3.3
definitely annoying- Crashes / Fires:
- 0 / 0
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 0 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 41,250 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.
The fuel tank is placed in such a manner that when the vehicle is driven up hill (or is parked facing up hill) the fuel gauge will register up to a quarter tank more than on a flat surface, and when travelling down hill (or when parked facing down hill) the gas gauge will register up to a quarter tank less than on a flat surface. The result is that when travelling or being parked on a down hill surface the vehicle will either not start or run out of gas, despite the fact that the vehicle has a quarter tank of gasoline. I contacted a Ford dealer in glendale when I first experienced the problem, but they only responded that this is the vehicle's design. The dealer also provided me with a technical service bulletin acknowledging Ford's knowledge of the gas tank fluctuation problem. The reason I am now, and once again, making this an issue is that I recently, due to the gas tank fluctuation, ran out of gas while driving down hill, despite a quarter tank reading on the gas gauge while travelling on a level surface. I strongly urge NHTSA to perform a safety analysis on this gas tank defect. A vehicle which becomes inoperative while driving down hill is truly an unsafe vehicle.
- Glendale, CA, USA
Fuel gauge reads 1/8 of a tank or less and vehicle runs out of gas.
- Arlington, TX, USA
When driving vehicle if the gas gauge is below 1/4, the vehicle stops. Before the last repair, this happend if the gauge was below 1/2 tank. Consumer took vehicle to Ford dealership for repairs 4 to 5 times since November 14, 1997. Three days after consumer bought vehicle. The dealership has replaced gas gauges, and the last time they replaced the fuel sending unit.
- Mission Viejo, CA, USA
- Edgar Springs, MO, USA