general problems of the 2012 Ford Transit Connect

1. The heat shielding around the exhaust system failed to protect the fuel tank from exhaust heat. Heat from the exhaust system melted holes in the fuel tank, causing fuel to leak from the tank. The parts are at the Ford dealer with the vehicle. 2. The fuel tank developed leaks when it melted, causing a risk of fire or explosion. 3. The dealer confirmed that the fuel tank melted and leaked due to heat from the exhaust system. In diagnosing the issue, they refilled the fuel tank and it continued to leak. 4. To my knowledge, the vehicle or components have not been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives, or others. My insurance chose not to be involved since it does not fall under "comprehensive" coverage, as there was no theft, vandalism, storm, or animal damage. 5. The vehicle waring lamps did not indicate the melting of the fuel tank or the leak. I was not aware that there was damage to the fuel tank or a fuel leak at the time. The vehicle simply ceased to run and would not start. I was towed to a Ford dealership. A week later the dealership called to inform me that they had added fuel to the tank to diagnose the starting issue, but were still unable to start, and wanted to replace the fuel pump. I explained that the tank had been filled only about 80 miles before, so there was some issue. Another week later, the dealer informed me that when replacing the fuel pump they had found that the tank had been melted. This was when I was first aware of the issue with the fuel tank.

2012 Ford Transit Connect. Consumer writes in regards to misleading gas mileage, radio problems, vehicle locking itself with key in the ignition while engine running and several other issues. The consumer also stated the wipers were not clearly the snow and rain from the windshield. The wipers were coming off the windshields surface. The windshield wiper fluid was freezing and the amount of heat coming from the defroster wasn't enough to handle the freezing windshield, which caused the obstruction and loss of vision.

On start up after it has been warm and then gotten cold vehcile check engine light comes on and ecu stores codes p2101,p2111 and p2135. Throttle body becomes disabled and vehcile will run poorly and not accelerate. Replaced with new Ford throttle body assembly part# 8s4z9e926b @ this time in December. Fixed problem and vehicle was running fine. Fix lasted until 2/17/14 and about 6000 miles and now have the same exact problem again with same codes. I see several complaints about escapes having this same problem. Is the throttle body a shared part? this problem could be very dangerous if it was to happen while out driving. Fortanatley for us it happened both times on cold start up.