Trouble with Digital Fuel Gauge variations

[jeremy1219]

This is my first post as we just bought a used ford explorer approx. 3 weeks ago. I love almost everything about it. It rides and drives like I bought a Lincoln. The only issue I really have is with the digital fuel gauge. This happens every time I run it down to 1/4 of a tank or approx. 85 miles to empty. I know inclines and declines have a large affect on the fuel gauge, but my driveway is level and the majority of the roads I drive on are, too. Anyways, at approx. 1/4 of a tank, I can drive 2 or 3 miles and the fuel light comes on and says "10 miles till empty". I wouldn't worry as much about it if it were 10 or 20 miles difference, but 75 miles is a lot. The "DTE" changes and also the actual fuel gauge turns amber a drops to below "E". I was just wondering if all you guys are having this problem, or if I should take it in and have it checked out. By the way, it is still under factory warranty and only has 25,000 miles on it. Thanks for all your posts and advice.

 

[peterk9]

This is my first post as we just bought a used ford explorer approx. 3 weeks ago. I love almost everything about it. It rides and drives like I bought a Lincoln. The only issue I really have is with the digital fuel gauge. This happens every time I run it down to 1/4 of a tank or approx. 85 miles to empty. I know inclines and declines have a large affect on the fuel gauge, but my driveway is level and the majority of the roads I drive on are, too. Anyways, at approx. 1/4 of a tank, I can drive 2 or 3 miles and the fuel light comes on and says "10 miles till empty". I wouldn't worry as much about it if it were 10 or 20 miles difference, but 75 miles is a lot. The "DTE" changes and also the actual fuel gauge turns amber a drops to below "E". I was just wondering if all you guys are having this problem, or if I should take it in and have it checked out. By the way, it is still under factory warranty and only has 25,000 miles on it. Thanks for all your posts and advice.

Welcome to the Forum :wavey:.
I have only ever had the amber display come on once. Unfortunately I acnnot remember how many kilometers were left. I believe it may have been 50km which would be about 30 miles.
The thing that concerns me about your issue is that you report you fuel level indicator then drops below 'E'. That shouldn't happen unless the inital reading was incorrect. I guess the only way to really find out is to see how much fuel you can then pump into the tank. In any case, I think it warrants a trip to the dealer.
Good luck.

Peter

 

[phareous]

Never happened for me...the warning light comes on at some level (maybe 50 miles?) then it continues to decrease steadily... no sudden jumps

 

[dco43054]

Mine works fine. It comes on at 50 miles and counts down.

How much fuel was left in the tank when you filled up? Is the gauge accurate?

If not, sounds like a trip to the dealer.