I have brought this problem up before. When I make a sudden stop with between a full & 3/4 full gas tank in my 08 hybrid I hear a sloshing sound for 5 to 7 seconds.The dealer swapped out the gas tank but the noise is still there. Anyone have similar noise??
I've seen this issue brought up several times on the hybrid boards. The consensus opinion is that the sloshing is due to the considerable airspace that is in the tank even when it is "full". Some say that it is up to 2+ gallons of unused space. As the level in the tank drops the sloshing is probably still there but just doesn't resonate.
Either way, I'd count that as a minor annoyance more than made up for by the otherwise great features of the car.
Forgot to mention that neither of mine make the sloshing noise that I have ever noticed but I have heard people with the early models complain about it.
I filled up my '05 yesterday and heard it for the first time ever after pulling into the garage in electric mode. Must have noticed it because I had been on the phone and had the radio off. Sounded like a sloshing/gurgling sound. At least I knew what it was.
I filled up the '06 this morning and didn't hear anything into the garage - and I was listening for it.
Ford now says the gas tank noise is normal, no problem, but is working on a fix to reduce the noise. They should have told me that before they changed out the gas tank in Feb. Oh well!
