2013 Fusion - Fuel Tank Filling Issues?

[jarhead727]

Since you have an AWD car isn't your tank 17.5 gallons? Aside from the gauge programming I think your setup is ok, but keep in mind when you hit yellow then you still probably have 2-2.5 gallons in the tank.

 

Yes it should be 17.5 gallons. That's why I figured it was good. 14.8 plus whatever is left when the light turns on should be around 17.5.

[acdii]

So far in my FFH I have had it shut off in seconds, and had to trickle fill it, had the pump click off and took no more, but the mark on the gauge was a touch below full, and I have been able to add a 1/2 gallon after waiting 30 seconds when it clicked off. If makes the hand calculations vary by as much as 10 MPG.

 

I started using a scan gauge ii, and to cailbrate it, you fill until it clocks off, then drive down to 1.4 tank and fill again, until it clicks off, then adjust the gallons used to what you actually put in. So far on my second tank, will see by the end of the week how much variance there is. The tank fill actual and the dash readouts are never the same, or even close. I started logging it all after I started having MPG issues, so document the variances between the computer and actual. Not looking good so far.

[cranbers]

So just a little update on my second fill up, I've had the car for 7 days now.

Fusion titanium 2.0 with a 16.5 gallon tank:

 

1. 12.8 Gallons was used according to the trip readout on 323 miles.

2. Tank was 6 miles to empty on fuel economy gauge, yellow gas light was on, tank read right on the "E" line.

3. fill up auto stopped at 13.02 gallons

4. ( I push reactivated the pump over riding the auto shut off twice, giving it 13.5 gallons. I wasn't going to push it past that for fear of spillage.

5. At 13.5 gallons my tank was level at the "Full" line on the gauge.

 

so a 3 gallon reserve? How ridiculous is that. 18 percent unusable of your tank? In other words you have to be in panic mode every mile you drive over the distance to empty/ yellow light warning. You should be able to go at least another 45 miles on that before it warns you of running out. But maybe the tank is designed the suction tube can't reach the remaining 3 gallons?

 

Sad thing is this just may be something you have to deal with, the idea that ford will address this on their own without you barking up a tree is pretty slim. I am supposed to give them my car so they can check the gauge accuracy etc. But if by design it is meant to have a 3 gallon reserve, not sure what they will do. They can't re- engineer something like that ont he fly right?

 

Interesting article on the topic:

http://autos.aol.com/article/running-on-empty/

Edited January 21, 2013 by cranbers

[Drm1redsox]

Cranbers, if you read my post above, my low fuel light went on at 12.5 gallons used. I assumed I had 4 gallons in reserve (16.5 gallon tank). When I got to 14 gallons used I thought I still had 2.5 gallons left, but in fact my car ran out of fuel. I would fill up soon after the low fuel light goes on and not assume an over aggressive reserve reading. I filled up to capacity and the vehicle only took 13.87 gallons. I now know that the car does not have another 3 gallons in reserve. Returned the car to the dealer for the 2nd time today.

[jeff_h]

Here is what I found in my 2010 owner's manual: "Distance to empty (DTE): Distance to Empty is displayed in the lower right for miles or on the top right for kilometers of your vehicle’s instrument cluster along with the efficiency, history graph or no display (shown previously with history graph). This function will give you an estimate of how far you can drive with the fuel remaining in your tank under normal driving conditions. Distance to empty will vary according to your driving habits. DTE is calculated using a running average fuel economy, which is based on your recent driving history of 500 miles (800 km)."

 

I looked in the 2013 FFH owner's manual for a similar statement, did not find the same thing, but the closest I could find was: "Empty reserve is the amount of fuel remaining in the tank after the fuel gauge indicates empty. Do not rely on this fuel for driving. The usable capacity of the fuel tank is the amount of fuel that can be put into the tank after the gauge indicates empty. The advertised capacity is the total fuel tank size – it is the combined usable capacity plus the empty reserve."

 

Today was only my third real fill-up, took it down to 2 miles to empty, but unknown if that DTE is still calculated on the past X miles of MPG. Only did one top-off click (since I watched it spill onto the ground with my 2010 a couple times and so am afraid to repeat it) and for my 13.5 gallon tank it took 11.30 gallons.

[drober30]

Hi everyone, first post...

