NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Preliminary Evaluation PE98-052: FUEL SPIT BACK DURING REFUELING
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Preliminary Evaluation PE98-052 on September 25, 1998 and closed it on April 9, 1999. NHTSA's investigations file lists the 1998 Lincoln Town Car for it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- PE98-052 (also written PE98052)
- Investigation type
- Preliminary Evaluation The first stage of most defect investigations: NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation gathers basic information about a possible safety defect, including from the manufacturer.
- Status
- Closed April 9, 1999
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- Ford Motor Company
- Component
- Vehicle Speed Control — Linkages
- Vehicles and equipment
- 1998 Lincoln Town Car
A recall appears here only when NHTSA's investigations file links one to the investigation; NHTSA's summary or record can name others.
NHTSA's summary
As NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation wrote it for Preliminary Evaluation PE98-052.
THE SUBJECT VEHICLE IS FITTED WITH AN ONBOARD REFUELIG VAPOR RECOVERY (ORVR) SYSTEM, AS REQUIRED BY THE EPA.THE EPA SAFETY REQUIREMENTS, PREPARED IN COOPERATION WITH ,AND APPROVED BY NHTSA, REQUIRE VEHICLES TO BE REFUELED AT A RATE OF 10 GALLONS PER MINUTE (THE MAXIMUM RATE ALLOWED TO BE USED IN REFUELING STATIONS, BY EPA REGULATION) WITHOUT FUEL BEING FORCED OUT THE FUEL FILLER PIPE.THIS REQUIREMENT WAS BASED ON A HISTORY OF FIRES IN FILLING STATIONS AND INCIDENTS OF FUEL SPITTING BACK ARE CONSIDERED TO BE A FIRE SAFETY RISK.OF THE 114 COMPLAINTS AND WARRANTY CLAIMS ALLEGING PROBLEMS WHILE ATTEMPTING TO REFUEL THE VEHICLE, 27 SPECIFICALLY STATED THAT FUEL SPIT-BACK OUT OF THE FUEL FILLER PIPE.FORD REPORTSCOMPLAINTS ARE STILL BEING RECEIVED.
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Preliminary Evaluation PE98-052. A listed model year means only that an investigation names it; it says nothing about any particular vehicle. Model years with a try.vin recall page link to that page's NHTSA investigations section.
Lincoln
Lincoln Town Car
What an NHTSA investigation is
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) looks into possible safety defects in vehicles and equipment, often after owner complaints. An investigation usually starts as a Preliminary Evaluation, or as a Recall Query when it concerns whether an existing recall covers the right vehicles or fixes the problem, and ODI can upgrade it to a more detailed Engineering Analysis. A Defect Petition asks NHTSA to open an investigation, and Audit and Equipment Queries are administrative investigations into whether companies complied with federal vehicle safety requirements, such as reporting, recall and certification rules.
An open investigation is not a finding that a safety defect exists, and NHTSA can close one without a recall.
To see whether a specific vehicle has an open recall, enter its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Lincoln VIN check: decode a VIN to see its year, make and model.
Sources
NHTSA's investigation record for PE98-052
Investigation details come from NHTSA's investigations file, which try.vin imports once a day. The investigation types are described from the U.S. Department of Transportation Inspector General's May 2023 report on NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation, NHTSA's petition rules (49 CFR Parts 552 and 557) and NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation procedures. How try.vin reads NHTSA investigations.