2003 Fuel guage problems

GDN · July 30, 2005

I ran out of gas about 3 weeks ago - first time in my life after 20 plus years of driving. I was pretty pissed though - the guage still said almost an 1/8 of a tank left - and the low fuel light never came on - until I coasted off to the side of the road.

Anyone else had similar problems? I tried searching here - but the first time the search worked - I didn't find any matches - now I can't get the search engine to work -times out.

Anyway - on the pickup before this one - the guage went completly erratic - sending unit problem I think - so I learned to watch my mileage. On the 2003 with all of the computer calculations, fuel used, gas mileage, etc - it was amazing - almost always within a half gallon of gas or within .1 or .2 of what I calculated to be my actual mileage. Then out of the blue - it coughed, sputtered, then died - driving down the road at 70 MPH.

So - I've watched the guage since then - seems to work almost perfect on the first 2/3 of the tank - then it just doesn' drop like it should to match the fuel in the tank - When I hit 365 miles I can get about 24 gallons in it - but the guage is still up around a quarter of a tank.

Anyone else had similar problems on 2003 or newer?

thanks,

mudbug660 · July 30, 2005

mine has never gave me a problem. wish I could help but you got me stumped.

RyanZ71 · July 31, 2005

welcome to the club of fuel guage problems, there are only about 500 others on this message board who have the same issues with the fuel guage not working properly. me included.

BRZ71 · July 31, 2005

Mine has been screwing around with me for about a month now. I will get in my truck to go to work and the guage will say over a quarter left, I will get to work do some work, get in the truck to leave and the guage will be almost on E. After a drive I will get back in the truck and start it up and the d**n thing will say about a quarter again. Once I get down to a little above a quarter left, I don't trust the guage. I am going to have it looked at on my next trip to the dealer. Mine is a 2003 also.

I noticed the other day when I went on a little trip that it stayed at 1/4 for the entire time, once I started the truck to come back home it fell down to E and the light came on.

willieboy · July 31, 2005

This is not aproblem limited to the '03. It seems to be a NBS problem. My 'Burb has a wacky guage that I really do not trust at all anymore. Instead I watch the miles. 325, and I fill the tank. That usually mean about 25 gallons in town.

chuckp · July 31, 2005

I ran out of gas about 3 weeks ago - first time in my life after 20 plus years of driving. I was pretty pissed though - the guage still said almost an 1/8 of a tank left - and the low fuel light never came on - until I coasted off to the side of the road.

Anyone else had similar problems? I tried searching here - but the first time the search worked - I didn't find any matches - now I can't get the search engine to work -times out.

Anyway - on the pickup before this one - the guage went completly erratic - sending unit problem I think - so I learned to watch my mileage. On the 2003 with all of the computer calculations, fuel used, gas mileage, etc - it was amazing - almost always within a half gallon of gas or within .1 or .2 of what I calculated to be my actual mileage. Then out of the blue - it coughed, sputtered, then died - driving down the road at 70 MPH.

So - I've watched the guage since then - seems to work almost perfect on the first 2/3 of the tank - then it just doesn' drop like it should to match the fuel in the tank - When I hit 365 miles I can get about 24 gallons in it - but the guage is still up around a quarter of a tank.

Anyone else had similar problems on 2003 or newer?

thanks,

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

A safety recall for 332,202 (1500 Series) Chevrolet Suburban and Yukon XL from the 2000 and 2001 model years for possible overheating of fuel pump wires that could lead to engine stalling or failure to start, a possible fuel leak and/or inaccurate fuel level readings. Owners will be notified of the condition in May and again when parts are available later in the year. GM knows of no crashes or injuries related to the condition.

http://gm-trucks.com/home/content/view/179/49/

hardell · August 16, 2005

Not sure if you figued this out yet but your sending unit is the culprit. Seems to be on several years and all models. The big problem is that it is part of the fuel pump, mounted in the tank and costs about $1000.00 to have replaced. I understand you can get an aftermarket unit and do it yourself but the aftermarkets pumps do not last very long. I watched the miliage or several months until the pump went out and left me stranded. Not sure how common pump failure is but having it fail far away from the house sucked! I would have it changed, or change it yourself, before you suffer the same fate.

Unfortunately since the dealer replaced mine most of the lights on and in my truck no longer work and I cannot figure out why. Dash lamps, door lock lamps, license plate lamps, and tail lights are out. Also, the lights no longer flash with the keyless entry bottun. I'm stumped!