Ran out of fuel for the second time...
 

Has anyone had any issues with their fuel gauges being off? Have a 2013 ZL1 and recently ran out of fuel when the gauge was reading a touch below quarter of a tank. Recently before that I ran the car down to a eighth tank and no issues. Car still has stock pump and tank. :iono:

Thanks for any input!.

I would take it to the dealer and tell them to fix it .

Agree with them. Makes me wonder if something in the tank is blocking the pump inlet(s) or a problem with the sending unit in the tank?

I never let mine get below 1/4 tank. Picks up crap from the bottom and leaves you vulnerable if a storm rolls in and cuts power. I always fill up every Friday at 1/2 tank.
Why push it?

My first half tank is 5 gallons, at 1/4 tank I put in 12-13 gallons. Never had it below that so I dunno what happens down there.

Also GM uses the fuel to cool the fuel pump. When you get below 1/4 tank there isn't a lot of fuel to keep the pump cool which makes the pump wear prematurely. I had to replace a fuel pump in a 2003 Grand am GT @ 40k miles .

This is a little half- ass, but I still do things the way I learned as a truck driver: I pay very little attention to the gas gauge, but instead base my fueling on mileage. If I have run 225 miles since my last fill- up, and I'm getting 20 MPG, I know that I've used a little over 11 gallons, which means there's less than half a tank (19 gallon tank capacity, I think), and it's time to start thinking about finding a gas station.

On the other hand, I WOULD be bugged if my fuel gauge was not working properly... it SHOULD work, by all means.

You may need to replace the fuel pump. But for now clear your mileage every time you fill up and fill her up everytime you hit 200 miles or so. And yes one trick I learned when I had my WS6: NEVER EVER EVER let your fuel gauge drop below a quarter tank unless it's winter time.

I NEVER let my tank get below half in the winter, just in case I get stranded somewhere. Fuel = heat in a worst case scenario. ...But MN has very different winters than AZ. :bellyroll:

Same thing just happened to me tonight. Was on a long trip from L.A. to San Jose. Car just died on me when my guage said I was just under 1/4 of a tank (80 miles to empty). Had to call a tow truck to bring me gas =/. Any ideas why this happened? I filled up before I left L.A. and was on E, put 17 gallons in. After the tow truck driver put 2 gallons in, and I went to a gas station 3 miles away, I was only able to get 11 gallons in. So apparently I had gas, but it wouldn't start.

Your level sender rod is bend or not calibrated properly. I would take it to the dealer.
Requires fuel module removal.

Mine seems accurate so far. When it hits "E" it really is about empty. I always try to refill way before it gets near the first warning line and no trouble so far.
Consistent each time with number of gallons it takes to refill based on expectations of what the gauge showed.
Ron

Don't know if this would be your case, or really even if this could happen. But I'll throw this out there for discussion. With more and more of the e10 gas around, and some states even mandating it, might this be cause of some of these problems?

I know that the ethanol attracts moisture, so when a car is low on fuel, 1/4 tank or less, and especially if it sits for any period of time, couldn't this moisture degrade the fuel? Thus giving us stall conditions and no starts.

For me, my car is daily, rain or shine. I use the half tank mark as my "low fuel" mark. But many of y'all store your cars or at least save them for nicer days. Just tossing the idea about how ethanol effects the gasoline in these situations.