Fuel ⛽️ Gauge

[Haych007]

Hi people I'm new here I have little problem I filled my fuel to £30 pounds to see where the problem is I only used 1 bar that week and I drove the car yesterday for half hour today as I was driving about 5 or 6 miles my fuel ⛽️ gauge bars dropped 2 bars at one time is this normal anyone eles having thus issue any help would be appreciated I could understand stand if 1 bar dropped but 2 together  I'm really baffled is this usual? I do normally once a month Use redex to clean system aswell 

[Roy124]

Is that the first time you noticed this?  Check again next time if it was.

I see your car is 11 years old, the float might just have stuck this time.

[Haych007]

2 minutes ago, Roy124 said:

Is that the first time you noticed this?  Check again next time if it was.

I see your car is 11 years old, the float might just have stuck this time.

1 hour ago, Haych007 said:

⛽️  hi Roy thank you for your Reply no it happend a couple of times before but didn't take much Notice of it tbh yes 11 years old I'm the 2nd owner of if from New. It's a really good car looked after it. But I don't know how to get around this fuel gauge any ideas 

 

[Bper]

Hi H, Aygo gauges can sometimes be a bit inaccurate, especially when full. Try filling up completely and see if it shows full. If you were driving on hills or stopping a lot, the gauge might have fluctuated. It should settle down.Lastly there's a chance the fuel sensor itself might be faulty.fill your tank completely and see if the gauge shows full. Monitor the gauge for a few days. Does it drop steadily or jump around?

If it's still wonky after filling up, get a mechanic to check the fuel sensor.In the meantime, you can use the trip computer or odometer to guess how much fuel you have left. Most Aygo's will also have a low fuel warning light that comes on.Hope this helps.

[Haych007]

8 minutes ago, Bper said:

Hi H, Aygo gauges can sometimes be a bit inaccurate, especially when full. Try filling up completely and see if it shows full. If you were driving on hills or stopping a lot, the gauge might have fluctuated. It should settle down.Lastly there's a chance the fuel sensor itself might be faulty.fill your tank completely and see if the gauge shows full. Monitor the gauge for a few days. Does it drop steadily or jump around?

If it's still wonky after filling up, get a mechanic to check the fuel sensor.In the meantime, you can use the trip computer or odometer to guess how much fuel you have left. Most Aygo's will also have a low fuel warning light that comes on.Hope this helps.

Hi mate mate, when I fill up it doesn't go down straight away it goes down steadily from first bar when the second bar of fuel its still OK when I drive for abit I look at the fuel gauge then Al of a sudden there is 2 bar down its really annoying sometimes is this something to worry about.right know it on 4 bars of fuel meaning there is 1 bar extra cause of this issue

[Bper]

52 minutes ago, Haych007 said:

Hi mate mate, when I fill up it doesn't go down straight away it goes down steadily from first bar when the second bar of fuel its still OK when I drive for abit I look at the fuel gauge then Al of a sudden there is 2 bar down its really annoying sometimes is this something to worry about.right know it on 4 bars of fuel meaning there is 1 bar extra cause of this issue

Hi H,Faulty fuel sending unit,this is the most likely culprit. Inside your fuel tank, there's a unit with a float that moves up and down as the fuel level changes. This unit sends a signal to your fuel gauge on the dashboard. If the unit is malfunctioning, it might be sending inaccurate readings.Hope this helps

[Haych007]

Hi mate do u know how much this unit costs please

[Mjolinor]

The best thing to do is to see if it consistent. Live with it for a few tanks and if it always behaves the same way then you know it and should not have a problem. If however it behaves differently on every fill then you would probably be best served by sorting it out.

 

[Haych007]

Hi mate it doesn'do it all the the time when put fuel with Redex petrol system  cleaner its OK  for few weeks is it something to worry about ?

[Mjolinor]

The only worry is that you run out of petrol because you don't know how much fuel you have. I would live with it personally but each to their own as they say.

[Haych007]

Hi is there anyway I can it back to its position? Mjolinor

[Roy124]

6 minutes ago, Mjolinor said:

The only worry is that you run out of petrol because you don't know how much fuel you have. 

