Truck stuttered/acted like it was going to stall, fuel gauge to 0, dealer clueless
04-30-2014, 05:57 PM
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Truck stuttered/acted like it was going to stall, fuel gauge to 0, dealer clueless
[CLIFFS]
Truck stuttered at a red light, fuel gauge goes to 0 from 1/2 tank in 5 miles. I fill the fuel tank up and it no longer starts. 30ish minutes of waiting and it starts fine. Towed to dealership who initially finds "no problems" and then tells me the "O2 sensors lost their programming and needed to be reprogrammed." Gas gauge still off pretty significantly, though it has run fine for about 400 miles.
[/CLIFFS]
I have a 2009 F150 FX4, 5.4L, 36 gallon fuel tank. The truck has performed flawlessly in the 32,000 miles I've had it, until about 2 weeks ago. Sitting at a red light, all of a sudden the truck started to stutter/act like it was going to stall. No check engine lights or warnings at all. I was able to take off from the red light with no issues but I noticed that the fuel gauge was dropping extremely rapidly from a 1/2 tank. It dropped from 1/2 to "low fuel" and "35 miles to empty" warnings in about 5 miles, but the truck was running fine. Thinking I am running out of fuel and snagged a fuel line or tank or something, I pull over and get out. I see no drips, leaks, etc. Just to prove myself right that the gauge was off, I drove to a gas station across the parking lot I stopped at. Unsurprisingly, the pump shut off at about 15 gallons so this meant I still had at least half a tank.
I get back in the truck and attempt to start it and it just does nothing but turn over. It is acting like it is out of fuel. The fuel gauge only shows 3/4 of a tank, despite the fact that I know it is completely full. Still no check engine lights or warnings. I turn the key off, wait a minute or two and then try again with the same result. I call the dealership and roadside assistance and schedule a tow. This process took about 10 minutes (after I explained to the dealership that there is such thing as a "powertrain warranty" which he apparently had no clue about) and I decided to try to start it again since I am blocking three fuel pumps. It does the same thing; just turns over and won't start.
A half an hour later, I am still waiting for the tow truck so I decide to try to start the truck again, and this time it starts up fine. I move the truck so I am not blocking so many pumps and shut it back off. Bewildered, I decided to try to start it again and move the truck so the tow truck driver can find me more easily, and again it starts and drives fine. Thinking I am going to break down on the side of the road I wait for the tow truck anyway since I already called and Ford was paying.
The dealership finds nothing wrong with the truck after their "multipoint vehicle inspection" and asks if they can keep it for a few days since I was going out of town. When I get back in town they tell me that "It was running rough a couple of times and the O2 sensors lost their programming and needed to be programmed. After this there were no issues with the truck." They never addressed the fuel gauge and I was thinking it was just some sort of anomaly so I pick the truck up after hours. I had never heard of "O2 sensors losing their programming" but I figured they would surely find something to charge me and that was what they decided on, as ridiculous as it sounded.
The truck has run absolutely fine since then and I have driven about 400 miles, however my fuel gauge is still completely wrong. Twice now, it has gone to almost E and I knew from mileage that I was no where near empty and had about a half a tank. I knew I was right because I was able to get in only 16 gallons the first time, and then 17 gallons this morning. Both times, the fuel gauge only goes up to about 3/4 of a tank, despite the fact that it is completely full. These are different gas stations and pumps, so I know that isn't the problem. Aside from this, I have never had a single issue with the fuel gauges or filling up and I burn a full tank every week.
This morning I decided to try to disconnect the battery to see if this helped. I disconnected it for about 30 seconds and this yielded basically no results--the fuel gauge is still wrong and by the same amount. The Distance to Empty estimate coincides with the gas needle, so I don't think it is just the needle. For what it's worth, I did smack the dash a few times just for good measure but that obviously didn't do anything either.
I'm at a loss here, no idea what to do. Any help is appreciated.
Truck stuttered at a red light, fuel gauge goes to 0 from 1/2 tank in 5 miles. I fill the fuel tank up and it no longer starts. 30ish minutes of waiting and it starts fine. Towed to dealership who initially finds "no problems" and then tells me the "O2 sensors lost their programming and needed to be reprogrammed." Gas gauge still off pretty significantly, though it has run fine for about 400 miles.
