Fuel gauge and range (in)accuracy

[Stanno]

Hi all,

My fuel gauge is way out and so is the range (shows full for 140 miles after a fill-up; filled up with 45 litres so had enough left for around 50 miles - range said 80 and gauge was showing a quarter rather than an eighth/warning).

Been on to the dealer and also SEAT UK and their response was :
- the computer says it's OK
- it's a characteristic of the vehicle
- no-one else has complained

Does anyone else out there have similar issues? Any solutions/suggestions?

Cheers.
Stanno

 

[phil750]

what engine do you have out of interest?

My 1.8tsi does pretty much what you says, the gauge stays full for ages and ages then lower it gets the more it drops.

Not a massive issue for me im just kind of used to it, i just fill up when i get to the quarter mark normally.

 

[Stanno]

Thanks for the response - I have the 1.4 tsi.

Glad to hear it's not just me !! I have asked SEAT UK to request a software mod to correct the problem but I am not holding my breath.

I sort of figured it was a case of ignore the gauge and the range and fill up when the trip reads 400 ...

Stanno

 

[martin j.]

I sort of figured it was a case of ignore the gauge and the range and fill up when the trip reads 400 ...

Stanno

Just what I do with my Honda, except I look for fuel stations at 200 miles Is it difficult to make/fit accurate gauges?

 

[smurf123]

how many miles does the computer tell you that you have on a full tank mine is 360 i think

 

[gh2]

All my VW group cars seem to have had a bigger top half of the tank than the bottom half. I remember driving to Bristol in my Ibiza with a full tank and getting there and the display hadn't moved from the top. Did the return journey and had half a tank left!

 

[chrisRibiza]

My ibiza does up to 50miles before the garage moves then it drops really quickly to the next line down. I'm just used to it now.

The mileage left and range is based on how you've been driving too. Driving in town or driving fast will ultimately give a smaller range than driving long distances economically all the time.

 

[Ckpearce91]

I get about 120 miles to the full mark and then every mark after that is about 50-60 miles. It's something to do with the float in the fuel tank I got told, it can only start to accurately measure once the fuel has dropped to the marker..

 

[GlanzaV]

It's just a characteristic.

My Mk2 Leon, and my Mk4 Ibiza before that when filled to the click (or second/third click) the fuel gauge would read full until I had done 70-80mi.

Also remember that the range can say 0 and AFAIK you still have your "safety" fuel in the tank so you can still get 20mi'ish even though it's reading 0.

And... remember the range is a calculation based on average MPG for a period (not sure if it's the trip of the last few miles??) so it can go up/down on how you drive.

Oh and also... My Mk4 Ibiza had a button in the fuel filler neck that would vent the gas out of the tank to allow a few more litres to be put in after the click... which obviously on the gauge wouldn't read after the click.

 

[keithjeb]

All cars will do it to an extent, depending where the sensor is mounted (it's essentially a float switch) you have to empty the whole filling hose and then a bit more before you're even level with the top of the tank.

My range is generally pretty consistent, but then so is the type of driving I do. I think it's based on your last X miles of driving, so if you use half a tank on b roads then the rest on the motorway you'll see the range going up.

 

[sootytorques]

My 1.2 has same problem, driving like a *****, lost 3 bar's & done 225 miles, with range of 280 left, i tend to believe its an annoying characteristic.

 

[slo007]

The top half of the tank must be bigger, while the bottom half gets smaller by the mile. The last 1/4 tank disappears quickly. Nevertheless, I still get about 400 miles per tank so it's fine (50/50 mixed driving).

 

[ToroNegro]

Filled mine up at 1/4 full (brimmed it) and that cost £55 at 135.9ppl which equates to 40.5 litres in a 50l tank. Meaning 1/4 showed 9.5 litres which isn't that far out. Some of that is down to the digital gauge being difficult to read in my opinion.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[shutcorea]

Mine did the same until I adjusted the reading with the VCDS software.

You can adjust it +- 10%, I set mine -6% and it works a lot better now (at least I think)