Ford Focus 1.6 petrol - Just bought and have problems

dutopia

I recently bought a 2006 Focus 1.6 Auto petrol and have some issues, I wonder if boards members can shed any light:

I can't fill with petrol under a lot of pressure from the pump, the pump cuts off. I can only put fuel in under low pressure which takes ages to fill the tank.

Earlier today after leaving a petrol station, the engine suddenly cut out and the steering became heavy. I had just taken off so I didn't have enough momentum to move anywhere and was stuck at a roundabout! I had to switch off the engine, put back in P and restart the engine, which worked the first time.

I've just bought the car and if these are serious issues I may have to call the garage and get them to inspect it. Any advice on these problems would be appreciated...

CiniO

dutopia wrote: »

I recently bought a 2006 Focus 1.6 Auto petrol and have some issues, I wonder if boards members can shed any light:

I can't fill with petrol under a lot of pressure from the pump, the pump cuts off. I can only put fuel in under low pressure which takes ages to fill the tank.

Did you try to put the fuel gun into your car at different angle. It sometimes helps.

Earlier today after leaving a petrol station, the engine suddenly cut out and the steering became heavy. I had just taken off so I didn't have enough momentum to move anywhere and was stuck at a roundabout! I had to switch off the engine, put back in P and restart the engine, which worked the first time.

I've just bought the car and if these are serious issues I may have to call the garage and get them to inspect it. Any advice on these problems would be appreciated...

It's impossible to say why engine cut out, but steering becoming heavy after engine cuts out is 100% normal.

dutopia

CiniO wrote: »

Did you try to put the fuel gun into your car at different angle. It sometimes helps.

It's impossible to say why engine cut out, but steering becoming heavy after engine cuts out is 100% normal.

No, I didn't - I'll try it next time. I read this problem can arise from a blocked ventilation pipe which allows gas to escape from the tank while refilling. I'll try changing the angle a bit but don't want to have it so the pump can't detect the gas level and the tank overflows or sprays back.

Even if it cuts out once it's serious enough to have checked over I presume?

bazz26

The first problem sounds like an air lock in the fuel tank when you are filling it up. Try putting the fuel gun in upside or pull it back from the edge of the fuel tank a little so that the air in the tank can escape when filling with fuel.

Second problem could be anything so I would bring it back to the garage you bought it from and have them scan it with a diagnostic computer for any fault errors on the car's computer. That's what your warranty is for.

CiniO

dutopia wrote: »

Even if it cuts out once it's serious enough to have checked over I presume?

It's really hard to think about a reason for cutting out.
If I were you, I would wait for another time to make sure this actually happens.

dutopia

bazz26 wrote: »

The first problem sounds like an air lock in the fuel tank when you are filling it up. Try putting the fuel gun in upside or pull it back from the edge of the fuel tank a little so that the air in the tank can escape when filling with fuel.

Second problem could be anything so I would bring it back to the garage you bought it from and have them scan it with a diagnostic computer for any fault errors on the car's computer. That's what your warranty is for.

I'll try that next time, but surely the fuel filling system on the Focus isn't designed like that? I'd love to hear from other Focus owners on how they fill up.

Thanks for the response.

kirving

No, it's designed to be used normally but give that a try anyway to see if it helps. Cutting out when you accelerate at a roundabout is dangerous, that's certainly a valid reason fro complaint.

I wonder if this could be caused by fuel pressure problem, and be related to the tank filling issue? A car I'm working on in college (link in my sig), was cutting out during testing, caused by a damaged fuel tank breather valve.

Jimdagym

The wife's focus is like that too when filling up. Apple green pumps seem to be the worst. Feel like a tardo trying to fill it up.

biko

If I'm not mistaken you're just pushing the nozzle in too far, this will cause the pump to stop (it thinks the tank is full because of air pressure). I've done this myself on plenty of various brands of cars. Nothing to worry about. As bazz26 said, try moving the pump gun around a bit.

