Rodent chewed a hole in my vent hose. Dealership says only fix is new fuel tank?

Advice/suggestions requested... So, I finally broke down and took my 2012 4L,V6/AT/4X4/TRD Off-Road to the dealership after a year of unsuccessful attempts to get rid of po455 & po4441 codes.

Apparently, a rodent has chewed a hole in the vent hose and according to the dealership, the only fix is a fuel tank replacement ($2000 parts + labor), due to the fact that Toyota does not make a vent hose replacement part since, it is permanently attached to the fuel tank.

I am not a mechanic by any stretch but, this seems a bit drastic.

I've heard that homeowners insurance (Comprehensive) covers rodent damage-related repairs (After deductible), so that may be an option, as well. But, insurance companies have "Maximum Allowable" costs for parts & labor that are like 25% of what shops charge for this repair - With the customer being responsible for the difference + they require the use of a junkyard fuel tank. So, I would end up paying 75% of the repair and end up with a fuel tank of questionable quality, which I'm not really all that comfortable with, considering that my current fuel tank is oem & in perfect shape.

Additionally, I've talked to a couple of local shops that don't seem to have a problem with just replacing the oem hose with an aftermarket hose for around $350 (Parts+labor). What am I missing, here?

 

I'd have the hose replaced rather than the tank. I think the Stealership is going overboard. Of course they may also have their hands tied by Toyota to replace only complete parts as supplied by Toyota.

If you have space to DIY dropping the tank isn't that hard to do, plenty of instructions here on TW. Just pay attention to do it with a empty, or close, tank as gas weighs about 7 pounds a gallon.

 

Which hose? Got any Pics??

 

I had problems with the squirrels also, they chewed my wiring harness and the dealer wanted $1400 for repair. Dealer said policy calls for total replacement of harness. I chose independent shop for splicing and it was $150.00.

 

Entirely depends on what part of the hose is chewed. Hard plastic hose molded to the top of the tank? Section of hose farther up the line somewhere?

It may be repairable with some rubber hose, clamps and creativity. There isn't any fuel pressure in those lines, just fuel vapor and a bit of vacuum.

I wouldn't necessarily have a problem with a used tank. As long the guy installing it knows how to recognize if it's damaged or not.

The dealer isn't the end all for these types of things. They can't think outside the box (or aren't allowed to..). If a component is broken it gets a whole new replacement, no matter if it's $200 or $2,000.. We see this a lot with minor wiring harness damage. Couple damaged wires? It gets a whole new harness for $2k.

They love to throw up big prices because they're hoping you'll trade it for a new 2015 Trailhunter. They don't have your best interests in mind..

 

Depends where the hole is, if it's in the middle of the hose you can fix it with a piece of fuel vapor rated rubber hose of the appropriate size but if it's the fitting on the tank that's chewed off then you will likely need a tank.
I'd look for a used one first if that's the case.

 

Cut the hose, and add a vacuum/smog connector. Cheap fix, you can pick up a package of them with different sizes for a few bucks. Good luck with your truck.

 

wilcam47 Thx for the suggestion! Edited my original post to include video.