Freaky Fuel Gauge

[Suze]

I dunno, Darrel - sounds weird. Have you had your 10K yet? What did they say?

zippy just went 92 miles on the first tick on this current tank. That's bizzzarrrrr!

[SmartDigger]

Mine starts out at 7/8 then goes to full for 20 mile.

[CruisingAZ]

No matter how bad a pump is, it will have no effect on what your gauge reads if your tank is full. If you put gas in until no more fits (not just when the handle clicks off) and the gage still indicates 7/8 then the issue is the gauge (link mine), not the pump.

I always stop when the handle clicks off (never top off) and my gauge will go from 7/8 to full after about 50 miles of driving.

[fpage77]

Originally Posted by CruisingAZ

No matter how bad a pump is, it will have no effect on what your gauge reads if your tank is full. If you put gas in until no more fits (not just when the handle clicks off) and the gage still indicates 7/8 then the issue is the gauge (link mine), not the pump.

I'm at the dealer having the gas gauge (filled to pump turned off .1 miles from dealer), check engine light (gone off but checking codes) checked and having DRL added by software update.

[PerryA]

I saw only one mention of a ScanGauge. My issue goes the other direction. The dash gauge seems to track about right but the ScanGauge is often way off when I do a "fillup." I attributed that to the fact you set it for 8 gal and the tank is more like 8.9.

I had a Toyota with a gauge that wouldn't always register full. It might go up a little after some driving, but not like the examples here (down by 1/8 and then up to full after 50 miles). I pointed it out to the dealer when the car was new and he said it was a common problem with the float on the sender. They didn't seem all that interested n changing it out and the gauge was accurate on the lower end, so I wasn't at risk for an unwelcome surprise with an empty tank.

[fpage77]

Originally Posted by PerryA

I attributed that to the fact you set it for 8 gal and the tank is more like 8.9.

The tank capacity is 8.72 gallons to be exact if that helps.

[CruisingAZ]

Originally Posted by fpage77

The tank capacity is 8.72 gallons to be exact if that helps.

Sorry, The CAPACITY is 10 U.S. gallons.

I have put more than 9 gallons in mine several times and I normally always run it down to near empty.

[fpage77]

Originally Posted by CruisingAZ

Sorry, The CAPACITY is 10 U.S. gallons.

I have put more than 9 gallons in mine several times and I normally always run it down to near empty.

Here are the specifications on our cars from smart USA website.

smart fortwo pure, passion, and passion cabriolet

Fuel tank capacity (reserve) 8.7 gal (includes 1.3 gal reserve)

I'd watch out either you're over filling or the stations you're using are screwing with the pump to say more gas is coming than is true.

[darrelplant]

Originally Posted by Suze

I dunno, Darrel - sounds weird. Have you had your 10K yet? What did they say?

zippy just went 92 miles on the first tick on this current tank. That's bizzzarrrrr!

Today's Stendahl's one-year anniversary (at least of having been bought) but we haven't hit 10K yet. I'll probably be scheduling the appointment for later this month.

I'm not sure what type of mechanism the gauge is driven by, but there's definitely a wide difference in how it's acting now, even from tank to tank.

[dwoodwoo]

new owner here, 2009 Passion. Second fill-up. Saw the same behavior -- 7/8 at the pump. Parked the car on an incline (hilly San Francisco =) and when I started the car next, saw 8/8. Have driven 50 miles. I still see 8/8. Will this right itself or should I bring 'er into the dealer?

Other than that, lovin' it!--

dennis!