[mistere213]

I haven't been on the forum in a while, so I apologize if this has been covered already. Anyway...a few weeks ago, my check engine light came on. No issues far as I could tell with engine/transmission/etc problems, but took it in first chance I had. Turns out there was some dirt/debris in the capless fuel filler area which caused it to not seal. From what I gather, the fix from the dealer was simply taking the funnel in and out of it til it broke loose. Tooke almost 2 hours to do that apparently. Oh well, it fixed the light and have had no other issues since. Guess I can't complain about that. Has anyone else experienced this issue?

 

[Cobra348]

Have not experienced that at all, but it must have been one heck of a pile of crud to take 2 hours. And according to owners manual, the process they used is the correct one.

 

[Norm201]

Good to know.

 

[Reddog99]

So all that crud has now dropped into the tank???

 

[archenok]

I thought there might be a TSB on that - I had to take mine in for the same issue.

 

[Iceracer]

Shortly after I got my SE the light came on. I have a scanner so I had some idea here the problem was. so I took it to the dealer. It was the filler leaking.
They ordered a new one but it would not be available for a month and that the light would stay on.
I went home, took the funnel from the trunk, inserted it in the filler, sprayed some Brake Clean around it. Turned off the light with my scanner.
Stayed off for a long time.
Dealer called and said the part was in. I told them I no longer had a need for it.
Later on, a couple of times the light came on, same code, Just cleared it and went on. I have not had a light in a long time.
One habit I have made. I give the fuel nozzle a cursory wipe with my hand before inserting it.
The code readers/scanners are a very handy thing to have and are not overly expensive and are easy to use. Often saves a trip to the dealer.

 

[MGREEN11]

I haven't been on the forum in a while, so I apologize if this has been covered already. Anyway...a few weeks ago, my check engine light came on. No issues far as I could tell with engine/transmission/etc problems, but took it in first chance I had. Turns out there was some dirt/debris in the capless fuel filler area which caused it to not seal. From what I gather, the fix from the dealer was simply taking the funnel in and out of it til it broke loose. Tooke almost 2 hours to do that apparently. Oh well, it fixed the light and have had no other issues since. Guess I can't complain about that. Has anyone else experienced this issue?

'taking the funnel in and out of it til it broke loose'? what broke loose, the dirt? where did it break into? the gas tank?

 

[Sterno]

The code readers/scanners are a very handy thing to have and are not overly expensive and are easy to use. Often saves a trip to the dealer.

From where does one acquire this device? And what does "not overly expensive" mean? Thank you.

 

[Mustang Man]

'taking the funnel in and out of it til it broke loose'? what broke loose, the dirt? where did it break into? the gas tank?

Yes that is where the small chunk of debris will go, that is also why cars have fuel filters.

 

[Iceracer]

From where does one acquire this device? And what does "not overly expensive" mean? Thank you.

Most any autoparts store or on line. They can be had for around $50 .
Maybe even less, I haven't checked lately.

 

[StriderWA]

I had a CEL for the fuel filter issue early on, I think I had topped it off a bit too much. All I did was push the flap in and let it close and within a few start/stops of the engines to let some diagnostic cycles go through, the light went off on it's own. Ever since then, I try to resist the urge to top off too much (I used to really like rounding my fuel purchases up), now I trust the pump flow sensors a lot more.

 

[eRic]

you can get an Actron CP9125 pocket scan code reader for $59 or better yet get an UltraGuage for $69 that has more features in addition to reading trouble codes.

 

[tjl]

From where does one acquire this device? And what does "not overly expensive" mean? Thank you.

Those Scan Gauges and Ultra Gauges that people use to monitor fuel economy, get extra gauges, etc. also do OBD-II scanning.

 

[landt41]

That #*^& no-cap filler!

I own a U.S.A. spec Fiesta in Italy, and evidently the filler mouth is just a hair too small for the European nozzle because when attempting to fuel the car, the pump stops multiple times in the process. It seems that there is not enough air flow so the pump senses a "full tank" and thus shuts down. It's very annoying for the person pumping the fuel. Anyone have that problem? Is that also a problem in the States?

AND NOW: I too have the check engine light which the machanic was good enough to reset. He (the Italian mechanic) has seen "several" U.S.A. spec Fiestas with this problem which he attibutes to the capless tank filler tube. Either there is something holding the cap slightly open or the "capless' is defective. Give me the old fashioned cap anyday! Comments anyone?

