The number one goal of any automobile fuel system engineer should be to design a fuel system that maintains the integrity of the fuel tank. Safety is job one. In other words, keep fuel in the tank. Ford, and some other manufacturers (See recent Chrysler Jeep story at: http://money.cnn.com/2013/06/05/autos/chrysler-recall-controversy/index.html?hpt=hp_t3), are having a big problem with fuel systems and potentially lethal vehicle fires.
Ford is recalling the following 2013 model year vehicles: Ford Explorer, Taurus, Flex, Fusion, Interceptor Utility, Interceptor Sedan, and Lincoln MKS, MKT, and MKZ. A part in the gas tank may fail and cause fuel to leak. When fuel gets outside of the fuel tank and the fuel system, a lot of things can happen, and not very many of them are good. Ford has reportedly received about 600,000 complaints.
If you have one of the affected Fords, get it to your local dealer as soon as possible. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. At least there is a recall in effect for these Fords.
Folks owning about 2.7 million Jeep Grand Cherokee's (1993-2004) and Liberty's (2002-2007) are not getting a recall. Chrysler has refused to issue one for these Jeeps, for the above model years. It seems as if these plastic tanks are susceptible to being breached when a rear-end collision occurs, allowing for fuel leaks and fires. Again, this is problematic, and potentially life threatening. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) knows of at least 51 deaths attributable to this safety defect. And Chrysler refuses a recall. Why?
For more information on the above, visit: http://www.nhtsa.gov
Comments for this article are closed.