If you know roughly how far you go per litre just will up after a set number of miles. 

A new sender unit may not be expensive,  changing it, that is the trick.

[Haych007]

It's only the first few bars it does it after that it's OK I have run it down to last bar when it makes the beep but, not supposed to It's bad for the fuel unit the mechanic told me 

[haelewyn]

What's your average consumption ? Is that one normal ?

Did you calculate ?

[Roy124]

27 minutes ago, haelewyn said:

What's your average consumption ? Is that one normal ?

Did you calculate ?

You really need to check your consumption.  You don't need to run it down to one bar.  Simply fill to first click on the pump and note milage.   At half full do it again and note the milage.

Based on the miles per litre and size of your tank you can then refuel before getting too low. 

[Haych007]

Not yet calculated it but I was told by mechanic not to run the fuel tank tonl low as its bad for the fuel pump what do you recommend so I Try it and let u know what happens 

[haelewyn]

My idea was to check if the consumption is normal to rule out it's being thrown out or leaking somewhere.

[Cyker]

I think it's just the normal Toyota gauge inaccuracy and slow update; When I was testing my old Mk1 D4D's sender, I had to turn the car off and on again to check it, as it took so long for the reading to update naturally!

In every Toyota I've had, I normally reset Trip A every time I refuel and use that to gauge roughly when I should refuel when it gets near to what I know to be the maximum range of the car (600 miles in my Mk1 D4D, 400 in the Mk2 1.33 VVTi, 500 in the Mk4 hybrid), as the fuel gauge is... not great.

The worst was my Mk2, which would do 200 miles on the first quarter of the gauge and maybe 150-180 on the last 3/4!

[Agent Orange]

Spot on Cyker! 

In my Mark One (Crikey, he's 12 years old now!!!.....I have never kept a car for more than 4 years before) I run it on the odometer and fill up at between 250 and 300 miles.

As you say, I can get 200 miles on the first bar but after that, the gauge goes down much faster.  It's always been that way, from new and I suppose that I have just got used to it as a little quirk of a fantastic little car which we still love the bones of!

All the best!

[haelewyn]

Yeah... true.

The gauge in my aygo II and aygo x are / were both having their own life. 

Just never as bad as what TS described.

I never keep a car long either so I didn't experience how they do in old age.

[Vandals01]

As other suggested, it is likely to be caused by the Sender Unit, which is part of the fuel pump.  To remedy this, you'll have to replace the fuel pump.  Aftermarket, we are looking at £80+ for parts.  Labour wise, it will be 1 to 2 hours.  So £150 to £400?

Personally, since it doesn't affect driving, I will live with it.

 

I understand many people have range anxiety, and a faulty gauge really puts them off the comfort zone.  However, since I always fill the tank up to full, faulty fuel gauge does not affect me at all.

The fuel tank on Aygo is 36 to 39 litres depends on the gradient of the petrol station.  My car has a fuel consumption of roughly 59 mpg, so each tank will give 456 to 506 miles.  I usually fill the car when it reaches 350 miles.

Or if you can get a 5 Litres jerry can, fill it up with petrol then just store it in the boot.  That means you'll always have spare evens if the fuel consumption spike unexpectedly.   Do note that petrol doesn't burn as well with age, so refresh the can every 3 or 6 months.

[Haych007]

Hi guys sorry about late reply I have been CARFULLY observing the fuel gauge last few days full tank 1st bar just went down when I fuel on last Saturday so trip altogether 99.3 when I reset my trip meter  99.3 trip 1st bar of fuel went down is that a good sign 

[Haych007]

Miles driven I bought the car on 83000 its done 88 127 mainly drive to work and here and there sometimes 

[Roy124]

Drive another hundred and fill to full.  Then you can work out consumption and calculate full to a quarter of stated capacity in miles.   At that point check the gauge.

I would guess it will be close to empty as there is probably a significant reserve.  You will still be well above 'too low'.

Fill to full and check the amount of fuel against the stated capacity.  If it all matches, use your miles driven to know fuel remaining. 

[Haych007]

I will check this thank you