Other Fuel System Tank Assembly problems of the 1998 Ford Expedition

Fuel gauge reads 1/8 of a tank or less and vehicle runs out of gas.

When driving vehicle if the gas gauge is below 1/4, the vehicle stops. Before the last repair, this happend if the gauge was below 1/2 tank. Consumer took vehicle to Ford dealership for repairs 4 to 5 times since November 14, 1997. Three days after consumer bought vehicle . The dealership has replaced gas gauges, and the last time they replaced the fuel sending unit.

The fuel tank is placed in such a manner that when the vehicle is driven up hill (or is parked facing up hill) the fuel gauge will register up to a quarter tank more than on a flat surface, and when travelling down hill (or when parked facing down hill) the gas gauge will register up to a quarter tank less than on a flat surface. The result is that when travelling or being parked on a down hill surface the vehicle will either not start or run out of gas, despite the fact that the vehicle has a quarter tank of gasoline. I contacted a Ford dealer in glendale when I first experienced the problem, but they only responded that this is the vehicle's design. The dealer also provided me with a technical service bulletin acknowledging Ford's knowledge of the gas tank fluctuation problem. The reason I am now, and once again, making this an issue is that I recently, due to the gas tank fluctuation, ran out of gas while driving down hill, despite a quarter tank reading on the gas gauge while travelling on a level surface. I strongly urge NHTSA to perform a safety analysis on this gas tank defect. A vehicle which becomes inoperative while driving down hill is truly an unsafe vehicle.