Fuel gauge problems

benhar

benhar

New member
I got in my 4Runner today, only to notice that my fuel gauge said my tank was only 1/4 full, when I knew that it was actually right at 3/4 full. I was sitting at a red light when it dropped again to 1/8 tank. I restarted it a couple if times, but no change. I turned it off and looked up under it for a puddle, but didn't find one. I got back in and turned it on one more time and it finally went back to 3/4 tank. I told myself it was a sensor glitch and went on. Well, I got back in tonight, and it read half a tank. I restarted it and it now says 5/8 tank, which I think is still around 1/8 low. It then slowly drops to 1/2 tank while I'm driving. This drop from 5/8 to 1/2 usually repeats itself when I restart the engine.

Does anyone have any idea what is wrong, and how much it will cost to get fixed? I'm at 37500 miles so warranty work is out of the question :(

On a side note, I'm really getting frustrated with Toyota. I justified stretching my money for a 4Runner by telling myself I was paying extra for reliability and peace of mind. So far I haven't seen much of that. I have made many trips to dealerships for various problems, some of which never got fixed. And now I'm out of warranty and have already gotten another problem. I love my 4Runner, but I'm really starting to wonder if I should have gotten something else. It has cost me too much time and now money.
 
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I'm sorry to hear that you are having so many problems. If the dealer has been unable to fix some of them, you may be able to use the lemon law to your advantage, depending on the situation. I'm sure you know from reading on here that most of us have had very few, if any, problems.

As to your gas guage - that is the 1st I've heard of that problem.
 
Cleric said:
I'm sorry to hear that you are having so many problems. If the dealer has been unable to fix some of them, you may be able to use the lemon law to your advantage, depending on the situation. I'm sure you know from reading on here that most of us have had very few, if any, problems.

As to your gas guage - that is the 1st I've heard of that problem.
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Thanks for the reply. I'm not sure I'd be able to use the lemon law, I think it applies to the first 24,000 miles and is for safety related problems. Annoying and persistant as my problems are, I have to admit they are relatively minor.

About the gauge, does anyone think my problem might be caused by an abnormal gas mixture? That is probably a stupid question, but I've never dealt with gas sensors, so I'm unfamiliar with how they work.
 
It just sounds like the gauge is giving faulty readings. It is possible that some sort of "gunk" buildup may be causing it (not sure what kinda gauge they are using in these vehicles). The gauge is all electronic and computer controlled .... so, the error could be occuring in one of many places along the line.
 
UoD said:
It just sounds like the gauge is giving faulty readings. It is possible that some sort of "gunk" buildup may be causing it (not sure what kinda gauge they are using in these vehicles). The gauge is all electronic and computer controlled .... so, the error could be occuring in one of many places along the line.
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Maybe if I can get a diagram of the system I can troubleshoot a little. Does anyone know where I can find one?
 
These are difficult type problems. I would guess that the sending unit inside the tank is not right. It uses a float mechanism with a variable resistor type output. When it is full the resistance is at a minimum and when the fuel is on empty the resistance is at a max. This most likely goes straight to the dash board fuel indicator/gauge. The gauge could not be interpreting the correct signal from the sending unit, as well. I do not know what these valves should be either.
 
i know that down in Tampa, Fl a couple months ago they had issue's with too much sulfer in shell gas, it affected my readings for about 2 months and toyota issued a notice saying that if it made your gauge faulty they would replace it, warranty or no warranty, free of charge. dont know if this applys to 4th gens or anywhere else besides florida, but hey, its a thought
 
That does not make much sense to me. The gas gage is a float type sensor. One could put beer in the tank and it would read fine. However if sulfur corrodes the variable resistor, then that would be a different matter. But then the problem would be permanent.
 
well i dont know the technical's, but i do know what i experienced in my personal vehicle, i do know that the basic instrument is a floater, but due to my limited research/knowledge of the inner workings of my gas tank, i would not be able to be of anymore assistance
 
benhar said:

On a side note, I'm really getting frustrated with Toyota. I justified stretching my money for a 4Runner by telling myself I was paying extra for reliability and peace of mind. So far I haven't seen much of that. I have made many trips to dealerships for various problems, some of which never got fixed. And now I'm out of warranty and have already gotten another problem. I love my 4Runner, but I'm really starting to wonder if I should have gotten something else. It has cost me too much time and now money.
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I feel the same. But most of my discouragement is focused on the stealership "service" dept". Their hours stink, they do not attempt a fix the first time, they do not admit to a problem (can't duplicate problem is their favorite words), the serivce writer changes my description of the problem (even after I have WRITTEN IT DOWN for the tech!!), they don't have parts in stock.

I have even spent a couple hundred dollars out of pocket to fix warrantable items myself (brakes and rattles), because the dealership is just plain awful (STEPHEN'S TOYOTA, BRISTOL CT 06010). I have no faith in their limited abilities, and they haven't given me a reason to expect any better.

