Four problems related to tank mounting have been reported for the 2005 Ford Explorer. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2005 Ford Explorer based on all problems reported for the 2005 Explorer.
2005 Ford Explorer and every time we fill the tank with gas the gauge stops working until it reaches half a tank then shortly after that it drops to almost empty. So we never know what the amount of gas we have it. Been happening for about 2 years and can not afford to have it replaced. But the problem is getting worse.
I have a 2005 Ford Explorer limited. 50500 miles. The fuel gauge reads empty regardless of the amount of gas in the tank. The 'service engine soon' dash light is also on. The dealer quoted me ~$800 to fix the problem (thinks it's likely the 'fuel level sending unit'). $200 for the part and 4hrs labor. I have not done the repair, I researched the issue on line and found that many people have had the same problem. This seems to me to be a known problem and should be a recall issue.
2005 Ford Explorer, gas gauge quit working. Sits below empty, service engine light stays on. For a few days it would go up and down then just went down and has never moved again. This has been for at least 3 months now. Have to use tripometer to know when to fill up. Had it looked at by a mechanic hoping it was a loose connection. He said it was in the fuel tank and to check if others were having the same problem. Amazingly there are alot!.
Last year the fuel gauge began having intermittent failures, and would not read out the correct amount of fuel in the tank. Notified the dealer, who supposedly reprogrammed the pcm in the vehicle. After the vehicle was out of warranty coverage, the fuel gauge began malfunctioning again. I have spoken with other Explorer owners who have had the same problem, even after the dealer has replaced hundreds of dollars worth of components. I feel this is a serious safety related design flaw, as operating a vehicle without knowing the correct fuel level can be very dangerous. The only way we maintain a safe fuel level in our vehicle is by keeping the tank topped off frequently, and keeping track of the miles on the odometer. A newer vehicle, with modern electronics, should not have this many problems.