[/CLIFFS]
I have a 2009 F150 FX4, 5.4L, 36 gallon fuel tank. The truck has performed flawlessly in the 32,000 miles I've had it, until about 2 weeks ago. Sitting at a red light, all of a sudden the truck started to stutter/act like it was going to stall. No check engine lights or warnings at all. I was able to take off from the red light with no issues but I noticed that the fuel gauge was dropping extremely rapidly from a 1/2 tank. It dropped from 1/2 to "low fuel" and "35 miles to empty" warnings in about 5 miles, but the truck was running fine. Thinking I am running out of fuel and snagged a fuel line or tank or something, I pull over and get out. I see no drips, leaks, etc. Just to prove myself right that the gauge was off, I drove to a gas station across the parking lot I stopped at. Unsurprisingly, the pump shut off at about 15 gallons so this meant I still had at least half a tank.
I get back in the truck and attempt to start it and it just does nothing but turn over. It is acting like it is out of fuel. The fuel gauge only shows 3/4 of a tank, despite the fact that I know it is completely full. Still no check engine lights or warnings. I turn the key off, wait a minute or two and then try again with the same result. I call the dealership and roadside assistance and schedule a tow. This process took about 10 minutes (after I explained to the dealership that there is such thing as a "powertrain warranty" which he apparently had no clue about) and I decided to try to start it again since I am blocking three fuel pumps. It does the same thing; just turns over and won't start.
A half an hour later, I am still waiting for the tow truck so I decide to try to start the truck again, and this time it starts up fine. I move the truck so I am not blocking so many pumps and shut it back off. Bewildered, I decided to try to start it again and move the truck so the tow truck driver can find me more easily, and again it starts and drives fine. Thinking I am going to break down on the side of the road I wait for the tow truck anyway since I already called and Ford was paying.
The dealership finds nothing wrong with the truck after their "multipoint vehicle inspection" and asks if they can keep it for a few days since I was going out of town. When I get back in town they tell me that "It was running rough a couple of times and the O2 sensors lost their programming and needed to be programmed. After this there were no issues with the truck." They never addressed the fuel gauge and I was thinking it was just some sort of anomaly so I pick the truck up after hours. I had never heard of "O2 sensors losing their programming" but I figured they would surely find something to charge me and that was what they decided on, as ridiculous as it sounded.
The truck has run absolutely fine since then and I have driven about 400 miles, however my fuel gauge is still completely wrong. Twice now, it has gone to almost E and I knew from mileage that I was no where near empty and had about a half a tank. I knew I was right because I was able to get in only 16 gallons the first time, and then 17 gallons this morning. Both times, the fuel gauge only goes up to about 3/4 of a tank, despite the fact that it is completely full. These are different gas stations and pumps, so I know that isn't the problem. Aside from this, I have never had a single issue with the fuel gauges or filling up and I burn a full tank every week.
This morning I decided to try to disconnect the battery to see if this helped. I disconnected it for about 30 seconds and this yielded basically no results--the fuel gauge is still wrong and by the same amount. The Distance to Empty estimate coincides with the gas needle, so I don't think it is just the needle. For what it's worth, I did smack the dash a few times just for good measure but that obviously didn't do anything either.
I'm at a loss here, no idea what to do. Any help is appreciated.
04-30-2014, 06:17 PM
#2
My brother had a similar problem on his 2004 fx4 spit and sputter run rough stall out try to start it up and it just cranked didn't fire up. They replaced the fuel sending unit or fuel pressure regulator I can't remember which one
The following users liked this post:
Asaberan (04-30-2014)
04-30-2014, 06:52 PM
#3
Senior Member
i had the same problem on one of my F150s that i owned for 2 years, bought new. i found the problem myself, where the fuel pump and guage plugged in on top of the gas tank was not pushed in enough to snap. i guess it had not had a good connection since new. for me a simple fix, something to check, a loose and dirty connection could cause intermittent problem.
The following users liked this post:
Asaberan (04-30-2014)
04-30-2014, 07:30 PM
#4
Senior Member
[CLIFFS]
Truck stuttered at a red light, fuel gauge goes to 0 from 1/2 tank in 5 miles. I fill the fuel tank up and it no longer starts. 30ish minutes of waiting and it starts fine. Towed to dealership who initially finds "no problems" and then tells me the "O2 sensors lost their programming and needed to be reprogrammed." Gas gauge still off pretty significantly, though it has run fine for about 400 miles.