All that being said, it definitely sounds like you have a problem that will problaby cost you several hundred dollars. Either it's in the fuel tank or something is wrong with the fuel gage in the instrument cluster, big bucks either way.

Honestly believe this will be my first/last Toyota. Any more stupid problems in the next few years will decide it.
 
i believe that warranty covers mechanical defects and breakdowns, wearing out your brakes and any mysterious rattles are just signs of an aging vehicle, i know that i had rattles during my warranty, and they told me that they couldnt cover it, i thought it was bs, so i spent some $$ on a sound system to cover the rattle's that drive me insane, but have you really already gone through a set of brakes in the first 36k? Toyota service is alot like everyone else's service (including but not limited to... Lincoln, Land Rover, BMW....) sevice departments job is to drive you insane. Of course they dont want to fix your truck, they like to let it sit out in the lot all day and then when you come and they havent gotten to it yet, thats when they slap (can not duplicate problem) what I did to get around that was physically take the tech that would work on my truck, and drive around until the problem happened, i had to get in good with my service guy first, but after that i pretty much never got that answer again!!! of course i was out of warranty by then, wait a second....
 
Re: Re: Fuel gauge problems

RunnerUp[/i] [B]i know that down in Tampa said:
I feel the same. But most of my discouragement is focused on the stealership "service" dept". Their hours stink, they do not attempt a fix the first time, they do not admit to a problem (can't duplicate problem is their favorite words), the serivce writer changes my description of the problem (even after I have WRITTEN IT DOWN for the tech!!), they don't have parts in stock.
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Exactly! It literally took me SEVEN trips before my tire pressure monitor got fixed (I mentioned this problem in a previous thread).

As far as my current problem, I'm hopefully optimistic right now. While my gauge was reading 1/2 tank this weekend, I filled up with a different brand of gas. It took me a little over 9 gallons (not sure how much it usually takes at 1/2 tank... ). After a weekend of driving around town (~30 miles), my gauge is reading slightly under the full mark. Too soon to tell for sure, but so far it is looking accurate. If it is, I really hope it stays that way, although I don't know how filling the tank would do anything :confused:
 
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Out of warranty?

benhar, maybe I'm just being slow today, but I'm surprised you'd be out of warranty on this.

Seems unlikely that the fuel (or any of its properties would be the culprit. The only thing I've ever heard of was on some Saabs where there was very small clearance between the float and the side of the tank. When a gas-alcohol mix was used the float would swell a little and get stuck on the side of the tank.

My guess is that the problem is in the level sender unit or in the wiring--probably a connector that's gotten intermittent.

Anyway, are you sure a dealer shouldn't be fixing this for no charge?
 
Re: Out of warranty?

MicaBlue03 said:
benhar, maybe I'm just being slow today, but I'm surprised you'd be out of warranty on this.

Seems unlikely that the fuel (or any of its properties would be the culprit. The only thing I've ever heard of was on some Saabs where there was very small clearance between the float and the side of the tank. When a gas-alcohol mix was used the float would swell a little and get stuck on the side of the tank.

My guess is that the problem is in the level sender unit or in the wiring--probably a connector that's gotten intermittent.

Anyway, are you sure a dealer shouldn't be fixing this for no charge?
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I don't know, but I'm sure gonna try to get them to if the problem persists. But my understanding was that after 36K miles I am just left with the powertrain warranty...

At the moment it still appears to be working. I've driven 60 miles since my last fill-up, and my gauge is reading ~7/8 full. That seems about right (I think), but of course I'm about to the point where it went crazy last time, so I guess the next few days will tell.
 
Re: Out of warranty?

MicaBlue03 said:
The only thing I've ever heard of was on some Saabs where there was very small clearance between the float and the side of the tank. When a gas-alcohol mix was used the float would swell a little and get stuck on the side of the tank.
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You know, I seem to recall someone telling me at one point that Enmark mixes alcohol with their gas. That was where I had last filled up before my problems. Has anyone else heard that about Enmark?
 
Well, the problem definitely didn't go away. It was working fine until I got below 3/4 tank and now it jumps to a different place everytime I start up. I guess I will end up having the dealer look at it and charge me out of my butt unless I can convince them its warranty work of some sort. :(
 
I filled the tank recently with shell regular almost immediately my gauge read 50% and has been stuck on half full even with the engine off. Trip odometer is now on 97 miles with no change to the gauge level. I suspected either sender, gauge, or electrical issue. I didn't consider winter blend or gas make. I'm going to add some stp fuel additive anyway to clean injectors and will report findings.
 
Well that certainly helps me. I have a 2002 with 273,000 and have been having this problem for the past month or so. And I had just started using Shell gas more regularly.
 
Similar problem on my 2008

Old thread, but I have a similar problem.
My 2008 fuel gauge has been acting up, occasionally showing 1/4 when there is 1/2 or more, showing 3/4 after a fillup and minutes to hours later shows to full.

I'll post back if I can track down the cause.
 
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