Riptide

Why do some cars have this problem while others don't?

GidyupGo

There are more that do than not. I would think it has everything to do with the different pumps. Some deliver fuel at a slower pace than others. Those are the ones that say they don't have this problem. The solution is find a pump with the brand of gas you like, that pumps at a rate that this doesn't happen. I found one at a Shell station. Now, it is just MY pump.

abrush

I would like to know this as well. If it is supposebly a tank design flaw that should mean that everyone would have this problem since all of our cars have the same tank from the factory. Not everyone has this problem so what is the explanation for that one?

abrush

^^^ I just read this. It got posted about the same time I was typing my post so it wasn't there before. I am going to try to go to a few diffenent gas stations once I get my car back and see what the result is.

GidyupGo

I'm sure you will find a difference. There is one station that I tried last year and I couldn't get it to fuel more than 15 cents worth before it would click off. They were the cheapest price around so I kept at it. Eventually, my credit card timed out or something and it just shut off. I left there after 15 minutes with about 5 gallons of gas.

TheDutchTexan

Mine does it too. I usually fill up at a Shell station I know it doesn't shut off every few seconds. Some blame the feul tank, I just blame 90% of the gas stations. Find a gas station that works and try and stick with it. I've tried other Shell stations, and most give me a good fill-up with nearly no shut offs, but then I have found one or two that are absolutely dreadfull.

And if you run into a station with some fancy high flow nozzle that looks nothing like the regular ones pass it. That will make you leave and go to another feul station to fill up in a heartbeat.

abrush

^^^^ That would suck! Hopefully you weren't in a hurry.

GidyupGo

I don't get in much of a hurry these days, but the frustration factor was off the scale.

DoctorQ

Originally Posted by 05GT-O.C.D. [/align] Not entirely. There's 2 different problems, Ford only addressed one. Ford took care of the left side venting issue and there's an updated tank that's now being put on, and is avail through a TSB. The problem in this thread is the 'other' problem. Even after I got the updated tank, I then had the venting problem through the right side. Ford's new tank doesn't address this problem, as the problem is in the emissions crap in the rear of the car.[/align]
Let me add some clarifications to 05GT-O.C.D’s point: The tank that Ford redesigned is only for S197s build before 04/26/05. Per TSB 06-3-13, “On 2005 Mustang vehicles built on or after 4/26/05 and 2006+ model year vehicles were built with the revised design fuel tank. As a result, replacing the fuel tank on these vehicles will not change the occurrence of premature automatic fuel fill shut off. Occurrences of premature shut-off may be resolved or improved by using a different filling station fuel pump.” 05GT-O.C.D makes a good point that the updated tank design does not address the venting problem through the EVAP Emissions system. The points of failure (that can cause premature fill shutoff) along the fuel fill path are (in order of fuel/vapor flow): (1) fuel filler neck, (2) fuel inlet hose, (3) fuel tank check valve, (4) fuel tank, (5) fuel vapor control valve, (6) vapor tube, (7) evap canister, (8) evap canister purge valve, (9) vapor tube back to Intake. Any one or combination of these components will cause problems.

Now for the interesting news. I received this information yesterday from a very reliable source (Ford Technician not to be named or location divulged for obvious reasons). This Technician has encountered the fuel fill issue on numerous occasions and as a result, a Ford Rep and Ford Engineer were sent out. Technician asked why Ford has not come up with a re-design to address this continued problem. The Ford Engineer told the Technician that in fact Ford did come up with a re-design for the filler-neck and inlet tube which did fix the premature fuel shutoff. The problem is the convoluted inlet tube with the numerous turns and bends. As a matter of fact, if you look under your car (as I did after hearing this), you will see that the fuel inlet hose drops down from the filler neck, goes under a cross member, then back up slightly before reaching the tank. At about the halfway point, the inlet tube actually has to go uphill to the tank! The Ford Engineer explained that the new design involved a complete re-routing of the inlet tube. The re-route involved drilling through into the trunk area (behind fuel door) and run the inlet hose into the side trunk area, then back and down (through trunk rear floor) to the tank…eliminating some turns and the uphill run to the tank. The Engineer went on further to say this “fix” was not rolled out due to the inherit cost of all the retrofits… apparently Finance vetoed the “fix”.

As I stated, this is what I was told, and can only be considered hearsay. However, I tend to believe this as the Ford Technician would have no benefit (and much risk) in telling me this. If anyone out there can think of a way to substantiate this claim, please step forward. I’m sure the official Ford ‘fix’ re-design documents have all been shred by now along with the missing 4 minutes of audiotape from the design meetings! Maybe I watch too many movies, but this sounds unnervingly similar to Gene Hackman’s “Class Action”.

Anyway, take it for what it's worth...the real issue is the filler neck and inlet tube. If everything downstream of the tank (EVAP emission system) is in excellent working order, and all the proper stars are aligned, you can fill the tank completely (both saddle tanks). However, if any of these downstream components is not working at or near 100% of it's designed capacity (like my EVAP canister and canister vent solenoid), then the combination of the faulty inlet hose design along with the downstream EVAP system will trigger the premature fuel shutoff... and you're hosed (no pun intended).

alanlee112

Fun stuff.

I just dropped my Mustang off today at the dealership for this issue. I'll see what they say or do. My vehicle was made before the date in the TSB so it'll be interesting it see if they replace the gas tank or not. I have issues filling the tank even below a quarter tank although turning the pump handle to the 3 o'clock position does help a lot. At least there's a work around if they can't/don't fix it.