Fuel gauge wrong?

D

Daily-runner

New member
OK, ever since I bought the t4r I notice when I fill the tank I only fill up with 14 gallons-15 the most when the light goes on. What is the deal? I thought these things have 18 gallons? :confused:
 
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nope. im about 89% sure that its a 15 gallon tank. I dont remember where i heard this but same here, whenever i fill up its 15 gal.
 
There's probably some kind of reserve.. I have yet to see a car fill up the exact gallons that the tank can hold.. It usually fills up about 2 - 3 gallons less than the tank holds..
 
it is indeed an 18 gallon tank. the gas light goes on around 14-15 gallons, giving you 3 gallons of gas to get to a station.
 
If you really want to get technical the 3rd gens have an 18.5 gallon tank, same as last years tacoma. Try to search for fuel gauge TSB, the incorrect reading is a common problem on the 3rd gen. I had the TSB done around 30k and went from only fitting 12-13 gallons once the light came on to 15-16. Just remember the tank is 18.5 and if you only put 14 in then that means you still had over 4 gallons left. As any 2000 is over 3 years old you can't have the TSB done for free any longer, TSB's are only done within the 3/36,000 period.
 
wait, what?? Ive waited til my tank was just about empty and filled it all the way up to check what kind of milage i was getting and i remember it only getting to about 15 gallons asumming there was still some gas in the tank. Why would the fuel sensor shut off the pump at only 15 gallons if its capacity was big enough for 3 more gallons? I might be missing something here too so correct me if im wrong.
 
The idea is that when you were only able to squeeze 15 gallons into the tank you still had over 3 gallons in there. Meaning you could have waited let's say 40-60 miles before filling up. Many 3rd gen fuel gauges were off by a few gallons, so instead of the light coming on with 2 gallons left it would come on with 4 gallons left, thus you can only fit 14-15 gallons. When I first got my 2000 the fuel light would come on at 240 miles and I would only be able to fit 14 gallons or so, on my Tacoma I would always just wait until 300 to fill the tank, it had no warning light, and then put 16 gallons or so in. I figured with the same motor and tank size the range should be similar, so I had the TSB done and now I can go closer to 300 miles before the light comes on. So if you can't get the TSB done for free anymore just keep in mind that when the fuel light comes on you can keep driving for many miles before filling up.
 
I have the same issue with my 99. The tank will hold 18.5 gallons, Its in the owner's manual.

Just for fun one day, I ran the tank low and with the added fun of stalling when I went around a sharp corner, I managed to squeeze 17.5 gallons in it. :-)

There is a TSB that describes a problem with the sending unit on the tank. Sove vehicles have a guage problem as well.

http://pages.sbcglobal.net/larsdennert/4runner/fuelsender/Instruments - Fuel Gauge Inaccurate.htm

The dealer pretends it isn't a problam and the cost of droping the tank to get at the circuit board is prohibitive. Since they aren't under warranty anymore the dealer won't do it for free.

I watch the mileage on the odomoter, anywhere from 250 to 300 miles on a tank depending on driving conditions. I'm getting about 17 MPG running around town, better on the highway. The 4x4 is a little worse on MPG than the 4x2.

Good luck!
Jeff
 
pat161 said:
The idea is that when you were only able to squeeze 15 gallons into the tank you still had over 3 gallons in there. Meaning you could have waited let's say 40-60 miles before filling up. Just keep in mind that when the fuel light comes on you can keep driving for many miles before filling up.
Click to expand...

OOHHHH! ok that makes plenty of sense, even though it wont save me money in filling up my gas, i can fill up a couple of days later than normal thus extended how often i fill up, therefore making me think its less, self hypnotism, gotta love it.
 
Fuel gauge

Greetings,

I'm new to this website and I saw this posting. I recently bought a Limited 4x4 edition and I totally dig it. I too was worried because when my fuel light went on I thought it was premature to assume that I had only a gallon left. It doesn't say anything about how many gallons you have to go before you run out of has. Thanks for clarifying this. Now I feel better. BTW, does anyone know how much for a lumbar switch? Mine still works, but one of the clips snapped and from time to time it'll pop out of the seat.

Thanks in advance.

Denmark
 
I just got a '97 4Runner and I've been monitoring the same problem. Manual says 18.5 gallon tank - when the light comes on she only takes about 14 gallons before the pump shuts off.

Now explain this to me - if I babysit the pump, I can put just over 18 gallons in slowly.

How does that work?

Thanks,

G
 
25% underutilization of tank

I just got a '97 4Runner and I've been monitoring the same problem. Manual says 18.5 gallon tank - when the light comes on she only takes about 14 gallons before the pump shuts off.

Now explain this to me - if I babysit the pump, I can put just over 18 gallons in slowly.

How does that work?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

IF your tank was totally empty, you could put in 18.5 gallons. However, most of the fuel indicator lights come on prematurely. The issue is that you are really NOT out of gas (or close to being out of gas) when your gas light comes on. You can only ADD about 14 gallons when you pump because you already have 3-4 in your tank when you pulled in off the street. You're assuming that your tank is empty or close to it when you pull in. It isn't. You still have several gallons left!!!!

BTW - I had no idea either. I've been filling my 99 Limited up for over 5 years now and have never put in more than 14 gallons. IF you do the math, that is almost 25% of the tanks compacity that goes wasted. I've filled up a lot more than I should have over the years. This site is very informative.
 
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.
 
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