Wow...this is an old thread, but here's my theory, running your tank empty or close to empty will overheat your fuel pump, so the engineers at toyota in all their infinite wisdom decided to protect against this.

I had the same issue with everybody, so I went and bought a Ultragauge
to get the correct reading.
If your 4runner gas gauge is not function properly get yourself a
Ultragauge scanner it will definitely help out.

quick question, i have a 2002 4wd on 33's , i filled up, rode 220 miles, light comes on, fill up again (16.5 gallons), 230 miles when the light came on. I drive mainly city (probably 85%). Im just curious because the mpg seems really low, i know my tires are big and its all city but 13-14 mpg seems outrageous. BTW ive only had the truck a month or so. Any input helps. Thanks.

Its 18 when its not dented. Mine holds max 14.2 gallons now and im out at 1/4 tank thanks to offroading.

Tsb el010-00

Sorry for the repost, but I found the TSB EL010-00 specific for this problem.

http://ww2.justanswer.com/uploads/sk...00_runner3.pdf

I hope this helps

No wonder why my fuel gauge is erratic at times. I hope this TSB was performed to my truck years ago.

I will be looking, thanks for the share!

My VIN is in the affected range. It is still a little unnerving when the fuel gauge shows Empty and the light is on and your UltraGauge shows 2 gallons and you have it set to 16.5 max level because you read here the there are 2 unreachable gallons in the 18.5 tank.......

I don't let it get that low because of the nagging concern......

q The tsb is dated August 4 2020 so you might want to check against your vin
Edit: My bad it's August 4 2000.

Dude, my 4Runner completely faked me out once because of this. Mine does the same thing, light on means I have about 4-5 gallons left. I started getting too complacent about it and let it run past E on the gauge knowing that I had about 100 mile range left in the tank. One day as I was thinking about getting gas soon the needle drops, and I mean DROPS and pegs at the bottom all the way as far as it goes. I immediately exit the highway and head for the closest gas station. As I enter the driveway the engine shuts off and I roll up to the pump with absolutely no gas left!

Ever since then I reset the trip odometer after every fill up to make sure I never do that again. I use the odometer to tell me when I need gas, not the gauge.

It's dated August 4 2000. Not 2020.

: Had a Brain fart!

Just checked, my VIN is in. I think I might have to tackle it soon although it's now working fine...... ughhhh.

Researching my VIN and fix, it looks like I just have to replace the Fuel Sender Unit and the Suction Tube Assembly. Seems like a terrible job but i'm not sure and I am glad that I don't have to touch the circuit board on the cluster but I hope I don't have to do this job soon.