This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
Mini-van was taken to dealer for illuminated "check engine light". concurrent with the check engine light there was a gas smell around car. Dealer indicated that "check engine light" was not related to gas smell and that the gas tank had split a seam. Dealer indicated that technician could not find a cause for the split seam, there was no damage to tank to indicate that we had hit something to cause the seam to split.
When filling up gas tank, it will only accomodate 3 quarters of a tank when it should take 25 gallons. Consumer says it will allow 17 gallons and anything after that.
PE99-025/fuel tank cracks: Whenever fuel is put into the vehicle fuel would leak from the botton of the fuel tank; leaks would continue until the level was beneath the cracked area.
On May 19,1999 a fuel odor was observed in the garage where the vehicle was parked. Upon inspection, a puddle of gasoline was observed under the vehicle and a stream of gasoline flowing from an area on the top surface of the fuel tank was visible. The rate of flow was high, maybe 1 pint/minute, representing a large fire hazard. The vehicle was immediately driven to the dealer noted above and admitted to the service dept. The time was 5:39pm. While there, another customer told me he had just replaced a fuel tank on the same model, same year. Since a failure of this type in a relatively new vehicle that had not been damaged seemed unusual, I requested that the old fuel tank be returned to me. When I returned to pick up the vehicle after the repair had been made, I was told that the fuel tank had been 'returned to the factory for investigation.' I have heard nothing since.
The bracket that holds the fuel tank to the under carriage of the van has a bent in it where it is bolted to the frame. This has caused a hole from friction, a hairline crack.consumer contacted dealer and manufacturer.there appears to be a flaw in the design.
Car had been parked for approximately 4 hrs, strong odor of gas noted but no leakage seen on underside of car nor on ground. Drove 2 miles home, still strong odor, and underside of gas tank slightly wet. Tank area continued to get increasingly wet.
There was a strong smell of fuel coming from van. When inspected by the dealership, dealer found fuel tank to be cracked. The fuel tank is being replaced at cost to consumer.
The consumer states there is a crack in the gas tank which causes gas to leak out. When putting in gas, consumer can only put in five dollars worth of gas because that's all the vehicle will hold. Also, no matter where consumer parks the vehicle gas will leak out.
On the cylinder head gasket issue, I received a letter from Ford last May 1998 and took the vehicle to the dealer to have it inspected. I was told that they check the vehicle and there was no problem with the gasket. Now I am face with major repairs on the engine. The fuel tank is extremely slow filling. I fear a potential fire or explosion related to the fuel filler issue. The transmission groans mostly in the morning and at times does not engage in drive or reverse. Also the form wheel bearings failed early in the vehicles life, another expensive repair was necessary. There is no temperature control to modify the rear heater temperature.
While the vehicle is sitting in the garage driver can smell gas coming from the vehicle.there is a hole in the gas tank, causing the fuel to spill on the ground. Consumer took the vehicle to the dealer for repair service.
The design of the vehicle's gas tank is potentially dangerous. The plastic gasoline tank does not have any kind of protective shield, which enables the tank to be easily punctured by road debris.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA