Ran Out Of Fuel..... Maybe?

[willcook1275gt]

hi all

this post is about my old dads 2004 avensis t4 2L

for donkeys years he kept records of his mpg for all his cars so this one is no different

he,s had the car for two years and always lets the low fuel lamp come on then drives about another 50 miles then fills up for a accurate mpg figure.. couldn't be ubikd myself but never mind it keeps him happy

so last weekend low lamp comes on and after only 30 miles of normal driving he starts it up in the drive and after a few secs it cuts out . he sure its not out of petrol i am not so sure ! any way we put 5L of petrol in it and try to start it up ... heres 1st Question if its ran out and u put a gallon in should it not start after 20 to 30 secs of cranking ??

dads car did not ,.. over next couple of days checked for a spark which it had then when we had two plugs out checking for spark it almost started on two pots so we put plugs back in and cranked it over a few times and got her running and she still is

so we put it down to it ran out of fuel and just takes ages to get fuel back through the system but when he filled the car back to the top we reckon there was still at lease 4L in the tank when it ran out

ok its got a 60 L tank

after running it for the 50 miles AFTER LAMP COMES ON he,s never got more than 55L IN so that leaves 5L

so after putting in the 5L out of the can in the tank we went to fill up about 5 miles away and only got 51L IN 51 plus 5 makes 56L leaves 4L

SO IT must not have ran out ? what else could it have been ??

sorry for the long story

[avensis rob]

im assuming the parked car conditions are flat ground and not pointing up or down a hill

constant low tank leaves a void in tank to attract condensation and thus water build up

constant low tank allows any dirt or dust or whatever degredation of the fuel that builds up in the tank to be less diluted and get sucked up through the fuel system

has it got an inline fuel filter - id change it

[willcook1275gt]

thanks Robbie

have they not got a fuel filter as std on the car ?

[avensis rob]

should have - not familiar with this petrol model but someone will be along shortly with more info or an exploded parts diagram to show the location and part number

[alan333]

AFAIK the filter is a non service item and is inside the fuel tank (on the petrol models).

[avensisd4d786]

http://www.eurocarparts.com/fuel-filter

type your reg at the top if there is one available you should be able to change it.

[willcook1275gt]

thanks guys we will fit a new one soon

is it a easy job or not ?

[avensis rob]

usually leave car switched off for an hour for the fuel line pressure to naturally drop .

obviously try not ignite any spilt fuel or youll be in trouble

sometimes filters are located in engine bay, sometimes under car on the fuel line or even inside tank.

or a combination of two

some are pipe / spanner fitting

some are pushfit fittings

but not sure on the avensis as ive never done one on a petrol

[avensisd4d786]

Rob the diesel one is behind the air filter, not too bad to change just a bit messy.

William I have not done a petrol I will see if I can find a guide for you.

[willcook1275gt]

cant see any thing on you tube about the petrol filter

[yossarian247]

The majority of recent petrol engined Toyotas don't have a replaceable fuel filter, my Auris 1.6 petrol doesn't have one for example. The only 'filter' as such is a piece of gauze attached to the bottom of the fuel pump in the tank.