Stuck Gas Gauge

Questions on how we spend our money and our time - consumer goods and services, home and vehicle, leisure and recreational activities
Post Reply
Topic Author
sport
Posts: 12094
Joined: Tue Feb 27, 2007 2:26 pm
Location: Cleveland, OH

Stuck Gas Gauge

Post by sport »

It seems the gas gage in my 2013 Camry is stuck on full. Is there an easy way to fix this? If not, what might the cost be to have it fixed at an independent mechanic? My owner's manual does not address this.
ForTheLongHaul
Posts: 27
Joined: Tue Apr 13, 2021 9:41 pm

Re: Stuck Gas Gage

Post by ForTheLongHaul »

Happened to me a long time ago (2003 Pontiac Grand Am).

Couple months after it happened, I filled the tank and topped it off more than I typically would. It fixed the problem.

Next time I overfilled, it stuck so I overfilled again and it fixed the issue again.
Lalamimi
Posts: 1209
Joined: Mon Jun 24, 2019 4:22 pm
Location: Texas

Re: Stuck Gas Gage

Post by Lalamimi »

have you searched on UTube on how to fix the gas gauge? Start there!
RetiredAL
Posts: 3537
Joined: Tue Jun 06, 2017 12:09 am
Location: SF Bay Area

Re: Stuck Gas Gage

Post by RetiredAL »

sport wrote: Sun Jul 03, 2022 12:40 pm It seems the gas gage in my 2013 Camry is stuck on full. Is there an easy way to fix this? If not, what might the cost be to have it fixed at an independent mechanic? My owner's manual does not address this.
YouTube is your friend. Search there for gas sender and/or fuel pump. Often the sender is integral with the fuel pump assembly.

On some cars it's accessible by removing covers under the back seat or truck. Others require removal of the gas tank.
User avatar
Kagord
Posts: 1676
Joined: Fri Nov 23, 2018 12:28 pm
Location: Peaksville, Ohio

Re: Stuck Gas Gage

Post by Kagord »

Diagnosis is needed. Usually testing the gauge on the instrument cluster is done first because it's easy with a bi-directional scan tool. If not that, which it likely isn't, check for a ground/connector issue before dropping the tank. If not that, drop the tank enough to access and remove the fuel pump, and inspect mechanical and/or test resistance on the float sending unit. I'd estimate this would be $500-1000 at an independent shop to fix.

Cheap alternative, use the trip odometer, reset after fill up, estimate MPG conservatively.
Gill
Posts: 8221
Joined: Sun Mar 04, 2007 7:38 pm
Location: Florida

Re: Stuck Gas Gage

Post by Gill »

Kagord wrote: Sun Jul 03, 2022 1:10 pm
Cheap alternative, use the trip odometer, reset after fill up, estimate MPG conservatively.
This is how it’s done on most motorcycles.
Gill
Cost basis is redundant. One has a basis in an investment | One advises and gives advice | One should follow the principle of investing one's principal
runner3081
Posts: 5994
Joined: Mon Aug 22, 2016 3:22 pm

Re: Stuck Gas Gauge

Post by runner3081 »

Last 2 of 3 cars we owned had broken fuel gauges. Both were very expensive fuel electronic units. Never replaced them.

Just made a low estimate of max miles to drive before refill and reset the trip meter every gas fill up. Was never an issue.

Only problem is emissions on one car. The fuel issue sends a check engine light after a fill up. So I had to play the check engine light reset game to pass, lol.
Topic Author
sport
Posts: 12094
Joined: Tue Feb 27, 2007 2:26 pm
Location: Cleveland, OH

Re: Stuck Gas Gage

Post by sport »

Gill wrote: Sun Jul 03, 2022 1:47 pm
Kagord wrote: Sun Jul 03, 2022 1:10 pm
Cheap alternative, use the trip odometer, reset after fill up, estimate MPG conservatively.
This is how it’s done on most motorcycles.
Gill
Of course I can do that. I just like having a gage.
urban
Posts: 326
Joined: Wed Apr 14, 2021 12:36 am

Re: Stuck Gas Gage

Post by urban »

Gill wrote: Sun Jul 03, 2022 1:47 pm
Kagord wrote: Sun Jul 03, 2022 1:10 pm
Cheap alternative, use the trip odometer, reset after fill up, estimate MPG conservatively.
This is how it’s done on most motorcycles.
Gill
Still motorcycles keep a small supply of reserve fuel.
Gill
Posts: 8221
Joined: Sun Mar 04, 2007 7:38 pm
Location: Florida