The steering will become heavy when engine turns off as power steering stops working with engine off.
About the cutting out, wait until it has happened again or try to recreate again in a safe place.

Automatic cars doesn't stall as easily as manuals so it could be nothing or something.

CiniO

What I thought as well, was that engine cutting out could be caused by excessive amount of fuel in the tank, as OP mentioned it happened just after leaving petrol station.

Once tank is completely full, there might be additional pressure needed to bring back excessive fuel from injector fuel rail back to the tank.
If this pressure was not available this would cause engine to stall.

I'm not sure if this is correct and I'm not even sure if this is possible to happen, but I recall reading about it somewhere.

And thinking that OP filled his tank slowly at low pressure, he was likely to fill it up to the brim leaving fuel pipe going to the tank full of fuel.

dutopia

CiniO wrote: »

What I thought as well, was that engine cutting out could be caused by excessive amount of fuel in the tank, as OP mentioned it happened just after leaving petrol station.

Once tank is completely full, there might be additional pressure needed to bring back excessive fuel from injector fuel rail back to the tank.
If this pressure was not available this would cause engine to stall.

I'm not sure if this is correct and I'm not even sure if this is possible to happen, but I recall reading about it somewhere.

And thinking that OP filled his tank slowly at low pressure, he was likely to fill it up to the brim leaving fuel pipe going to the tank full of fuel.

Possibly, I'm pretty sure the tank was full to the point of fuel starting to come up the delivery tube(?). I think I'll drive more and see if it happens again when the fuel is lower to try and rule out your theory.

johnayo

Is the car running ok since. Any fear you put diesel into the tank?

dutopia

johnayo wrote: »

Is the car running ok since. Any fear you put diesel into the tank?

Definitely filled up with petrol. After the car restarted I drove about 6km home without any other problems. Haven't driven today yet...

Just worried that it would happen on the M50 or something. Can you imagine stalling in the middle lane of the M50 without being able to coast in to the shoulder... it could cause a serious accident. I hate driving knowing your car could cut out unexpectedly and without warning...

corktina

keep us posted...interesting problem.

Zcott

When the engine died did all the lights on the dash go out too? That would point to a battery issue.

dutopia

Zcott wrote: »

When the engine died did all the lights on the dash go out too? That would point to a battery issue.

No, all lights stayed on so I wouldn't say it's a battery issue.

dutopia

corktina wrote: »

keep us posted...interesting problem.

Will do.

scamalert

the cutting out of petrol while filling up is very common,experienced it on many cars,what works best as others said dont push the nozzle in to deep just enough to get into tank,and turn it around,also if theres a choice always go for a smaller nozzle,as in some stations they have bigger ones and smaller.
As for cutting out completely could be many problems,if it happens again def brink it back or straight to garage.

delly

I have the same issue on my focus van, it seems to be common with the model.

In terms of cutting out, try to replicate by starting off quick or put the foot down when driving as this would be when the engine would be under most pressure. More than likely you drove home taking it very handy, so could be a reason it did not reoccur.

Ghost Train

Find some pumps a bit more sensitive to the filling problem, just have to release the handle on the pump a bit and fill a bit slower

fasttalkerchat

Fuel problem happens with this car. As was said you're putting the nozzle in too deep, causing it to gag

I had a car before that stalled itself when accelerating out of the driveway etc. It fixed itself after a few days. I put it down to sitting up too long.

dutopia

Drove car for about 30 mins today without any issues. I'll post back if anything else happens.

dutopia

Drove 160km today and no issues. I have a feeling now the cutting out was related to me filling up... maybe dislodged some dirt in the tank or something during the refill? Anyway glad it seems like it's not that serious.

CiniO

dutopia wrote: »

Drove 160km today and no issues. I have a feeling now the cutting out was related to me filling up... maybe dislodged some dirt in the tank or something during the refill? Anyway glad it seems like it's not that serious.

Quite likely it was related to the fact, that you filled the tank up to the brim