NHTSA Complaint #10246683 — 2005 FORD EXPLORER

LAST YEAR THE FUEL GAUGE BEGAN HAVING INTERMITTENT FAILURES, AND WOULD NOT READ OUT THE CORRECT AMOUNT OF FUEL IN THE TANK. NOTIFIED THE DEALER, WHO SUPPOSEDLY REPROGRAMMED THE PCM IN THE VEHICLE. AFTER THE VEHICLE WAS OUT OF WARRANTY COVERAGE, THE FUEL GAUGE BEGAN MALFUNCTIONING AGAIN. I HAVE SPOKEN WITH OTHER EXPLORER OWNERS WHO HAVE HAD THE SAME PROBLEM, EVEN AFTER THE DEALER HAS REPLACED HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS WORTH OF COMPONENTS. I FEEL THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY RELATED DESIGN FLAW, AS OPERATING A VEHICLE WITHOUT KNOWING THE CORRECT FUEL LEVEL CAN BE VERY DANGEROUS. THE ONLY WAY WE MAINTAIN A SAFE FUEL LEVEL IN OUR VEHICLE IS BY KEEPING THE TANK TOPPED OFF FREQUENTLY, AND KEEPING TRACK OF THE MILES ON THE ODOMETER. A NEWER VEHICLE, WITH MODERN ELECTRONICS, SHOULD NOT HAVE THIS MANY PROBLEMS. *TR