Fuel Gauge problems

[peterk9]

During the summer with about 70% hwy driving I was getting anywhere from 370 to 385 miles to empty (595 to 620km). Hit 400 MTE once. Canadian models have a 15.5 gallon (Imp.) tank.

 

[Black Mounty]

Maybe not a true fix but improvement. As many of you know, when you use the enhanced display, it gives you two sets of travel history screens where it computes your travel time, fuel use and MTE. I had never reset the second screen (it showed .03 miles more than the actual mileage of the car). I drove the car until i was sure it was at empty, pulled the battery for a hard reset, then reset all the trip computers in the car to 0. When i went to the service station, i was able to fill the tank with 18.7 gallons of gas and the MTE showed as 315.

Seems to bit bit more reflective of real world driving and actual fuel consumption. Also, ive noticed that Ford uses a different setting when the car is at a standstill at a light or ideling vs. other automakers.

 

[Dr3mb0y]

Not sure if this has been asked.

On my '13 limited i notice that every after filling in the gas the mpg reads what it is supposed to. So. For example say from costco gas to my house itll read 21 or 23.. Then when i go home and leave it in the garage overnight or not use it a few days, the next time i go in and drive the gauge and mpg goes down to 16 or 17. My question is, is this normal that overnight the mpg reads lower than the last nights or the last time i rode it?

 

[peterk9]

Not sure if this has been asked.

On my '13 limited i notice that every after filling in the gas the mpg reads what it is supposed to. So. For example say from costco gas to my house itll read 21 or 23.. Then when i go home and leave it in the garage overnight or not use it a few days, the next time i go in and drive the gauge and mpg goes down to 16 or 17. My question is, is this normal that overnight the mpg reads lower than the last nights or the last time i rode it?

If you are the original owner has it always done this or is it something recent? When you fill up do you fill it to the level that the fuel pump automatically clicks off? I always allow for 2 clicks. How much does the fuel gauge drop? If it is a substantial amount you could try filling it again to see if you can add much more than what would be considered normal. Does your Miles to Empty also change?
I believe this was brought up a few years ago but I haven't searched for it.

Peter

 

[Dr3mb0y]

If you are the original owner has it always done this or is it something recent? When you fill up do you fill it to the level that the fuel pump automatically clicks off? I always allow for 2 clicks. How much does the fuel gauge drop? If it is a substantial amount you could try filling it again to see if you can add much more than what would be considered normal. Does your Miles to Empty also change?
I believe this was brought up a few years ago but I haven't searched for it.

Peter

I am the second owner. The fuel guage is still at the same level. The mpg reading is the one that varies and with it the estimated miles to empty prorates as well.

I have noticed this since i purchased the vehicle. the dropping on mpg estimates is puzzling.

So i fill the tank til it clicks and fill some more to round off the value to the next dollar(obsessive compulsiveness ) and i reset the mpg estimator and the trip A gauge before driving home. Then it starts to build the mpg estimates and the miles to empty right, and when i get home it gives a value say 21 or 23 or 20. The morning after or the next time i use the vehicle, i notice it shows me a different mpg reading already. It drops down to 17 or 16..but not the one i had the night prior. I can understand you know from 21 to 20.7 or 20.9 but a big jump like that...

Is it the same for 5th gen owners or is this a problem?

 

[peterk9]

I am the second owner. The fuel guage is still at the same level. The mpg reading is the one that varies and with it the estimated miles to empty prorates as well.

I have noticed this since i purchased the vehicle. the dropping on mpg estimates is puzzling.

So i fill the tank til it clicks and fill some more to round off the value to the next dollar(obsessive compulsiveness ) and i reset the mpg estimator and the trip A gauge before driving home. Then it starts to build the mpg estimates and the miles to empty right, and when i get home it gives a value say 21 or 23 or 20. The morning after or the next time i use the vehicle, i notice it shows me a different mpg reading already. It drops down to 17 or 16..but not the one i had the night prior. I can understand you know from 21 to 20.7 or 20.9 but a big jump like that...

Is it the same for 5th gen owners or is this a problem?

I would say that there is a problem. It isn't normal judging by the lack of reports on it. I don't think there should be any change, no matter how small. If the fuel level stays constant then I doubt the issue is with the fuel gauge itself. Did you ever bring this issue up with the dealer after you bought it?

Peter

 

[Odrapnew]

How many miles between your house and the gas station?
Do you use remote start a all when starting the next day?

If you only have a short drive between your house and gas station and use remote start, I could see it dropping a bit before you get in and turn everything on.

 

[Dr3mb0y]

It is about 5 miles to the gas station and my house. I do not use remote start at the moment and it is for sure factored in if i had used it. and it should really drop a bit since the car on remote start is running idle to warm up or cool down to 70f.

I brought it up before as a high gas consumption but havent really had them checked. I hate to say it but most of the time these SAs would just say you know there isnt any error codes blah blah spiel.

If there is anyone here with the same issue who had it checked and repaired.. Any insight is greatly appreaciated. Thank you so much for the comments.

 

[Jon M]

Are you talking about in your Trip display, or the overall avg? The Trip display, if you reset it, will change every time, depending on your initial driving. If it's the overall avg, that's weird.

 

[Dr3mb0y]

Are you talking about in your Trip display, or the overall avg? The Trip display, if you reset it, will change every time, depending on your initial driving. If it's the overall avg, that's weird.

