Fuel gauge problem
 

My fuel gauge seems to be off, and I am wondering if anyone has had this problem or has any idea how difficult/expensive a repair it would be. I have looked and don't see any TSBs on this issue.

I was driving home to Virginia from Huntsville, AL last week. The gauge said I had almost a quarter tank of gas left. I was getting pretty close to home and knew the area so I knew there was gas available a few miles up the road. I noticed I was getting better than average gas mileage but thought nothing of it as that's not unusual when doing a lot of interstate/cruise control driving.

Well, the car ran out of gas despite the gauge reading, and I was stranded on the side of the road about five miles from town. I had the car towed, thinking it was a different problem, not just that I was out of gas.

The dealer said when they started the car up, it read below empty and they told me to keep an eye on it to see if it was just a one time glitch. But after a couple of days, it still looks to be a bit off. Plus, I don't like the idea of not being able to trust the fuel gauge. So, it appears I will need to get this repaired. The car has a bit over 120,000 miles on it and is an '04.

Any ideas/input would be appreciated. Just want to be armed with some knowledge before going to the dealer tomorrow.

Many thanks!

How'd they start the car if it was out of gas? Did they have to add gas?

What do you mean by "it still looks to be a bit off"? Could it be that your has mpg dropped recently?

I'd verify that there's really a problem first. Start keeping track of your mpg - unless you already know what it is. Then based on your mpg , you should be able to estimate what the trip meter will read at 1/2 tank (mine's usually 130 @ 1/2 and 60 @ 3/4). Also, estimate what the trip meter will be at 1/4 tank and don't drive it past that estimate for now.

I don't like relying on my fuel gauge either, so I always reset my trip meter after every fill-up and don't let it go past 275 miles.

2 sensors..one in each side of the tank. One may be stuck...need to check them out

Thanks guys. I guess when they tried to start it, it was on more level ground so it was able to start. It read below empty and they added some fuel.

Yesterday, it looked like the needle wasn't moving like it should, but today it looks better. I asked them to give me an estimate on fixing it. I think I will watch it closely for a few weeks before committing to get it fixed. Maybe it was a one time glitch.

I keep a detailed fuel log and reset the odometer every time I fill up. So, I have an idea where the needle should be and what kind of range I should get. The problem here was that I was on a long trip and sometimes my gas mileage will get much better in that scenario. I once got 27 mpg on a tank coming back from Atlanta! Usually I get 22.

Fuel display off in 2011 model as well.
 

I have a 2011 and the car died on the highway with about 1/4 tank showing. Since there was no indicator light or anything like that, I didn't think that was the issue. Dealership called and told me they put gas in and now it's working fine, but I insisted they check out the sensors based on the discussion in this thread.

Seems like a common enough problem.

Fuel gauge trouble
 

Same problem. Have a 2011 RX-8 with 21,100 miles. Ran out of gas on the highway TWICE, the first time showing 1/3 tank, and the second time after the issue was supposedly fixed.