Approximately 1.5 months after purchase, the fuel gauge quit reading full when the tank was filled. This resulted in one trip to the dealer for trouble shooting, one more to have a new sending unit installed, one more to have it reinstalled correctly, and one more to have it reinstalled once again. The gauge then read correctly.
Everything remained fine until the spring of 2002. The check engine light then came on. A trip to the dealer resulted, where they supposedly tightened the gas cap. A week later, the problem recurred. The dealer fixed it by tightening the gas cap. By now, the gas cap was so tight, my wife couldn't undo it. Again, the check engine light came on. Back to the dealer we went, where I gave out some advice that they better not point to the gas cap. Surprisingly, they found a leak in the fuel canister. This was replaced and the problem has not happened again.
The car made it until the fall of 2002 when the next problem came along. This marked the return of the dreaded fuel gauge problem noted above. Two trips to the dealer have resulted in the gauge reading full once again, but not because the dealer did anything, but take the sending unit out and mess with it. I do not get the strong impression that they know what they are doing.
The styling and interior on this car are nice.
The car has good acceleration and pretty good handling.
Reliability is not nearly as good as the two Ford products I own. This, coupled with the lack of skill in the dealer service department, will keep me from owning this car longer than I have to. A long warranty means nothing if you can't get the car fixed.
These are pretty minor problems that had no effect on you actually using the car. Aren't you being a little hard on it?
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