Re: Stuck Gas Gage

Post by Gill »

urban wrote: Sun Jul 03, 2022 4:09 pm
Gill wrote: Sun Jul 03, 2022 1:47 pm
Kagord wrote: Sun Jul 03, 2022 1:10 pm
Cheap alternative, use the trip odometer, reset after fill up, estimate MPG conservatively.
This is how it’s done on most motorcycles.
Gill
Still motorcycles keep a small supply of reserve fuel.
Most, but not all.
Gill
Cost basis is redundant. One has a basis in an investment | One advises and gives advice | One should follow the principle of investing one's principal
jebmke
Posts: 25476
Joined: Thu Apr 05, 2007 2:44 pm
Location: Delmarva Peninsula

Re: Stuck Gas Gauge

Post by jebmke »

I had a “good news gas gauge” in college. I used the odometer method to fill up.
Don't trust me, look it up. https://www.irs.gov/forms-instructions-and-publications
User avatar
gwe67
Posts: 1364
Joined: Mon Dec 23, 2013 8:52 pm

Re: Stuck Gas Gauge

Post by gwe67 »

Maybe you have an electrical problem that is related to your 12 volt charger in your other post?

You could carefully try to move the needle with a strong magnet.
VTI 48%, VXUS 12%, BND 40%
Topic Author
sport
Posts: 12094
Joined: Tue Feb 27, 2007 2:26 pm
Location: Cleveland, OH

Re: Stuck Gas Gauge

Post by sport »

gwe67 wrote: Sun Jul 03, 2022 4:51 pm Maybe you have an electrical problem that is related to your 12 volt charger in your other post?

You could carefully try to move the needle with a strong magnet.
That is an interesting thought. However, since the charging problem is the same across two cars, it seems unlikely.
User avatar
Watty
Posts: 28860
Joined: Wed Oct 10, 2007 3:55 pm

Re: Stuck Gas Gauge

Post by Watty »

gwe67 wrote: Sun Jul 03, 2022 4:51 pm Maybe you have an electrical problem that is related to your 12 volt charger in your other post?
I am not sure what that was about but one thing to consider is that if your car battery is old then some other car electronics can get wonky. If your car battery is 5+ years old then it would not hurt to replace it even if it tests OK. That is a bit of a longshot but it couldn't hurt.
Last edited by Watty on Sun Jul 03, 2022 5:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Carlton
Posts: 132
Joined: Sat Nov 10, 2012 1:46 pm
Location: NYC/Metro Area

Re: Stuck Gas Gauge

Post by Carlton »

Somtimes the sender can get gunked up on older cars. Try filling the tank from almost empty with Top-Tier detergent premium gasoline and add one bottle of Gumout Regane Complete Fuel System Cleaner. Do not refill the tank until almost empty again. If it works, great, if not, only out a few bucks and your fuel system is clean!

https://gumout.com/fuel-additives/regan ... m-cleaner/

https://www.toptiergas.com/licensed-brands/
Topic Author
sport
Posts: 12094
Joined: Tue Feb 27, 2007 2:26 pm
Location: Cleveland, OH

Re: Stuck Gas Gauge

Post by sport »

Carlton wrote: Sun Jul 03, 2022 5:05 pm Somtimes the sender can get gunked up on older cars. Try filling the tank from almost empty with Top-Tier detergent premium gasoline and add one bottle of Gumout Regane Complete Fuel System Cleaner. Do not refill the tank until almost empty again. If it works, great, if not, only out a few bucks and your fuel system is clean!

https://gumout.com/fuel-additives/regan ... m-cleaner/

https://www.toptiergas.com/licensed-brands/
I have been using only Top Tear gasoline. Running the tank to almost empty is kind of dangerous without a working gauge. Perhaps the fuel system cleaner will help. Thanks for the suggestion.
User avatar
nisiprius
Advisory Board
Posts: 52216
Joined: Thu Jul 26, 2007 9:33 am
Location: The terrestrial, globular, planetary hunk of matter, flattened at the poles, is my abode.--O. Henry

Re: Stuck Gas Gauge

Post by nisiprius »

We had two gas gauges go bad within the space of a year on two different cars. It never happened before or (cross fingers) since. We can't prove it but a few years later we read that the senders--of that era, anyway, this was around the early 2000's--used silver contacts in the gas tank, and that sulfur in gas can damage them. It might be different from yours because the symptom was that the gas gauge constantly read empty, not full, but a quick web search says the damage can manifest either way.

So we either had bad luck and a strange coincidence, or we encountered some bad gas. Disappointing because we only used name-brand gas.

