Fuel tank, filler or EVAP failure on the 2006 Ford F-350
When fuel tank, filler or evap failure gets reported
Owners of the 2006 Ford F-350 report fuel tank, filler or EVAP failure at a median of 80,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 40,000 miles and a quarter after 100,000 miles, from 11 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 88,000 miles. It is the 5th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 30,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 175,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 142,875 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
When the reports scatter this far, the mileage is telling you about how these cars were driven more than about the part itself.
18% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30,000 miles | 38,050 miles | 80,000 miles | 100,000 miles | 172,875 miles |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Putting it right typically runs $250–$1,800 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 8 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2011, at a median of 35,000 miles, and latest on the 2000 at 155,000 miles.
By volume the 2005 carries the most reports, with 14; the 2006 has 11. A mode that appears across most years of a model is usually a design choice rather than a bad batch.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 ford f-350. The contact stated that the vehicle would stall at any time without warning. The dealer diagnosed that the fuel tank was rusted from the inside. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 21,000 and the current mileage was 24,500.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 ford f-350 diesel. The contact stated that the fuel tank was rusting due to a faulty coating on the inside of the tank. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer were notified of the failure. The vehicle was in the process of being repaired. The failure mileage was 60,000 and the current mileage was 61,000. The VIN was unavailable.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 ford f-350. While driving approximately 50 MPH, the contact drove over an uneven road surface and the front end of the vehicle began to shake vigorously. The vehicle would also shake abnormally when decelerating. The contact stated that in addition, the check engine warning light was illuminated, the vehicle would erratically shift, and the fuel tank was delaminating. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostics but the technicians were unable to determine the cause of the shaking. The technicians were able to determine that the transmission shift sensor and the fuel tank would have to be replaced. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the transmission was rebuilt. And the transmission shift sensor was replaced. The fuel tank was not replaced. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 80,000.
Also reported on the 2006 Ford F-350
Other steering problem
Other suspension problem
Other engine problem
Other wheel or tire problem
Fuel pump failure
DPF, EGR or DEF system failure
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 11 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does fuel tank, filler or evap failure happen on the 2006 Ford F-350?
Across 11 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 80,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 40,000 miles and a quarter after 100,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is fuel tank, filler or evap failure on the 2006 Ford F-350?
11 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 1.3 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed