NHTSA Complaint #11253120 — 2012 FORD FOCUS

I WAS TRAVELING ON AN INTERSTATE IN MY 2012 FORD FOCUS 5 DOOR HATCHBACK ON A TRIP WITH MY SON. MY CAR HAD A HALF TANK OF GAS REMAINING, SO I REFUELED. I HAD TO TRAVEL 100 MILES HOME, I NOTICED THE DISTANCE TO EMPTY ONLY CHANGED 20 MILES OR SO. SO FROM 436 MILES TO 416 MILES TO EMPTY. THE NEXT DAY, I WENT TO RUN ERRANDS, ON A STATE HIGHWAY, THE DISTANCE TO EMPTY SAID 490 MILES TO EMPTY AND THE GAS GAUGE STILL SHOWED THE TANK WAS FULL. I PARKED THE CAR BECAUSE OF MY BUSY SCHEDULE AND USED MY SPARE VEHICLE. LAST WEEK, 8/27 I DROPPED MY CAR OFF FOR SERVICE AND PERFORM RECALL 18S32 (FUEL TANK DEFORMATION, PCM, CANISTER PURGE VALVE). THE DEALERSHIP CALLED AND SAID MY FUEL TANK WAS DEFORMED AND WOULD NEED REPLACED AT MY EXPENSE. FORD REJECTED THE DEALERSHIP CLAIM THAT THE FUEL TANK WAS NOT DEFORMED ENOUGH, YET IF I DO NOT REPLACE MY TANK, I WILL HAVE A FUEL SYSTEM THAT IS UNRELIABLE. I HAD NO WARNING INDICATOR LIGHTS OR DIAGNOSTIC TROUBLE CODES FOUND ON MY VEHICLE. IF I WERE TO RELY SOLELY ON MY GAUGE AND DISTANCE TO EMPTY, I WOULD HAVE RUN MY CAR OUT OF GAS AND PUT MYSELF AND FAMILY IN POTENTIAL DANGER. I HAVE PLACED MULTIPLE CALLS WITH FORD SERVICE AND DEALERSHIP TO HAVE THEM EXPLAIN WHAT FAILED IN THE FUEL SYSTEM THAT I CAUSED. THERE WAS NOTHING I DID WITH THE CAR THAT WOULD BE CONSIDERED NON TYPICAL USAGE. FINALLY, THE DEALERSHIP HAS PHOTOS THEY PLAN TO SHARE WITH ME. I CAN PROVIDE TO NHTSA WHEN I PICK UP MY CAR AFTER SERVICE WORK HAS BEEN COMPLETED TO REPLACE THE FUEL TANK.