[/CLIFFS]
I have a 2009 F150 FX4, 5.4L, 36 gallon fuel tank. The truck has performed flawlessly in the 32,000 miles I've had it, until about 2 weeks ago. Sitting at a red light, all of a sudden the truck started to stutter/act like it was going to stall. No check engine lights or warnings at all. I was able to take off from the red light with no issues but I noticed that the fuel gauge was dropping extremely rapidly from a 1/2 tank. It dropped from 1/2 to "low fuel" and "35 miles to empty" warnings in about 5 miles, but the truck was running fine. Thinking I am running out of fuel and snagged a fuel line or tank or something, I pull over and get out. I see no drips, leaks, etc. Just to prove myself right that the gauge was off, I drove to a gas station across the parking lot I stopped at. Unsurprisingly, the pump shut off at about 15 gallons so this meant I still had at least half a tank.
I get back in the truck and attempt to start it and it just does nothing but turn over. It is acting like it is out of fuel. The fuel gauge only shows 3/4 of a tank, despite the fact that I know it is completely full. Still no check engine lights or warnings. I turn the key off, wait a minute or two and then try again with the same result. I call the dealership and roadside assistance and schedule a tow. This process took about 10 minutes (after I explained to the dealership that there is such thing as a "powertrain warranty" which he apparently had no clue about) and I decided to try to start it again since I am blocking three fuel pumps. It does the same thing; just turns over and won't start.
A half an hour later, I am still waiting for the tow truck so I decide to try to start the truck again, and this time it starts up fine. I move the truck so I am not blocking so many pumps and shut it back off. Bewildered, I decided to try to start it again and move the truck so the tow truck driver can find me more easily, and again it starts and drives fine. Thinking I am going to break down on the side of the road I wait for the tow truck anyway since I already called and Ford was paying.
The dealership finds nothing wrong with the truck after their "multipoint vehicle inspection" and asks if they can keep it for a few days since I was going out of town. When I get back in town they tell me that "It was running rough a couple of times and the O2 sensors lost their programming and needed to be programmed. After this there were no issues with the truck." They never addressed the fuel gauge and I was thinking it was just some sort of anomaly so I pick the truck up after hours. I had never heard of "O2 sensors losing their programming" but I figured they would surely find something to charge me and that was what they decided on, as ridiculous as it sounded.
The truck has run absolutely fine since then and I have driven about 400 miles, however my fuel gauge is still completely wrong. Twice now, it has gone to almost E and I knew from mileage that I was no where near empty and had about a half a tank. I knew I was right because I was able to get in only 16 gallons the first time, and then 17 gallons this morning. Both times, the fuel gauge only goes up to about 3/4 of a tank, despite the fact that it is completely full. These are different gas stations and pumps, so I know that isn't the problem. Aside from this, I have never had a single issue with the fuel gauges or filling up and I burn a full tank every week.
This morning I decided to try to disconnect the battery to see if this helped. I disconnected it for about 30 seconds and this yielded basically no results--the fuel gauge is still wrong and by the same amount. The Distance to Empty estimate coincides with the gas needle, so I don't think it is just the needle. For what it's worth, I did smack the dash a few times just for good measure but that obviously didn't do anything either.
I'm at a loss here, no idea what to do. Any help is appreciated.
Truck stuttered at a red light, fuel gauge goes to 0 from 1/2 tank in 5 miles. I fill the fuel tank up and it no longer starts. 30ish minutes of waiting and it starts fine. Towed to dealership who initially finds "no problems" and then tells me the "O2 sensors lost their programming and needed to be reprogrammed." Gas gauge still off pretty significantly, though it has run fine for about 400 miles.
[/CLIFFS]
I have a 2009 F150 FX4, 5.4L, 36 gallon fuel tank. The truck has performed flawlessly in the 32,000 miles I've had it, until about 2 weeks ago. Sitting at a red light, all of a sudden the truck started to stutter/act like it was going to stall. No check engine lights or warnings at all. I was able to take off from the red light with no issues but I noticed that the fuel gauge was dropping extremely rapidly from a 1/2 tank. It dropped from 1/2 to "low fuel" and "35 miles to empty" warnings in about 5 miles, but the truck was running fine. Thinking I am running out of fuel and snagged a fuel line or tank or something, I pull over and get out. I see no drips, leaks, etc. Just to prove myself right that the gauge was off, I drove to a gas station across the parking lot I stopped at. Unsurprisingly, the pump shut off at about 15 gallons so this meant I still had at least half a tank.