 

Received my 2013 Titanium a couple of weeks ago. I had 19 miles DTE on gauge and tank took 12.777 and that was after topping off after first click.

 

I knew something was up by how fast the gauge came off of Full. It only took like 9 miles before my gauge was not on full.

 

Sure enough, when I looked for the forum related to this vehicle, I found this post. So there definitely is a problem! I have had way to many new vehicles to be told different, most of them Ford and none have alerted me to a fill up problem like this one has. It only took one fill up to raise my suspesion.

 

I'm pretty active on the 2011-2013 Ford Explorer forum. Over there they have Ford reps that participate on the forums and help customers with their issues by putting them in contact with the right people or getting the right people involved.

 

I'm sure Ford views this forum for info but I have not seen any involvement/posts?

 

Either way, this is a pretty big deal to me. Even though I opted for the Titanium because of it's trim level options, Intelligent Access/Push to Start, I weighed my decision heavy on the gas milage and fuel capacity. I wanted something to offset my AWD Explorer. I even waited longer and passed up pretty good deals on the AWD because I wanted the extra gas milage.

 

I waited awhile for a Fusion to come in that had the options I wanted. We all know about the delays... I even paid penalty on my previous lease for milage because I went over waiting.

 

I will be looking for answers from my dealer. I definitely don't want my car tied up in service as they guess to whats wrong. Seems like you guys started the ball rolling and Ford should have this documented. I call the service manager at my dealer and see if he can find some answers. I may have to take it in just to get my concern documented. I will take it in on Empty and have them fill it up with me.

[ksheck2]

I'm having the same issue with my 2013 TI FWD, I've filled up twice so far with just over 650 miles on it with the DTE down to 5 miles and both times I was only able to get around 13.5 gallons in the tank and the gauge reads full. I contacted the dealer and they are looking into it. Does anyone have any updates if they got any answers from their dealers??

 

Other than that the car is awesome!!!

[cranbers]

I'm having the same issue with my 2013 TI FWD, I've filled up twice so far with just over 650 miles on it with the DTE down to 5 miles and both times I was only able to get around 13.5 gallons in the tank and the gauge reads full. I contacted the dealer and they are looking into it. Does anyone have any updates if they got any answers from their dealers?? Other than that the car is awesome!!!

 

I am amazed at how many people are coming forward with this. A mid sized sedan shouldn't get a max of 13.5 gallons usable fuel in the tank when its a 16.5 gallon tank. thats exactly the numbers I get on empty with near zero Distance to empty calculation. Thats a entry level cars capacity and range.

 

For me its only an issue because I commute 500 miles a week. At 13.5 gallons capacity at 28 mpg, I get less then 350 miles to the tank ( usually have to fill up earlier then that so i dont run out on the 50 mile trip back). so that means im at the gas station every couple of days. 450 miles to a tank allows once a week usually on the week end. so its an annoyance.

[hermans]

I filled up my hybrid today for the second time. The gauge still had a couple of bars till empty and I got 11.7 gallons in the tank. Gauge went to a couple of bars above full.

Edited January 26, 2013 by hermans

[acdii]

Well, one side benefit of not putting in too many gallons, the pump price isnt as shocking as it is on the older cars, then again, we have to fill twice as often. I'm only going about 350 miles on a tank before I am down to 1/4 tank and have to refill. I dont go below 1/4 so my Scangauge calibrates, and stays accurate. I no longer rely on what the dash tells me, as it is off by as much as 2 MPG, and at least 1/2 gallon of fuel.

[txtenor]

For the record, this issue seems to be limited to the non-AWD, and non-Hybrid vehicles. The AWD cars have a 17.5 gallon tank and the Hybrids have a 13.5 gallon tank. The issue so far as I have seen it appears to be specific to the cars that are "supposed" to have the 16.5 gallon tank.

 

I have talked with my dealer about it and will take them to the gas station at my next service to show them the issue...meaning I will need to plan to be at or near empty...fun times. I have owned enough cars to know that a 16.5 gallon tank should take more than 12.9 gallons when it is below empty on the gauge and the DTE is at 0...regardless of how it calculates DTE. No calculation should result in a 3.5 gallon reserve out of 16.5 gallons total.

