to fuel flow.

New stuff does fail.

Good luck let us know what Lexus does to fix this

 

is it possible the gas cap wasn't closed tightly?

 

they better find something to explain that amount of gas missing. last thing you want is fuel spray onto hot parts and kaboom. that would leave me ratled on a new car to lose that much fuel. it had to go somewhere. i bet car care nut could find it. maybe you can email him for peace of mind.

 

From your story it seems that you lost more than 10 gallons of fuel. 120 miles from a full tank is at the most 4-5 gallons and the tank holds 15.9 gallons. Can't wait to hear the solution for this one...

 

I bet you don't have that problem! Happy New Year!

 

Bottom Line: Dealer kept car from 12/13/2025 until 01/03/2026. They conducted numerous test and could not duplicate issue. I picked up the car and drove 196 miles home with no sign of the problem. I'm documenting everything and hope it doesn't repeat.

 

I'm guessing user error. A loose gas cap, for example, can absolutely destroy mpgs.

Hope it works out for you.

 

Loose gas cap would set CEL, P0443.