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All of a sudden fuel Tank won't fill.

14K views 21 replies 14 participants last post by  klockmi 
#1 ·
The past three fill ups can't get the fuel tank to fill all the way or my gauge is off, not sure which but when I used to fill it the needle went way past the full mark and now bareley touches it. I usually would go about 350 miles then put about 11-12 gallons in. The past three fill ups gauge has been around 3/5 and I have gone less than 300 miles and it takes about 8 gallons which is about 37MPG and I know I am not getting that around town.

Anybody have the gauge not reading full when you fill up?
 
#2 · (Edited)
What I'm wondering is if the more likely scenario is that it isn't reading right when low too. So when you think it's getting empty, it has more gas than you think. I've noticed that it seems to show more miles left than the gauge suggests when getting low.

I'm having the slow read issue that others have, waiting for the fix. I've not seen the not full part yet, but I've only filled my tank 4 times.
 
#3 ·
Why don't you fill it until the pump "clicks"

Drive it until the low gas light comes on, re-fill it and see how much you need to put in. Then compare it to the stated size of the tank.
 
#9 ·
Unrelated to the Dart, but a funny story about low fuel warnings...

My current car is a 2006 Nissan Sentra. It has a basic trip computer LCD screen in the speedometer. I know from experience the low fuel light comes on when the car guesses it has 25 miles of range left (I don't think its designers ever heard of interstates). Well, I went with my girlfriend to visit her parents in Harrisburg and noticed as I parked that I had a little under half a tank left. No problem, I thought, I'd just fill up at the first Turnpike station on the way back to Pittsburgh.

Except this was in summer, during the Turnpike rest stop renovations.

Get on the Turnpike, first stop is closed. Sign says some miles to the next one. OK, can do. That stop is also closed. Crap. Distance to the next stop is only a few miles less than the range my car guesses it has left. And a large part of it is uphill.

So while my girlfriend sleeps in the passenger seat, I keep my trip computer on the estimated miles left screen and constantly cross-reference the mileposts to the remaining distance to the stop. The entire time my estimated range is only a few miles over/under the distance to the stop. About 20 minutes out of the rest stop, the fuel light comes on. Too short a time later the car really lets me know by flashing the estimated miles left at me. Get onto the final straight, see the rest stop half a mile away, and the estimated miles screen blanks. The car just doesn't know anymore.

I managed to make it, engine still running, to a pump. But the final tally on the gas pump was much closer to the capacity of the tank than I ever want to see again.

Girlfriend didn't wake up once through this whole thing. I only told her about it a month later.
 
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#10 ·
I cant RE FILL my tank unless im at 3/4 or under... Nozzle will click, instsntly but.

Found this out when gas dropped in price.. wanted to top up but it wouldnt let me :( the bstrd...
 
#11 ·
I am gonna try and let it go down near a 1/4 or so and try another pump. It does fill till it clicks and I never try to squeze more in cause that will flood your vapor canister with fumes I did try to sqeuze more in this last time and mabey got a 1/10 of a gallon. I even set the pump on slow at the last fill up and same thing, stopped just barely touching full.
 
#13 ·
Filled car at differant station yesterday and it filled all the way up. Gauge read way over full again and I saw by the gallons it took it was really full. so I guess the whole problem was the pump I was using was to sensitive and turning off to early.
 
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#14 ·
Check the end of the nozzle. If it's mushroomed in, the pump might be very sensitive. We have a station near us that won't replace the pump nozzles until they have to. It's impossible to pump gas there because the pump sees the mushroomed in ends just as it sees a full tank.
 
#15 ·
Well I solved the mystery. I was pumpimg at the station I was having the problem at last night,(at a different pump) and the same thing happened. Then all of a sudden I noticed the lot where the pumps are was tilting quite a bit towards the pump making the car lean to the right. Moved over to another pump on the other side and made the car lean the other way and sure enough it took another 3 gallons. A real Homer moment.....DOH
 
#18 ·
You will find solution is finding a station with a level pad next to the pumps. This car seems to be finiky on being level when filling
 
#19 ·
My dad does this because he likes nice even totals. I got into the habit of it too until I moved. My local station has a couple pumps that are a bit busted. One even spills a bit of gas even when I let it click off and don't top off.
 
#21 ·
Gas tank problems... Here is one for the old timers... I own a 1969 Buick Skylark Custom Conv. with the gas tank located under the trunk floor, and fed through the drop / fold down lisc. plate. When I restored this car, I found 2 hoses coming off the metal gas tank, just looped up and cut off just behind the rear axle. I figured they were some kind of vent for the tank, so, after I replaced each hose with like kind, I just stuffed a tiny bit of cloth in each so no dirt would get down them, but figured they would still breathe.. Well, after the restoration, every time I would park on a hill, with the back of the car / gas tank low, it would drip gas out of the locking vented gas cap. I figured I could stop that easily with a NON vented, locking gas cap, knowing those vent hoses would provide venting, so I went and bought one and put it on. After a few long drives with the top down in the beautiful summer, it was time to fill the tank up, and I was shocked, it would only take like 5 gallons,, even though it showed near empty on the gas gage. I looked under the car, and the darn engine / fuel pump had sucked the metal gas tank into collapsing into itself!! It even pushed up the trunk floor as the gas tank crumpled UP! I guess that tiny bit of cloth I put into those "vent" hoses were not allowing enough air through, POOF, I now have a 5 gallon gas tank instead of a 20 gallon gas tank! At the time, I also had a welded on trailer hitch, X-ing the tank. I had to find a wrecking yard similar replacement gas tank, have the trailer hitch torched off, (right next to the collapsed gas tank), and put the new / old salvaged tank back in. Amazing how just putting a non vented gas cap on, and a couple tiny wads of cloth, could cause such a mess! That Buick 350 motor can sure SUCK!!!

Beachnut
 
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