 

There is at least one person who seems to have gotten his issue resolved by having a Ford engineer investigate and actually replace his tank. (I don't recall which forum I saw this in) This issue is not enough to cause me to start bashing the car or Ford, but it is worthy of having them look at and address...and I won't stop asking them about it until I get it fixed or I get a reasonable reply as to why not.

[Offshore Maniac]

I hopefully have some information which will help some, if not all of us out. I took the 13' Titanium back to the dealer for a second time today. The farthest that we have let the car drive (before today) is 12 miles before empty and the car took 12.7 gallons to fill on (1st click shutoff). I personally drove the car to (-10 miles to empty) 22 miles more than before and the car took 13.67 gallons to fill on (1st click shutoff). Myself and the Dealership's shop foreman told the fuel attendant to continue to squeeze in more fuel. The car took a total of 15.1 gallons after continuing to fuel after (1st click shutoff) **MPG on Tank was 22.8**. I used to work in the business some years ago and 10% gas reserve is the norm. I did not run out of gas and there was still gas available in the tank @ the 10% reserve tolerance. In NJ we have fuel attendants that pump our gas. They are trained to shut the pump down after first click shutoff unless you tell them to round things up to the next dollar or two. Next time you fill up give this a try. 16.5 gallon tank (15.1 gallons to fill...without over filling!) and more miles to drive on tank is within tolerance. The car is pretty awesome with no problems except the fuel filling learning curve which Myself and the dealership hammered out today.

Edited January 29, 2013 by Offshore Maniac

[Kunfuzn]

Hello, thought I would give my two cents worth. I have had my 2013 Fusion Ti for just over a month and have all the same issues with filling the tank. My last fillup, I ran it down to six miles past DTE and filled up trying to get as much in as possible. The pump stopped at 11.7 gallons. I continued pumping and the tank overfilled at 12.5 gallons. Nice mess. I have noticed that if I pump at a slower rate, more will go in before the first shutoff. Either way, same problems of not getting enough in. After fillup, DTE states 421 miles, but I can only get about 375 until DTE says zero. I drive about 80 miles per day and now have 2,400 miles on the car. 70% highway, 20% country roads and 10% city.

 

Although the range is not what I had hoped, I do seem to be getting about 27 MPG, which is much better than what I hear others are getting. Car is a beautiful machine, but a lot of little issues like this and others are making the experience a little less enjoyable.

[Drm1redsox]

UPDATE: On my second visit to the dealer they drained the tank, refueled and found that it only took 14 gallons. They replaced the tank and returned the car to me. So far I've driven over 200 miles and the guage is still half full. Seems to me like the problem was solved. I spoke to the service manager today and asked if they accidentally put the 13.5 gallon S/SE tank in my Titanium and he said no, the part number and part itself matched the 16.5 gallon replacement tank, but they think there was a internal issue inside the tank. Seems to me like a whole batch of tanks had an manufacturing issue.

 

SUGGESTION: Ask your dealer to replace your tank. Remember my dealer returned the car to me once and said there were no mechanical or computer issues. I actually ran the car dry out of gas to prove my point which they verified by filling, draining and refilling the tank.

[cranbers]

UPDATE: On my second visit to the dealer they drained the tank, refueled and found that it only took 14 gallons. They replaced the tank and returned the car to me. So far I've driven over 200 miles and the guage is still half full. Seems to me like the problem was solved. I spoke to the service manager today and asked if they accidentally put the 13.5 gallon S/SE tank in my Titanium and he said no, the part number and part itself matched the 16.5 gallon replacement tank, but they think there was a internal issue inside the tank. Seems to me like a whole batch of tanks had an manufacturing issue.

 

SUGGESTION: Ask your dealer to replace your tank. Remember my dealer returned the car to me once and said there were no mechanical or computer issues. I actually ran the car dry out of gas to prove my point which they verified by filling, draining and refilling the tank.

 

Wow, thanks for the info Any idea the date your car was assembled? I think its in the door jam sticker. Says where and when it was made. We all seem to be having the same symptoms. Let us know what your tank takes when its time to fill up and how many miles to the tank you get (also what the trip meter says you get for gallons used before measuring empty).

 

The strange thing is that the gas gauge says full, and empty and the DTE seems to be accurate with a reflection of 13.5 gallons to empty. So if your tank actually only fit 14 gallons, then 13.5 means you had a reserve of a half gallon? Which pretty clearly was shown since your car stalled with out of gas right when DTE said it would.

