Anyone else experience erratic fuel level readings? Twice in the past week the gauge has read about 1/2 tank lower than the actual level fuel...and then magically healed itself. When I left home this morning it read 1/4 tank and the trip computer calculated a 100 mile range. Fifteen minutes into my drive it jumped up to 3/4 tank (which is correct) and the trip said 200 mile range.

It's at the dealer right now for the 7,500 mile service and I asked them to look into it but was hoping I could point them to the resolution of the problem, I hate intermittent issues.

My apologies if this has been covered before, I searched but didn't see anything.

Thanks, Greg East
Loveland, Colorado
USA
'08 LR2 Hers
'93 740i Mine
'87 944 turbo Mistress

I park my car on my driveway which is on slope.

This gives different readings, especially when the fuel is low, My trip might say 4 miles left, but by the time I have pulled of the drive and on my way the trip range has increased to 20 miles.

Which is good as the closest petrol station is 5 miles away.

The problem first showed itself this weekend when we did a little bit of playing in the dirt and were at some relatively steep angles, so I was hoping that's all it was. After topping off the tank (which took about 5 gallons), it went from empty to half full at the pump and then 20 minutes later showed full. It worked fine the past few days, all of which were normal road miles but then happened again this morning. I just talked to the dealer and they haven't seen it before and are in the process of diagnosing it, I'll post an update if they reach any conclusions. Greg East
Loveland, Colorado
USA
'08 LR2 Hers
'93 740i Mine
'87 944 turbo Mistress

There must be some sort of device in the fuel tank to register the amount of fuel, If you have been going off road, steep hills maybe its picked up a dirt of residue from the bottom of the tank.

It was pretty tame offroading, even an X3 could have handled it

The dealer tried reprogramming a couple of modules today but without success. The tank was showing empty, I was able to put 9 US gallons in before the pump clicked off, gauge is still showing empty. At least I get a full time opportunity use the cool nav feature that automatically shows you the nearest fueling stations...

I suspect it's the sender in the tank, I'll take it back next week and let everyone know what the outcome is. Greg East
Loveland, Colorado
USA
'08 LR2 Hers
'93 740i Mine
'87 944 turbo Mistress

I think there is a float in the tank for reading the petrol level. It sounds like a mechanical problem to me, not software necessarily.

defkalion wrote:

I think there is a float in the tank for reading the petrol level. It sounds like a mechanical problem to me, not software necessarily.

I agree, I suspect it's the sender. The car had thrown some error code that lead them to think software, seems to me that it's often too easy to just reset a software module than to actual troubleshoot a problem. That said, I'm fairly confident they'll make it right, may just have to leave it with them for a day or two and they may have to actually get their hands dirty this time  Greg East
Loveland, Colorado
USA
'08 LR2 Hers
'93 740i Mine
'87 944 turbo Mistress

ColoradoLR2 wrote:

Anyone else experience erratic fuel level readings? Twice in the past week the gauge has read about 1/2 tank lower than the actual level fuel...and then magically healed itself.

Hi,

For may year ago I had the same problem with a SAAB. I have solved this problem after I found out that the mass cable connection had loosend. Obviously it was not attached very well in the factory.
Because the clamping of the connector was bad the resistance changed when driving, causing erratic readings. With mass loose the tank level was reading FULL!!!

Let us know the solution in your case.

Rob VW Tiguan or Freelander 2 that's the question...

Quote:

Let us know the solution in your case.

Some of the early Freelanders had a fuel gauge issue that resulted in the gauge getting stuck at around ¼ full. If unnoticed this could lead to the car shutting down due to low fuel levels & leaving you stranded on the road.

There was a software patch issued to solve this. I believe though that it only affected the early cars & any builds after the issue was highlighted had the updated software loaded at the factory. “You feel uneasy, as the mad scientist locks the door behind you & dissolves the key in a vat of Acid”

A quick update on our fuel gauge woes: It's been at the dealer since Wednesday, turns out it is the sender in the fuel tank. They had to special order the part and then apparently remove the fuel tank, which in turn requires partial removal of the driveline...thankfully we have a loaner (chicks dig Tambora Flame, me, not so much)

Hopefully it'll be sorted on Monday and I'll post a final diagnosis. Greg East
Loveland, Colorado
USA
'08 LR2 Hers
'93 740i Mine
'87 944 turbo Mistress

After a week in the shop the fuel gauge is finally fixed. Apparently the float on one of the senders became dislodged and ended up on the other side of the tank. In order to replace the sender they had to remove the fuel tank, which in turn required removal of part of the driveline. The sender is actually part of the fuel pump so we ended up with a new fuel pump as part of the deal.

Anyway, glad to finally have the car back, but not nearly as happy as my wife  Greg East
Loveland, Colorado
USA
'08 LR2 Hers
'93 740i Mine
'87 944 turbo Mistress