 

[bimmerless]

Just like with the TPMS ( though gov't mandated in that case). They fixed a problem that didn't exist for most of us.
Results, cost all of us more money to buy our cars. Adds complexity and somthing else to break.
Ford used the capless fuel filler as a selling point for their cars. I bought the car in spite of it. To me, it just looks like a rather delicate mechanism that will be vulnerable to damage from dirt, ham handedness or just wear with age. Looks like a good opportunity for the aftermarket to reinvent the conventional filler neck with cap.

 

[landt41]

To heck with an after-market fix

If this is (and it seems to be) a Ford engineering problem, THEY should fix it. I'm writing to Ford about it--how will they know if the customer doesn't tell them? I'm not waiting for the maintenance departments to tally up the fuel filler problems a year or two years from now.

 

[GTBeMe]

...evidently the filler mouth is just a hair too small for the European nozzle because when attempting to fuel the car, the pump stops multiple times in the process. It seems that there is not enough air flow so the pump senses a "full tank" and thus shuts down.

By design the capless system dos not vent air through the filler neck, so the diameter of the nozzle is irrelevant. It vents through the OBVR (On Board Vapor Recovery) system. You really should consider having a dealer inspect/diagnose the OBVR system since it appears there is likely to be some type of restriction.

Also, another possibility is systems used in U.S. are designed around the EPA specified maximum pump/nozzle flow rate of 10 gallons per minute. I have no idea what the flow rate is in Europe, but if they flow more than 10 GPM the ventilation system will be unlikely to accomodate it. The answer to this would be to hold the trigger on the nozzle only only part way open.

 

[will13476]

I haven't been on the forum in a while, so I apologize if this has been covered already. Anyway...a few weeks ago, my check engine light came on. No issues far as I could tell with engine/transmission/etc problems, but took it in first chance I had. Turns out there was some dirt/debris in the capless fuel filler area which caused it to not seal. From what I gather, the fix from the dealer was simply taking the funnel in and out of it til it broke loose. Tooke almost 2 hours to do that apparently. Oh well, it fixed the light and have had no other issues since. Guess I can't complain about that. Has anyone else experienced this issue?

Yup, had that happen. Dealer took it apart, cleaned it, and so far no repeat.

 

[deadlast]

Shortly after I got my SE the light came on. I have a scanner so I had some idea here the problem was. so I took it to the dealer. It was the filler leaking.
They ordered a new one but it would not be available for a month and that the light would stay on.
I went home, took the funnel from the trunk, inserted it in the filler, sprayed some Brake Clean around it. Turned off the light with my scanner.
Stayed off for a long time.
Dealer called and said the part was in. I told them I no longer had a need for it.
Later on, a couple of times the light came on, same code, Just cleared it and went on. I have not had a light in a long time.
One habit I have made. I give the fuel nozzle a cursory wipe with my hand before inserting it.
The code readers/scanners are a very handy thing to have and are not overly expensive and are easy to use. Often saves a trip to the dealer.

Um, i'm not sure if this makes sense to you or not, but if the CEL keeps coming on perriodically for the filler neck HOLE... wouldn't that mean there is still a problem with it that the dealer needs to fix? I've never heard brake cleaner plugging a hole before, but if this problem grows and damages something else, they can deny the warranty repair because YOU neglected to repair it.

I don't know about you, but sense is not being made with your story.

 

[landt41]

Capless fuel system problem

By design the capless system dos not vent air through the filler neck, so the diameter of the nozzle is irrelevant. It vents through the OBVR (On Board Vapor Recovery) system. You really should consider having a dealer inspect/diagnose the OBVR system since it appears there is likely to be some type of restriction.

Also, another possibility is systems used in U.S. are designed around the EPA specified maximum pump/nozzle flow rate of 10 gallons per minute. I have no idea what the flow rate is in Europe, but if they flow more than 10 GPM the ventilation system will be unlikely to accomodate it. The answer to this would be to hold the trigger on the nozzle only only part way open.

From LANDT41: Thanks for the tech info. This helps me in the troubleshooting process AND may completely solve my problem: the OBVR is not breathing correctly.