 

On that note: I filled up today with 10 miles to empty. It cut off just shy of 13 gallons I got it to fill a little over 13. (340 miles to the tank is what I got), every click of the nozzle lasted a second or two. So I am sure it was pretty full.

[iamweasel]

I hopefully have some information which will help some, if not all of us out. I took the 13' Titanium back to the dealer for a second time today. The farthest that we have let the car drive (before today) is 12 miles before empty and the car took 12.7 gallons to fill on (1st click shutoff). I personally drove the car to (-10 miles to empty) 22 miles more than before and the car took 13.67 gallons to fill on (1st click shutoff). Myself and the Dealership's shop foreman told the fuel attendant to continue to squeeze in more fuel. The car took a total of 15.1 gallons after continuing to fuel after (1st click shutoff) **MPG on Tank was 22.8**. I used to work in the business some years ago and 10% gas reserve is the norm. I did not run out of gas and there was still gas available in the tank @ the 10% reserve tolerance. In NJ we have fuel attendants that pump our gas. They are trained to shut the pump down after first click shutoff unless you tell them to round things up to the next dollar or two. Next time you fill up give this a try. 16.5 gallon tank (15.1 gallons to fill...without over filling!) and more miles to drive on tank is within tolerance. The car is pretty awesome with no problems except the fuel filling learning curve which Myself and the dealership hammered out today.

 

How many click-offs did you have between 13.67 and 15.1 gallons? Was it constant and a struggle to get that extra 1.4 gallons in?

 

I stopped today after running about 5 miles past the point where it said 0 miles to empty. (So -5 miles to empty.) I got 13.52 gallons in before it clicked-off on me the first time. I then pushed it to 14.32 gallons and stopped but it took about another 7-10 click-offs just to get that far. It just didn't want to take any more. Fuel was not spilling out at that point, either.

[iamweasel]

Hello, thought I would give my two cents worth. I have had my 2013 Fusion Ti for just over a month and have all the same issues with filling the tank. My last fillup, I ran it down to six miles past DTE and filled up trying to get as much in as possible. The pump stopped at 11.7 gallons. I continued pumping and the tank overfilled at 12.5 gallons. Nice mess. I have noticed that if I pump at a slower rate, more will go in before the first shutoff. Either way, same problems of not getting enough in. After fillup, DTE states 421 miles, but I can only get about 375 until DTE says zero. I drive about 80 miles per day and now have 2,400 miles on the car. 70% highway, 20% country roads and 10% city.

 

Although the range is not what I had hoped, I do seem to be getting about 27 MPG, which is much better than what I hear others are getting. Car is a beautiful machine, but a lot of little issues like this and others are making the experience a little less enjoyable.

Sounds to me that you need a new tank, too. This was exactly the problem I was having because my first tank had internals that were not assembled correctly. Get a new tank and next time you get to that point you should be able to get about 14 gallons in there instead of 11.7.

 

Even then, I think you should be able to get more than 14 in at that point without struggling, but that is just the way the car is wired. It has a bigger reserve calculation than normal. I think you could drive 50 miles past the "0 miles to empty" point and still not run out of fuel on level ground.

[Kunfuzn]

Sounds to me that you need a new tank, too. This was exactly the problem I was having because my first tank had internals that were not assembled correctly. Get a new tank and next time you get to that point you should be able to get about 14 gallons in there instead of 11.7.

 

Even then, I think you should be able to get more than 14 in at that point without struggling, but that is just the way the car is wired. It has a bigger reserve calculation than normal. I think you could drive 50 miles past the "0 miles to empty" point and still not run out of fuel on level ground.

Yup, sounds like it is time for a new tank. While I am in there, I am also going to bring up a few other items I see issues with. One of which is the poor sound quality on the radio when tuned to Sirius, and the fact that one of my favorite stations in Cleveland is 87.7 and the tuner only goes down to 87.9. Who made that brilliant design? Doubt that they can fix it, either. Anyway, I'll start with the tank issue and move on from there.

[chrisdh79]

I've had this issue since OCT. I'll be dropping mine off today to get my tank replaced and fix a water leak that I verified this morning. Standing water on the floor in the back seat drivers side.. Really?? There's a leak somewhere.

