Gas Gauge Malfunction = sucks

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WoodyCreature

WoodyCreature

10 Year 15 Year
Joined
Jun 24, 2008
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36
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Friday morning I noticed the gas gauge nearly on E. Later that day my wife went to run some errands and I assumed she would fill it up. She came home later in the afternoon and I had gone out to move it.... No start, sounded like out of gas, noticed gauge still in the same spot. Looked at the "Cruising Range" and it said 0 Miles. No gas light on or anything. Put some gas in from the lawn mower can and started right up. Then off to fill at the station and everything seemed to go appropriately.

Anyone with similar experiences or input?
 
Maybe I'm missing something here, but it sounds like you ran out of gas. Gas guage on "empty", no start when you tried, put gas in and starts. Sounds like your wife just got lucky and made it home just as the LC ran out of gas. How is this a malfunction again?
 
Well I hate to admit it but I too have run out of gas in our driveway. In my case though, the gauge was very close to 'E', light was on, and display said 'please refuel' (or whatever it says). As I was already home I figured that I would just fill up on my next trip. When I went back out, the LC started, sputtered, and then died and would not restart. Once it has a couple gallons in it, it fired right up. I've always assumed that the one reason it would not restart is because I had backed into the driveway and the vehicle was at a slight downwards angle staving the pump/pick-up line of any remaining fuel in the tank. Again, just a guess/assumption.

As far as a malfunction, it sounds like the gauge and the 'distance to empty' display are working. The only way to know if the light is malfunctioning is to run it low on gas again. Although, I suspect the light was lit when your wife was running errands. The bigger question is did she notice and if so, will she admit it. :)
 
brussum said:
Maybe I'm missing something here, but it sounds like you ran out of gas. Gas guage on "empty", no start when you tried, put gas in and starts. Sounds like your wife just got lucky and made it home just as the LC ran out of gas. How is this a malfunction again?
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Right. She did get lucky and ran out of gas in the driveway but the needle never hit the 'E' line and the light never came on. Even after I put about a gallon in from the lawn mower can (enough to get it to start) it didn't drop to the appropriate needle indication nor did the light come on. And the light usually comes on when there's about 2 gallons left.
 
I'm scratching my head on that one. My LC has always made it perfectly clear when the tank was almost empty. And, my wife has been known to leave me with the car on empty, so I know how you feel. Hope you get it figured out and be sure to let us know if you find the cause.
 
Mine is new, 1400 miles on it. Im still figuring out the gauge and light. I filled up only 19 gallons when light was on and cruising range was 0. Tank holds 24 gal right?
 
Sounds like a stuck sender maybe?

Or, is your driveway on an incline? I've seen fluctuations if you were on a driveway and the gauge reads that you have more gas then you actually do (or vice versa).

With that, however, I can easily get 20 miles after my info center states 0 cruising miles. I've done it once or twice. With a ScanGauge, I know that I still have fuel left and when the vehicle states 0 cruising miles, my ScanGauge still says 50-60. A full fillup at 0 is about 20 gallons, so I still have about 4 remaining.

Another thing: When you fill up, it's always best to fill up all the way. If you only partially fill, I have heard of issues. Even more so is a fill up in which you just dump a gallon or two of gas from a jerry can in. It's not enough for the sensor to register I think.
 
I just replaced my fuel level sensor in the tank at 85000. Ran out of gas at 1/4 tank remaining. This was the first significant problem with my 2008 other than replacing the drive shaft which was just annoying. The fuel gauge did leave me stranded twice, once in the garage at home and the second on the road. It only took a half gallon to get it running, then $100.00 to fill it up at a rural gas station.
 
This is from last night. Didn't have the time to take the display down to '0 miles cruising range' but note the odometer and that the gas light never came on. And then filled up with 22 gallons. Does this look right?
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Not at all. I've never seen a 22gal fillup before, and that's after driving several miles after "0 cruising miles".

With only a 24gal tank, I'd be worried that having only two gallons in the tank could really harm the EFI system...
 
Agree. Most of my fillups, after driving a bit in the zero range, are 20 gallons.
 
It does seem like your LC is sending you mixed signals. Definitely may be a faulty sending unit. If it's not the sending unit, then I wonder if you're not having a computer issue or if there isn't a problem with your gas gauge (which may then fail to signal the low fuel light if the gauge position is the trigger for that light). I'm not certain, but I would think the sending unit provides data through a computer for the fuel gauge, distance-to-empty readout, and fuel warning light. Everything else on that beast is computer controlled. Again, I'm not a Toyota enginerd, so I'm just thinking out loud.
 
Thanks for all the input. Talked to the stealership and they said they can take a look just need to bring it in when it's down to about 1/4 tank. Of note a couple of weeks ago I had an 8 month old Toyora battery fail on me, wondering if there may have been some problem related to that...
 
Update. Needs new sending unit.

Cost: $650.

Pissed.
 
I wanted to bring this back up. We have had an LX570 for 6 months. My wife ran it out of fuel but the gauge never showed it empty, low fuel light never came on. Since then the low fuel light no longer comes on. CPU said 20 miles to empty today and I filled it was 23 gallons. Assuming I have bad sending unit. Anyone else have this issue?
 
If I was dropping my tank I would probably just replace the entire fuel pump assembly (which includes the sending unit) while I was doing it, especially if it had been starved of fuel (which cools it). $396 from camelback with a small discount with code twpartz.
 
Last edited:
TonyP said:
I posted instructions and (I think) part numbers for the sender R&R in another thread a few weeks ago.
Click to expand...

Is dropping the tank necessary, or can you actually remove the sending unit/fuel pump through the access panel under the second row?
 
40Man said:
Is dropping the tank necessary, or can you actually remove the sending unit/fuel pump through the access panel under the second row?
Click to expand...

The FSM calls for dropping the tank but I don't think you'll need to. I've never done it, personally, in a 200, so I can't say for sure. I'd try and pull the fuel pump assembly hatch and see if you can get in there without dropping the tank. That said, dropping the tank isn't as daunting as it sounds. You'll have to get in the hanger hatch anyways to drop the tank so I'd try to get the assembly out that way first. If you go the hatch route, you will, however, need to remove the 2nd row. The hatch for the fuel pump/hanger (I believe) is under the passenger side 2nd row carpet. You'll need a special tool to remove the hanger retainer, this can be bought from amazon. I've heard of people using a screwdriver and hammer to turn it, but that's not the right way.

Make sure you have all replacement gaskets when replacing the sender. They may come with the sender assembly.

Here are the tech docs I saved from the last time I posted them. I didn't look through them but that should be everything. If not, let me know.
 

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