Gas tank developed a crack spilling gas onto the undercarriage of the vehicle, creating an explosive situation. Appears to be a design defect where the straps are exerting pressure on the plastic tank.
1995 Ford Windstar fuel system complaints
Page 5 of 6: complaints 101 to 130 of 148, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Fuel tank developed cracks. I believe this is a design problem of using a plastic tank. This is a very serious fire & safety issue.
Fuel tank developed a crack, causing fuel spillage. Fuel tank assembly was replaced.
The fuel tank would leak fuel after being filled. Smelled fumes inside of vehicle. Vehicle had been parked & had noticed a large puddle of fuel under vehicle. Been to dealer & informed a stress had developed on top of tank where it was strapped. Fuel tank was redesigned. Mechanic replaced fuel tank and fuel pump since it would fit old tank.
Had vehicle parked in driveway. Noticed fuel leaking from fuel tank area. Had vehicle towed to dealer. Mechanic placed vehicle on rack & noticed the leak. Also that the tank was made of plastic & was cracked. The fuel tank needed to be replaced.
Fuel tank was found to have a crack under the center metal binding that secured the fuel tank to the vehicle. From all indications the crack had been there for a long period. The mechanics described the crack as having resulted from a bulge in the tank itself where the binding was tightened into place. The crack was found directly underneath the binding. There had been strong gas fumes inside the vehicle from time to time over several months and very strong fuel odor outside the vehicle, usually immediately after filling the tank. The leak did not become apparent until 9/3/99, however, when I found a puddle of gasoline under the vehicle after it had been parked overnight.
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.
Gas tank cracked at top of tank. Part not available. Had to be special ordered. I consider this a safety issure.
While driving down the road there were fumes in the van. Couldn't continue driving and pulled vehicle over. Contact dealership, and had vehicle towed. Was told that there was a leak in intake manifold which was getting into the vent system. Toxic coolant fumes were a result of manufacturers defective engine gaskets; ford made no recall notices, but would correct gasket problems if they occurred before 60,000 miles.
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.
No summary
The consumer state's there is a leakage within the plastic fuel tank due to a crack.
This ford vehicle has had an extreme number of failures. Starting with the head gasket that the dealer wanted us to pay for after they made the mistake of saying it was under warranty. At a previous repair the dealer had replced the dash because of the speedometer cable and the dealer service person had forgot to add in the previous mileage. Later ford recalled the head gaskets. The transmission has not been replaced yet but continues to shift poorly. I do not want to put any more money into this vehicle. I believe ford should have some responsibility for the amounts spent on poor quality parts separate than normal maintenance. So far all that ford has offered is $1000.00 cash. This is not a responsible offer. We have spent almost $8000.00. It is fortunate no one was hurt when these parts failed. These six defects were not the only problems but are probably the most expensive defects.
No summary
There is gasoline smell within the vehicle , and the gas tank has a three inch crack within it, and the gas is leaking onto the ground.
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.
Split from top of gas tank is causing gas to leak. Replacement of gas tank is on national back order.
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.
At low speeds vehicle stalls out and dies. The dealer has replaced the fuel pump.
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.
Fuel is leaking from the top of the plastic fuel tank, causing a fire hazard.
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.
No summary listed for this vehicle.
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.
Every gasket on this vehicle is leaking, including engine head gasket/transmission gasket/the intake manifold gasket, and the value cover gasket. Dealer has been contacted.
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 consumer experienced a problem with fuel tank assembly. After turning vehicle off, noticed that hood was smoking and vehicle was on fire. The fire was put out by extinguishers. The fire department came to scene, and suggested that the fire came from the fuel injection system. The manufacturer has not been contacted.
Design of tank (plastic) resulted in a crack causing leakage.
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