[robuctke]

I've had this issue since OCT. I'll be dropping mine off today to get my tank replaced and fix a water leak that I verified this morning. Standing water on the floor in the back seat drivers side.. Really?? There's a leak somewhere.

Chrisdh-

I too had a leak...Here is what happened....

UPDATE:

Took my car to the dealer on Thursday. They performed the water test and determined the rear window to be leaking. They had to have a glass company come out and pop it out and reseal.

 

Well when they did that on Friday, they noticed the rear window wasn't seated properly from the factory. This caused a larger gap on the drivers side (where it was leaking) as compared to the passenger side. They also said that due to to improper seating of the window, it caused some rubbing of the paint where the window would go. So they are repairing the paint issue, then are going to reinstall the window and reseal and rerun the water test.

 

I will send another update once completed.

 

This was over 2 weeks ago...And since - there have been 0 problems...

 

[chrisdh79]

Thanks for the post. I haven't noticed any water on the doors. Just a break in the water seal at the bottom of the rear driver side door. There's a significant amount of water on the floor. So this really needs to get fixed.

[FusionDiffusion]

... and the fact that one of my favorite stations in Cleveland is 87.7 and the tuner only goes down to 87.9. Who made that brilliant design?

 

87.9 MHz is actually the lowest possible center frequency for a licensed FM station (and 107.9 MHz is the highest). To broadcast on 87.7 (actually 87.75 MHz), the station is licensed as a TV station broadcasting on channel 6. In markets with a channel 6 TV station, before the DTV transition you could tune to 87.7 FM and listen to the station's audio signal, which was useful if you wanted to hear the evening news. I would blame the radio/TV station since they couldn't get a license for an actual FM channel. Historically a lot radios have been able to tune down into the channel 6 spectrum, but perhaps with the digital transition the radio engineers figured there wouldn't be any stations left down there. If you have an old analog TV, you could turn it on channel 6 and rig it up in your car!

[Kunfuzn]

87.9 MHz is actually the lowest possible center frequency for a licensed FM station (and 107.9 MHz is the highest). To broadcast on 87.7 (actually 87.75 MHz), the station is licensed as a TV station broadcasting on channel 6. In markets with a channel 6 TV station, before the DTV transition you could tune to 87.7 FM and listen to the station's audio signal, which was useful if you wanted to hear the evening news. I would blame the radio/TV station since they couldn't get a license for an actual FM channel. Historically a lot radios have been able to tune down into the channel 6 spectrum, but perhaps with the digital transition the radio engineers figured there wouldn't be any stations left down there. If you have an old analog TV, you could turn it on channel 6 and rig it up in your car!

Wow, you are a wealth of information with regards to radio and TV. I also have a 2004 Mazda6 and a 2011 Hyundai Sonata that both get 87.7, so I just assumed (first mistake) that I would have no problem in the Fusion. What you say makes sense, though, as the station is a start-up local station that has a lower power rating as it is. Anyway, I need to go to the local antique store now to get a new analog entertainment system for the back seats......

[jarhead727]

Ran it down to 7 miles past DTE 0. Put 15.4 gallons in gauge reads full.

[Rodrspv]

I have been keeping up with this forum for some time now because I, too, have been experiencing issues with the gas tank not filling completely since I purchased my Titanium on 12/6. The guy who spoke about running out of gas on 405, I also ran out of gas while driving on the freeway due to thinking that my car should drive further than 12-13 gallons that it drove since fillup. I took it to my dealer and he said all tests went well and nothing was wrong with it. He says his tests even show that my car has never run out of gas! He says that it's not supposed to fill up all the way. I find it ridiculous however, that a 16.5 gallon tank only fills up to 12 or 13. The dealer is saying there's nothing they can do, and if they do look at my gas tank and nothing is wrong with it, then I will be responsible for the rental car fees. I purchased the 6 year full warranty with my car and I find it egregious that the service center is not seeming to believe me when I say my tank has an issue.

 

For those of you on here that had your tank replaced, what did you do to have it properly tested and replaced? I called the Ford Customer Care line was told to contact my nearest dealer to get the issue resolved. I plan to take it to the dealer anyway and have them check because I am certain that they will discover that there is an issue with my gas tank.