My company leased this 2005 Lincoln Ls in August 2005 from bob maxey Lincoln-Mercury in detroit. On Tuesday 10/4/2005 I went out to the car in my driveway to drive my children to school. There was a strong smell of gas by the car. I dropped the children off at school, then proceeded to my office. The car sat in the parking lot until noon when I went out to make customer calls. Again, there was a strong smell of gas. I found gas dripping down from the bottom of the gas tank. As I consider this a safety issue, I drove the car to bob maxey Lincoln-Mercury to find the cause of the leak. I was told that I had hit something with the gas tank, causing a puncture and the subsequent leak. The dealer would not cover the tank replacement under warranty and said it would cost $850 to replace. I had to submit to the repair charge as I need the car and it is extremely unsafe to drive a vehicle with a fuel leak. Consequences include loss of gasoline and the real potential of a thermal event, or fire. This could be catastrophic terms of vehicle damage and possible loss of life. I authorized bob maxey Lincoln-Mercury to replace the fuel tank. Today, 10/5/2005, I did some research in preparation to filing complaints with the BBB and NHTSA. I found a recall notice from Ford, #05S29, on the NHTSA web site for 2005 Lincoln Ls fuel systems. The recall involved fuel tanks with thin wall section in the lower half of the tank that may crack. The data for the recall was supplied by the tank manufacturer to Ford as stated in the recall documents available on the NHTSA web site. I think the supplier of the fuel tank and Ford Motor Company did not investigate the potential manufacturer defects leading up to the parts on the recall. I believe I have an example of the early defective side wall issue that the fuel tank supplier did not report to Ford. I think Ford should expand their investigation of this issue and replace all defective fuel tanks.

- Grosse Pointe, MI, USA