Ford Easy Fuel anti-theft system announced
Also stops expensive 'misfuelling' errors
Ford has released details of its Easy Fuel system, which it claims acts as a deterrent to thieves while also preventing expensive misfuelling mistakes.
Easy Fuel – fitted as standard to the latest models of Ford’s Fiesta, Focus and Mondeo ranges – was originally designed to prevent petrol cars from being mistakenly filled with diesel and vice-versa, but comes with an added bonus: it also makes syphoning extremely difficult.
“Our novel Easy Fuel feature ensures that Ford owners put the right fuel in their car”, explained Andy Barratt, sales director of Ford Britain. “Another customer benefit is that it acts as a deterrent by slowing down the fuel thief.”
The Ford Easy Fuel system adds extra layers of security behind the external fuel filler opening, which is additionally secured as part of the vehicle’s central locking system. A spring-loaded flap is held closed by two latches which, Ford claims, can only be released by a standard-sized fuel nozzle. When the nozzle is inserted into the filler neck of the system, the latches release and the nozzle pushes the spring-loaded flap into the open position. When the nozzle is removed, the flap automatically and firmly closes.
The flap is joined by a refuelling vapour recovery system, originally designed to prevent fuel loss through vapour escape during refuelling but equally capable of preventing syphoning as it detects the pressure of liquid fuel passing through the system.
Both systems are secondary to the Easy Fuel system’s primary purpose, which is an inhibitor designed to guide the fuel pump nozzle into the opening. If a nozzle or other foreign object of the wrong size is placed in the filler neck of the system, the latches will not release. The system works for both diesel and petrol vehicles, detecting smaller and larger nozzle sizes respectively.
Ford claims that with fuel thefts from vehicles rising by 25 per cent in the last year alone, to a reported 4,500 cases in the UK, its Easy Fuel system puts it ahead of the competition for this model year.