Ford's New Gas Tanks Deter Siphoning

Incidents of gas siphoning may become more problematic as gas remains above the $4 a gallon mark. But according to Ford Fuel Systems Supervisor Brian Aitken, owners of Ford, Lincoln and Mercury cars since 2000 and trucks since 2005 are armed from the factory with hardware that can help prevent this common crime.

According to Aitken, Ford’s gasoline-powered vehicles — including those with the Easy Fuel Capless Fuel Filler System — have a built-in anti-siphon deterrent: a simple check valve at the bottom of the filler pipe that easily allows gasoline in, but makes it near impossible for it to come back out. “It’s actually there to reduce refueling emissions when customers fill up at the gas station,” says Aitken, “but this unintended benefit may be helpful in these days of rising fuel prices.”

The valve is mounted at the opening of the fuel tank, where the fuel filler pipe is attached. The one-way valve’s primary purpose is to allow gas and vapors into the tank, but to not allow them out. For those customers who own a flexible fuel vehicle, nowadays readily identifiable with a yellow fuel cap, there is an anti-siphon device right in the filler pipe. “This really is the best protection from siphoning,” says Aitken, “since it was designed that way by law.”