I get back in the truck and attempt to start it and it just does nothing but turn over. It is acting like it is out of fuel. The fuel gauge only shows 3/4 of a tank, despite the fact that I know it is completely full. Still no check engine lights or warnings. I turn the key off, wait a minute or two and then try again with the same result. I call the dealership and roadside assistance and schedule a tow. This process took about 10 minutes (after I explained to the dealership that there is such thing as a "powertrain warranty" which he apparently had no clue about) and I decided to try to start it again since I am blocking three fuel pumps. It does the same thing; just turns over and won't start.
A half an hour later, I am still waiting for the tow truck so I decide to try to start the truck again, and this time it starts up fine. I move the truck so I am not blocking so many pumps and shut it back off. Bewildered, I decided to try to start it again and move the truck so the tow truck driver can find me more easily, and again it starts and drives fine. Thinking I am going to break down on the side of the road I wait for the tow truck anyway since I already called and Ford was paying.
The dealership finds nothing wrong with the truck after their "multipoint vehicle inspection" and asks if they can keep it for a few days since I was going out of town. When I get back in town they tell me that "It was running rough a couple of times and the O2 sensors lost their programming and needed to be programmed. After this there were no issues with the truck." They never addressed the fuel gauge and I was thinking it was just some sort of anomaly so I pick the truck up after hours. I had never heard of "O2 sensors losing their programming" but I figured they would surely find something to charge me and that was what they decided on, as ridiculous as it sounded.
The truck has run absolutely fine since then and I have driven about 400 miles, however my fuel gauge is still completely wrong. Twice now, it has gone to almost E and I knew from mileage that I was no where near empty and had about a half a tank. I knew I was right because I was able to get in only 16 gallons the first time, and then 17 gallons this morning. Both times, the fuel gauge only goes up to about 3/4 of a tank, despite the fact that it is completely full. These are different gas stations and pumps, so I know that isn't the problem. Aside from this, I have never had a single issue with the fuel gauges or filling up and I burn a full tank every week.
This morning I decided to try to disconnect the battery to see if this helped. I disconnected it for about 30 seconds and this yielded basically no results--the fuel gauge is still wrong and by the same amount. The Distance to Empty estimate coincides with the gas needle, so I don't think it is just the needle. For what it's worth, I did smack the dash a few times just for good measure but that obviously didn't do anything either.
I'm at a loss here, no idea what to do. Any help is appreciated.
The following users liked this post:
Asaberan (04-30-2014)
04-30-2014, 07:51 PM
#5
Senior Member
The fuel pressure regulator/monitor is known to rot out and allow water in it. When that happens all sorts of not so good things start happening… like not starting! It's located under the spare tire. Check it because you can actually see where it rots out. If that's the issue they can be purchased from Amazon for around 80 bucks. No idea what Ford charges but it's not 80 bucks. If it's bad it's about a 20 min pull and replace… very very easy to do.
The following users liked this post:
Asaberan (04-30-2014)
The following users liked this post:
Asaberan (04-30-2014)
04-30-2014, 10:02 PM
#7
Senior Member
Thread Starter
i had the same problem on one of my F150s that i owned for 2 years, bought new. i found the problem myself, where the fuel pump and guage plugged in on top of the gas tank was not pushed in enough to snap. i guess it had not had a good connection since new. for me a simple fix, something to check, a loose and dirty connection could cause intermittent problem.
The fuel pressure regulator/monitor is known to rot out and allow water in it. When that happens all sorts of not so good things start happening… like not starting! It's located under the spare tire. Check it because you can actually see where it rots out. If that's the issue they can be purchased from Amazon for around 80 bucks. No idea what Ford charges but it's not 80 bucks. If it's bad it's about a 20 min pull and replace… very very easy to do.
Thanks, I will get it on the lift this weekend and check it out. It was pouring down rain the day it happened.
I don't see it on the list posted above but thanks for the tip.
Trending Topics
04-30-2014, 10:14 PM
#8
Senior Member
Your welcome and I found the tsb number its tsb11-1-5. Sequence number is 10037561. The date was 20110201. Hope this helps more with the actual tsb number. Good luck at getting her fixed.
04-30-2014, 10:44 PM
#9
Senior Member
sounds similar to my issues with my 2012 5.0 .... the dealer has had to reprogram the PCM twice, then one time it was acting up and stalled out but by the time the dealer hooked it up to the obdII there were no codes, then the 4th time they kept it for a week and decided it was a clogged cat (replaced under warranty)
you can search my name if you want more specifics, hard to say though since you have the 5.4
you can search my name if you want more specifics, hard to say though since you have the 5.4