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B7rdfgS4vBHfRXRURGVWMzBsV3M

I have set up my vehicle where trip display 1 measures miles and mpg per fuel fill ups and trip display 2 is for the duration of the life of my oil. basically trip 2 is for the general average mpg on the entire trip i have for the life of the oil. it gets reset after every oil change.

Every fill up, i reset trip display 1 as well as the fuel economy displays before i start and drive off. Then as you drive, it starts to measure and calculate your trip miles and mpg as it should. Once the vehicle retires for the day's work, and the next time i use it, be in the next morning or a few days after(more prominent after a few days of rest), the average mpg readings on the trip display 1 and the fuel economy bar gets drastically reduced. Say from what i have on the google docs, its now at 16.xx mpg. Next time i run the vehicle from the garage, itll be much less than that. Maybe a 15.xx or so. N.b.no remote start done. Just plain unlock and push ignition and start. The fuel bar is at the aame level though ita just the read out of the mpg that is bothersome at times. I dont want think that there is some sort of a leak that drinks out my gas or what. And also affects the quality of how i drive in a way.

I first noticed this when i went out of state and the car was just garaged for about 2 weeks. My family never road it and gas was full. When i came home and rode it, the mpg was lower than when i left it.

Its as if it factors in the evaporation? Or what not.


Thanks

 

[Jon M]

The fewer miles you drive between the reset and the next time you drive, the more it will change. Any idle time, whether when you arrive home or when you first start it, will factor in. Try shutting it off, checking it with the engine off but ignition on, and then do the same the next morning before you start it. I've never paid that much attention to mine, in those exact circumstances, but I know from one fill up to the next, the trip display will vary from 13 to 20 mpg, depending on my driving immediately after. It all balances out in the end. Using an app to track actual mileage, though, I've found that the computer's estimated mpg can be anywhere from a hair off, like .5 mpg, to 3 mpg off. That also varies from one fill up to the next. The app shows my overall avg at 15.7. The car shows 16.3.

 

[gary94080]

just wondering if there were any others out there that have experienced this problem:

Phantom Fill Ups

after leaving the gas station I see that the gauge isn't full, it would read anywhere from 3/4 to 7/8 full

over time the gauge will rise to read full, the time varies, sometimes fairly quick other times only after several miles of diving

this doesn't happen every time and I haven't been able to tell if it is weather related i.e. heat wave vs. cold weather

the first few times this happened I circled the block to put more gas in a full tank, thinking that the pump shut off too soon. (last part added with edit)

 

[blwnsmoke]

Are you filling up with the engine running?

 

[KayGee]

just wondering if there were any others out there that have experienced this problem:

Phantom Fill Ups

after leaving the gas station I see that the gauge isn't full, it would read anywhere from 3/4 to 7/8 full

over time the gauge will rise to read full, the time varies, sometimes fairly quick other times only after several miles of diving

this doesn't happen every time and I haven't been able to tell if it is weather related i.e. heat wave vs. cold weather

the first few times this happened I circled the block to put more gas in a full tank

Don't know if it has been said yet, but if you reset your trip 1 or 2 each time you fill up, it will give you an approximate amount of fuel used by gallons for that trip. If you use that as a guide when refilling, you shouldn't have any issues refilling the tank to full.

I have found my fuel used is typically short by a third to half gallon, so I add that in when I refill and shoot for a little more than the fuel used amount indicated. It only takes a few tanks to learn the quirks of each vehicle and then there should be no need to watch the fuel gauge - just watch your miles to empty and compare to fuel gauge once in while to ensure the gauge isn't way off, like near 1/2 or E when full or vice versa.

 

[peterk9]

just wondering if there were any others out there that have experienced this problem:

Phantom Fill Ups

after leaving the gas station I see that the gauge isn't full, it would read anywhere from 3/4 to 7/8 full

over time the gauge will rise to read full, the time varies, sometimes fairly quick other times only after several miles of diving

this doesn't happen every time and I haven't been able to tell if it is weather related i.e. heat wave vs. cold weather

the first few times this happened I circled the block to put more gas in a full tank

Haven't had that issue with my past 3 vehicles. Are you saying that when you start the vehicle the gauge reads full and then as you begin to drive the level drops?

Peter

 

[gary94080]

Don't know if it has been said yet, but if you reset your trip 1 or 2 each time you fill up...

I usually reset trip 1 each fill up, I use trip 2 as an overall tracker for multi-tank road trips.

Haven't had that issue with my past 3 vehicles. Are you saying that when you start the vehicle the gauge reads full and then as you begin to drive the level drops?

Peter

the opposite, I fill up at the pump and when I start the engine the gauge does not read full. later as I am driving it slowly creeps up to read full. sometimes in one action, other times it will stay at an intermediate reading before finally reaching full.

 

[gary94080]

Are you filling up with the engine running?

never.

after experiencing the problem a couple of times, I do press the start button without stepping on the brakes to see what the gauge reads before I get out to replace the hose on the pump.

 

[peterk9]

I don't know if anything other than the 'sending unit' is involved here.

Peter

 

[gary94080]

I didn't have time to look for it this morning but after I posted #32 I saw this thread lower down my search

Fuel Gauge Readings

it looks like it is a problem that shows up in vehicles from time to time, but doesn't seem widespread.

also, I filled up this afternoon and the gauge read 3/4. it took 5 miles over 11 minute time span for gauge to slowly rise to F.