NHTSA Complaint #10152210 — 1997 FORD E-150

FORD'S RECALL NUMBER IS 01S14. MY E150 FILLS THE REQUIREMENTS OF "NEAR THE GROSS VEHICLE WEIGHT WITH ... ROUGH ROAD... THE 35 GALLON MID-SHIP FUEL TANK ... CRACK ... " FORD TELLS ME THAT MY VIN IS OUTSIDE THE RANGE OF COVERED VANS. THE RECALL COVERS 1997 THROUGH 2001 MODELS. I SEE NO WAY THAT FORD WOULD KNOW WHICH VANS ARE USED IN THE ABOVE MENTIONED MANNER. THIS PROBLEM APPEARED FROM THE BEGINNING OF MY OWNERSHIP. ANY FILLING OF MORE THAN 3/4 TANK, RESULTED IN STRONG GASOLINE SMELL AND LEAKAGE. THIS WAS A VERY SERIOUS PROBLEM. EVEN THOUGH I TRIED TO NOT FILL PAST 3/4, SOMETIMES I WOULD EXCEED THAT. EXPLOSION AND FIRE WERE CONSTANT THREATS. MY FORD DEALER TELLS ME THAT IT CERTAINLY LOOKS LIKE MY VAN SHOULD BE INCLUDED. I AGREE. I HAVE PAID FOR THE REPLACEMENT OF THE FUEL TANK. THE BELOW INCIDENT DATE IS APPROXIMATE. I BOUGHT THE VAN IN DECEMBER 2001. *JB