Each time it was about a $200 repair to replace the sending units. We were told it was necessary to drain the gas tank to replace the sender.
Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen and six, result happiness; Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery.
jeffG
Posts: 67
Joined: Wed Mar 18, 2015 7:27 am

Re: Stuck Gas Gauge

Post by jeffG »

I have a 99 corvette and it’s a common problem of the float sticking due to sulfur deposits. Using a cleaner like Techron seems to help some people.
vested1
Posts: 3497
Joined: Wed Jan 04, 2012 3:20 pm

Re: Stuck Gas Gauge

Post by vested1 »

jeffG wrote: Sun Jul 03, 2022 9:18 pm I have a 99 corvette and it’s a common problem of the float sticking due to sulfur deposits. Using a cleaner like Techron seems to help some people.
nisiprius wrote: Sun Jul 03, 2022 8:37 pm We had two gas gauges go bad within the space of a year on two different cars. It never happened before or (cross fingers) since. We can't prove it but a few years later we read that the senders--of that era, anyway, this was around the early 2000's--used silver contacts in the gas tank, and that sulfur in gas can damage them. It might be different from yours because the symptom was that the gas gauge constantly read empty, not full, but a quick web search says the damage can manifest either way.

So we either had bad luck and a strange coincidence, or we encountered some bad gas. Disappointing because we only used name-brand gas.

Each time it was about a $200 repair to replace the sending units. We were told it was necessary to drain the gas tank to replace the sender.
I would bet that both cars were GM products, as was the 99 Corvette referenced above. I had a 2000 GMC Sierra that had this problem, which was well known problem on several GM models, and was a boon to mechanics everywhere. The gas gage would start to fluctuate erratically, then the truck would shut down, always while driving, usually on the freeway. All of a sudden you're traveling at 65 miles an hour and lose power steering and brakes when your engine shuts off because the computer thinks you've just run out of gas. Problem is that it always happened with a full tank of gas, and to fix it, the gas needed to be removed from the tank and the tank removed in order to change the sensor. GM never acknowledged that it was a recall problem, even though many crashes resulted from the failure.

The culprit was a cheap fuel sensor in the gas tank that needed to be replaced. The repair cost me $800 circa 2010. That convinced me never to buy another GM product.
suemarkp
Posts: 1380
Joined: Sun Nov 12, 2017 7:18 pm
Location: Somewhere in WA State

Re: Stuck Gas Gauge

Post by suemarkp »

Do you have a P0463 trouble code (and check engine light on)? Here's a video that shows how to test the fuel level sensor.

https://www.700r4transmissionhq.com/toyota-camry-p0463/

If you don't have or know how to use an ohm meter, then this will be impossible for you and you'll need to pay a mechanic to fix it (some mechanics are electrically stupid, so you may want to try your Toyota dealer for this, but this is about as simple as things can get other than simple on/off). Note that you do not need to remove the sending unit to make a few tests (but the hard part may be getting access to its connectors without dropping the fuel tank -- hope you have an access hole in the trunk). Measure the resistance value now and see if it is between the low and high range. Then, go to the gas station and fill the tank and repeat the test. It should have the resistance that correlates to full.

Some cars when you pull the connector off the sending unit puts the gauge to either full or empty. So a broken or corroded wire could also be the cause. If you really understand electronics, you could pull the connectors off the fuel sending unit and put resistors of known values across the wires and see if the fuel gauge reads correctly. If it does, the sending unit is most likely bad. Now days, many gauges are driven by the computer based on inputs from sensors, so things can be more complicated. If you have a good code reader scan tool, it can most likely tell you what it thinks the fuel level is (which is probably 100% so not helping you much).
Mark | Somewhere in WA State
Nver2Late
Posts: 727
Joined: Tue Jan 26, 2021 10:30 am

Re: Stuck Gas Gage

Post by Nver2Late »

Gill wrote: Sun Jul 03, 2022 4:34 pm
urban wrote: Sun Jul 03, 2022 4:09 pm
Gill wrote: Sun Jul 03, 2022 1:47 pm
Kagord wrote: Sun Jul 03, 2022 1:10 pm
Cheap alternative, use the trip odometer, reset after fill up, estimate MPG conservatively.
This is how it’s done on most motorcycles.
Gill
Still motorcycles keep a small supply of reserve fuel.
Most, but not all.
Gill
It took me three times pushing my motorcycle to the nearest gas station to stop relying on that "reserve". For some things, I'm a slow learner.
"Better is the enemy of good." Good is good.
Nowizard
Posts: 4842
Joined: Tue Oct 23, 2007 5:33 pm

Re: Stuck Gas Gauge

Post by Nowizard »

Not technical but correction of several issues on automobile displays has happened by tapping the display or hitting it somewhat harder than a tap. Dust or debris on the display under the dash, I guess, even though most of that is sealed.

Tim
Post Reply