fuel gauge reading

[t-bone]

I refueled last night for the first time and pumped gas until it automatically stopped. I went to the gas station almost immediately after I saw the 1 gallon left indicator.

However, when I got in the car, the fuel gauge still did not read full. It was missing one bar, but I had pumped about 7.3 gallons. I had to pump really slow to finally get it to read full. I think I put in about a half more gallon.

Has this ever happened to anyone yet?

Also, I only drove about 20 miles and already the first bar is gone. Is this typical for the car? How far have you gone before the first bar goes away?

[SmartCard]

Important observations.....especially when considering reporting mpg's!

[vanslam]

Lets try some simple math to solve this one.

If the car gets 40 miles to a gallon and you added 1/2 a gallon to the tank to get the bar lit. You then drove 20 miles for the bar to be unlit. Therefore, this process proves that you are getting 40 miles to a gallon when you are getting 20 miles to a half a gallon.

So everything is fine.

[bmx43]

Originally Posted by vanslam

Lets try some simple math to solve this one.

If the car gets 40 miles to a gallon and you added 1/2 a gallon to the tank to get the bar lit. You then drove 20 miles for the bar to be unlit. Therefore, this process proves that you are getting 40 miles to a gallon when you are getting 20 miles to a half a gallon.

So everything is fine.

actually there are 8 bars on the dash. so if you were getting 40mpg and the tank holds 8ish gallons, then the bar would not move until you burn one gallon or 40 miles. sounds like the gauge needs to be calibrated to me.

i'm waiting until my second fill-up to report my actual mileage just to make sure, but i can say that i'm getting nowhere near 40mpg in all city driving. it appears to be closer to 30 for me which is kind of what i expected.

coincidentally, for those who have not seen this you should take a look. i think it is quite honest for the most part. they hated the trans. of note to me is the part of how quickly it shifts to 5th (in auto mode). just like in my Audi, this is done to achieve the stated mileage on the window. but like it says, the car does not pull in 5th gear. they make some interesting points in the article...

http://www.roadandtrack.com/article....rticle_id=6400

[Fredvon4]

ALL...and this is 99% true... ALL fuel level gages are the MOST inaccurate at either end of their measuring range... Some less accurate then others

Most are fairly accurate at mid scale or 50% full/empty

In our very small fuel cell, 0.5 to 1 gallon represents a LARGE percentage of the whole...

Each onwer will have to just learn the particular sensitivities and accuracies of their particular car...

I get a chuckle out of the Brit site posts on this subject... there the Gen 1 and 2s called the fuel level indicator icons "Blobs"

A typical post will ask why is the center (mid or half tank ) Blob appear to last for 80 or 90 miles when a top or bottom "Blob" only lasts 25~40 miles

The typical respons ...is: " that is normal Mate...get used to it"

[GHammerly]

A good way to find out about the lower range is to carry a gallon or two gas can in the car and run it out of fuel to know what indication was shown when the car stoped.

[24-42]

The Roadtest feature on the 451 is about the most objective, impartial, and fair real world test I've read.

Donald LaFavor

[t-bone]

So during lunch I took the car out and the fuel gauge read completely full again and it is still showing all 8/8 bars.

I've got about 30 miles on it now. Let's see when the first bar goes away.

It may have read weird last night at the fuel pump because it probably was the second time it got filled. I'll refuel a few more times and see if this happens again and report back.

[smartah]

Got my smart this weekend. Wouldn't read full even when gas was seen at the top of filler neck. Two bars down (3/4 full)was as far up as it would go. Dealer said that the gage would work after a couple of fillups. He just blowing smoke or will this actually happen? Went 200 miles and is just below half now.

[Old smart]

Originally Posted by smartah

Got my smart this weekend. Wouldn't read full even when gas was seen at the top of filler neck. Two bars down (3/4 full)was as far up as it would go. Dealer said that the gage would work after a couple of fillups. He just blowing smoke or will this actually happen? Went 200 miles and is just below half now.

Sounds like you have a slack tank now with plenty of slosh room. How about rocking the car from side-to-side and see if that changes anything (like loosening a new sticky sender)?