Since I bought my car in October I have had a recurring problem with the fuel guage. The time before last I ran out of fuel literally on the garage forecourt and had to call out Landrover Assist who after an hour desided to sent the car to the dealer.

On Wednesday while pootling along the motorway at 70mph the red fuel light came on. I pressed the trip on the car to see where I was at. The guage read just under 1/4 tank and the range on the computer was 49 miles. 4.5 miles later I got to my destination where there happened to be a fuel station. Having had problems before I desided to fill up the car to be absolutely positive that I was not going to run out. As stated before the trip read 4.5 miles into the tank I put 67 litres of fuel.

Given that the tank has a capacity of 68 litres I would estimate that on 1 litre of fuel I would travel about 5 to 10 miles. This would give me an available mileage of 10-15 miles after the red light comes on. As I travel a considerable distance and can be in remote locations at times I do not consider this to be acceptable what are the views and experiences of the forum on the fuel guage.

My fuel warning 'beeps' and the low-fuel light comes on when the range is at 50 miles.

The nearest I have been to running out of fuel was when I let the range get to 5 miles which then got to zero in about one mile, just as I pulled into a fuel station!

Sounds like there is a problem with the gauge/sender unit. I have never experienced a problem with the fuel gauge, in fact keeping paper records along side the gauge and odometer have found it to be surprisingly accurate.

My low fuel warning light comes on when the gauge is about 50% down from 1/4; the miles remaining at t5his point will vary depending on what the computer thinks my average consumption is at the time, that seems quite logical (I've seen figures from 40 - 80 miles when the light first comes on)

I always zero the trip odometer when I fill up so I know what the mileage for the tank is, of course this varies with the type of driving so can be anything from 500 - 600miles, however yuo get a feel for for this so t is a good secondary indication alongside the fuel gauge.

The readings on your gauge do sound a little suspect compared with my experience (which has been gained over 16 months and 37k miles), sounds like a trip to the dealer ....

My fuel light comes on at a gauge reading of just below a 1/4 tank (probably a gap the width of the needle to the top edge of the needle) and indicates 49 miles range. On one occasion I fuelled up quickly and got approx 64 litres into the tank. On another occasion I ran it until it showed 28 miles range. At this point it took approx 68.5 litres to fill it. This seems in line with what some of you are reporting.

However, previous cars have got to the top of the red-line (effectively empty) on the gauge prior to the low fuel light coming on, and have then had approx 50 miles to empty, in effect a 'reserve' amount. I thought that this was a recognised standard.

Possibly LR are trying to ensure that we never hit the bottom and avoid any residues in the bottom of the tank. In a car that is so reliant on electronics, it is worrying that there is such variation in senders, and that you're likely to be 'dry' before the gauge hits the base line. Was GS TD4 Auto, Privacy, Santorini with Tundra & Alpaca, Cold Climate Pack. Traded for Discovery Sport HSE Auto.

I don't think you can gauge it that way. The filler neck can easily hold a few litres and then there's the fuel system itself. Yes - the tank may be 67l but some will be 69l and some probably 67. it's not that critical. I've often driven cars that reckon I had maybe 10-15 miles left and not had a problem and on one occasion drove a car for several miles with "0 miles remaining" (I was trading it in so didn't want to buy any). Scary but she made it and still started again when the garage moved it round the forecourt. It's a guide but nothing more.

When the light comes on, aim to fill up within the next 20-30 miles. Even a little more won't leave you stranded. 07 Freelander 2 TD4SE Tambora Flame, side steps, privacy glass, mud flaps, boot liner and a tow bar. Ok it's the Wifes but she lets me drive it occasionally - if I've been good!

jules1967 wrote:

I don't think you can gauge it that way. The filler neck can easily hold a few litres and then there's the fuel system itself. Yes - the tank may be 67l but some will be 69l and some probably 67. it's not that critical. I've often driven cars that reckon I had maybe 10-15 miles left and not had a problem and on one occasion drove a car for several miles with "0 miles remaining" (I was trading it in so didn't want to buy any). Scary but she made it and still started again when the garage moved it round the forecourt. It's a guide but nothing more.

When the light comes on, aim to fill up within the next 20-30 miles. Even a little more won't leave you stranded.

Like others, my warning light comes on just below 1/4 tank, with 50 miles or so range left. The maximum fill I have managed is 68.81 litres, when the range was down to about 10 miles. 2007 Baltic Blue SE TD4 Auto

I would say the range indicator can be misleading some times and I would rather not come down under 40 miles if I can help it.
If say you have driven a lot outside town and have got a good nice 40 mpg and then you drive some time in town and get this lovely 22 mpg when the range indicator says 20 miles it would be less as I would say that the computer calculates an average from the last reset. When you look at the fuel consumption it will read actually a better figure than the instant fuel consumpition as it's an average.
If it's the other way around and you drove a lot in town and than go outside town than the reading will actually be less than what you can really get. FREELANDER 2 TD4 SE (XS UK) IZMIR BLUE SIDE STEPS COLD PACK BI-XENON TINTED WINDOWS - AND PROUD OF HER

The local dealer has finally agreed that the fuel guage is faulty and it will be replace. It will take 2 days to sort out the sender uit as there is two different types and they need to drain the tank to find out which is fitted.

Simon_CSK wrote:

The local dealer has finally agreed that the fuel guage is faulty and it will be replace. It will take 2 days to sort out the sender uit as there is two different types and they need to drain the tank to find out which is fitted.

Wiyh diesel prices today make sure they put everything back.
Hope you sort out the problem
Is your computer range reading sort of correlated with the gauge? What I mean does the computer take the readings only from the gauge or as I think read somewhere that the computer calculates how many ties the injection pump works? FREELANDER 2 TD4 SE (XS UK) IZMIR BLUE SIDE STEPS COLD PACK BI-XENON TINTED WINDOWS - AND PROUD OF HER

Matei wrote:

Simon_CSK wrote:

The local dealer has finally agreed that the fuel guage is faulty and it will be replace. It will take 2 days to sort out the sender uit as there is two different types and they need to drain the tank to find out which is fitted.

Wiyh diesel prices today make sure they put everything back.
Hope you sort out the problem
Is your computer range reading sort of correlated with the gauge? What I mean does the computer take the readings only from the gauge or as I think read somewhere that the computer calculates how many ties the injection pump works?

Matei
The guage and the range seem to indicate more miles than is acheivable. The view is that the sender in the tank is faulty.

Don't worry about the fuel I will go in with an empty tank