Complaint 820267

Complaint Summary

FUEL SYSTEM, DIESEL

Owner Narrative

I WAS DRIVING A FORD DIESEL VAN NORTH ON HIGHWAY 31 TOWARDS PENNINGTON, NJ, WHEN THE TRUCK STARTED ACTING UP. ULTIMATELY, IT STALLED - RIGHT THERE ON THE HIGHWAY; 4 LANES, SEMI TRUCKS COMING AROUND A BEND @ 40 + MPH, AND NO SHOULDER. I TOLD MY HELPER TO LEAVE THE TRUCK BECAUSE I WAS SURE WE WERE GOING TO GET HIT. NO WAY A TRACTOR TRAILER, AT THOSE SPEEDS, COULD STOP IN TIME. SEVERAL SEMI'S HAD TO CUT OFF CARS IN THE LEFT LANE TO AVOID US. I THOUGHT FOR SURE I WAS DEAD. AFTER SWEATING IT OUT, I FINALLY GOT THE TRUCK STARTED AND GOT TO A SIDE STREET, AT ABOUT 5 MPH. THAT'S WHEN I CALLED AAA & GOT THE TRUCK TOWED TO MY FORD DEALER, WHERE THEY WANT $2500 TO REPAIR WHAT THEY CALL " FUEL TANK DELAMINATION". I NEVER HEARD OF SUCH A THING AND NEITHER DID ANYONE I SPOKE WITH IN THE AUTO REPAIR INDUSTRY SO I GOOGLED IT: FORD DIESEL FUEL TANK PROBLEMS, AND AS IT TURNS OUT, THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF VEHICLES OUT THERE WITH THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM. I"M SURPRISED NO ONE HAS DIED YET, BUT I GUESS THAT'S WHAT IT WILL TAKE, MAYBE WHEN A COUPLE OF KIDS DIE, FORD WILL DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT, IF IT DOESN'T COST TOO MUCH - OF COURSE. TO ALLEVIATE THIS "PROBLEM," THE FORD DEALER IS, IN EFFECT, GOING TO REPLACE THE ENTIRE FUEL DELIVERY SYSTEM, AT THE CONSUMERS COST. NEW FUEL TANK, NEW FUEL TRANSFER PUMP, CLEAN OUT THE FUEL LINES, REPLACE FUEL FILTER, CLEAN INJECTORS, SO, BEND OVER. PS REALLY HOPE NOBODY HAS TO DIE - BUT THAT'S YOUR CALL. *TR

Owner-submitted narrative on file with NHTSA. Complaint narratives are self-reported and have not been verified.