What capacity is your tank and how many gallons are you needing to put in to fill it once the low fuel warning comes on?
Capacity 22.5 gallons
Takes around 20 gallons or so to fill it when the low fuel warning comes on.
What is your normal MPG when it is not left to sit idling?
As I mentioned in the original post I get about 15-17 MPG highway & 10-12 MPG city
(fairly close to factory ratings)
There is nothing I can think of that would account for excessive fuel loss only while idling so I am posing an alternative theory, that possibly your gas gauge float on the sending unit is sticking so it suddenly drops, possibly in combination with either someone siponing off gas to steal it from you, or someone has access to your vehicle and is taking it for a ride. Have any children with access to the keys? Wife sneaking out in the middle of the night to do X with YZ ?
I completely understand where you are coming from. I've had and have known people that's all I had issues that were answered by things like that.
With that said though, that is 100% without a doubt not the cause of the problem. I spend a lot of time in my vehicle due to work and other situations, and since I live in Florida the AC needs to be running 90% of the time.
This is a constant problem that happens in front of my eyes 7 days a week. It's not as if I had a bunch of gas and in the morning on the way to work I notice that half a tank is missing etc...
(This is such a problem that I just built a giant 4 kilowatt battery, and installed it in the back of my explorer with a large inverter and DC to DC charger in order to run a portable AC unit) - Im the DIY battery guy so its no biggie for me but I spend so much money for fuel I needed to do something!!!
NO MORE WIFE
, kids grown, and I know for sure that the float is not sticking because of how often I have to put gas in the vehicle.
****
Everyday at work I will let it run for 30 minutes and it'll use an easy 1/8th of a tank.
At least twice a week I will let it run for a hour and a half or so and it will literally drop a quarter of a tank...
Also as I mentioned previously, LAST WEEK I FELL ASLEEP IN THE CAR FOR MAYBE TWO AND A HALF HOURS AND IT USED ABOUT HALF A TANK. I FILLED THE TANK TWICE THAT WEEK AND LITERALLY ONLY DROVE 200 MILES IF THAT!!!
(THIS ALL HAPPENS IN REAL TIME / RIGHT IN FRONT OF MY EYES. CONSISTENTLY... NO EXAGGERATION.
What I would do next is use a scan tool capable of live data to look at the upstream O2 sensor readings and see if they look similar, or one bank way off because of a stuck injector, and similarly the long term fuel trim. However a stuck open injector would cause poor fuel economy driving as well, just not AS noticeable because you are expecting a higher rate of fuel consumption, so it could just be your fuel level float sticking and the high consumption is not only at idle.
I have a OBD2 that can read live data. I just never knew what to look for. Tomorrow I will get a screen recording of the o2 sensor readings and post a reply with the video. I will try to figure out what you mean by a long-term fuel trim, and try to get that for you also ASAP.
I wouldn't keep running the vehicle if it is wasting that much fuel as it could ruin your cats.
I really appreciate you and everyone else's help. I can completely understand how my claims seem crazy, but I can assure you I am a very smart
individual with "man hands" and work hard everyday. I've been an electrician for over 25 years and I'm super knowledgeable when it comes to anything technical, and I'm the go-to guy to fix anything technical or someone needs life advise, etc... So I can assure you that this real problem no matter how unlikely it sounds...
But thanks again and I will definitely post that video tomorrow of the o2 sensor readings and get you that fuel trim ASAP