Gassing up ford's small SUV's

[Mike Ioco]

My wife has a new Mariner, and my folks have a new Escape. I think they are both 05's. BOTH are finicky when it comes to pumping gas. I can't hold the pump lever to allow full flow, or the auto-stop on the pump triggers. I can't set the hands-free lock on, for the same reason. The only thing what seems to work is to hold the trigger so that it flows slowly, and it works okay, but slow.



There must be some design flaw that caused the auto-shutoff to trip when the gas flows in to quick. Are there any TSB's for this? And fixes?



FWIW, I found this on another forum:

I found this similar complaint about the other sister SUV, the Mazda Tribute.

Has anyone had this problem? I'm going on my send complete gas tank and I've had the car less than six months. I can't seem to pump gas without the auto shut-off on the pump cutting me off after just a second. I took it into the dealership and the said I had a bend in the pipe that leads to my gas tank and they replaced the entire pipe and gas tank. It worked for about 2 weeks and then it has started again. I am taking it in for the second time over the weekend, but I'm starting to think that this is just a design flaw with the car. If that's the case, then there will be big problems since I don't really want a car for the next 10 years that is hard to get a tank of gas into. So if anyone has had a similar problem, please post it to this website.

 

[EddieS'04]

We have an '01 Escape...I can fill it at full throtlle form any gas pump....sorry I cant help...we have the V6 and it has a larger tank than the 4cyl...maybe that is the difference...

 

[Deleted deleted]

My wife owns a '06 Escape XLT, and I've had some problems with pumping gas, but it's not a consistent problem, so I assumed it was the pump itself. Moving the gas nozzle around to find a spot where the auto-run clicker will engage seems to do the trick.

 

[Mark Grumpy]

My ST does that if I shove the nozzle in as far as it will go. If I back it out a little and sort of let it hang so that just the end of the nozzle is inserted it works fine. This is what I think causes it - no evidence or science involved, just my idea. If I shove it in all the way then the curve in the nozzle makes the bottom of the nozzle outlet contact the filler pipe which basically has the effect of forcing the gas against the fill pipe instead of allowing it to flow freely. This pressure creates basically the same result as a full tank (back pressure) and shuts off the pump. Hope that makes sense, and like I said, just a thought really.



grump

 

[Mike Ioco]

Fast Eddie - The Mariner is an V6, and the Escape is an 4 Cylinder, so it's not that.

Darin & Grumpy, I've had to move the nozzle in my ST in order for it to stay flowing sometimes, but I've tried every which way in the Mariner, and it doesn't help. Sideways, further in, further out, upside down, nothing!



I just came across the following in an Escape forum:

There's a TSB for a revised filler neck on the '05 and '06 models only. But the parts do not interchange with earlier model years.



Most of these issues can be attributed to the On Board Vapor Recovery systems that are being mandated and gradually phased in by law. In vehicles without the new OBVR systems, as you put fuel in the tank, air (containing hydrocarbons) is forced out and was typically vented directly to the atmosphere through the filler neck itself or a separate vent pipe.



But with OBVR the diameter and design of the filler neck allows only fuel to flow in and air can't get out. Instead it's routed through the charcoal cannister where the hydrocarbons are absorbed before the air is vented to the atmosphere. So any restrictions in this venting will result in early nozzle shut-off.



Overfilling the tank (topping it off after it shuts off autoimatically) can contribute to this if raw fuel is forced into the cannister and saturates it.

I think I was the first one who filled up the Mariner, and I remember this problem off the bat, so I don't think I 'broke' it by overfilling it. I guess I'll have to take it in for this TSB.

 

[Johnny O]

My wife's '03 Taurus wagon does the same thing. I just hold the nozzle about halfway out and it's okay. The nozzles are designed to shut off when gas splashes against it. Just a matter of the air doesn't get out fast enough as it's being displaced by gas.

 

[Dale Carter]

The Escape can be purchased with a V6, as well as the base (debasing?) 4-cyl.

 

[Mike Ioco]

The Escape can be purchased with a V6, as well as the base (debasing?) 4-cyl.

You are right. I didn't mean to imply that either came with one engine or the other. In my case though, our Mariner has the 6, and the Escape has the 4.

 

[Jim Thompson]

BY THE WAY, how do you like the Mariner or the Escape????

 

[Deleted deleted]

My wife likes her Escape XLT very much. The V6 is very powerful and responsive. Gas mileage has been averaging between 24-25mpg. She finds it easy to park and maneuver and the cargo area is plenty big for what she hauls in it.



We considered a Kia Sportage when we were shopping, but didn't like the smallish V6 and small cargo area of the Kia. Price was comparable.

 

[David Torres]

I've had a similiar problem on my '04 ST but only at a particular Shell station that recently changed their nozzles. Something is funny with the new nozzles and I now have the same type of issues you described. My simple solution was to stop using that particular gas station. The pumps at other stations seem to work fine.

 

[Mike Ioco]

Jim, we like the Mariner, a lot. It's very stylish inside and out, it's comfortable, powerful and nimble. The only complaints we have are a squeak in the drivers side window, the fuel pumping thing and strange programming on the onboard computer. There's a vehicle info display that usually shows MPG, and some other things. If your low on fuel, or due for an oil change, that also shows up there. BUT, if there's either of those two going on, you no longer get your MPG displayed. Just a little annoyance.

 

[Mike Ioco]

Stopped in to the service dept at Lincoln Mercury this morning. Got an oil change for $24. Not bad, for a dealer! I think there was a special going on.



I asked about the gas pumping issue, and the service tech said there was nothing that could be done. It's caused by a problem that I read about on another site. The issue is that many gas stations allow their pumps to pump faster than what the EPA allows. When gas rushes in faster than it's supposed to, the problem that I earlier above occurs.

... with OBVR the diameter and design of the filler neck allows only fuel to flow in and air can't get out. Instead it's routed through the charcoal cannister where the hydrocarbons are absorbed before the air is vented to the atmosphere. So any restrictions in this venting will result in early nozzle shut-off.