memememe

so, okay, been reading up on this...

question - if I am driving and the gauge "drops" to zero - can I still drive? Or - am I going to find all the sudden, even if I say have a full tank, that the car thinks I have no gas and it just stops?
or, if I just watch the mileage (until I figure out how to get it fixed/order some techron) - if I just watch the mileage (because I know how far I can normally travel), will I be okay?

thanks!

ThomasR

You'll be fine.

memememe

I'm a little confused though - because in some of the posts I've read people have said it only registers as "half" a tank (so they've been left stranded on the highway)... so...? do I just assume I only have half a tank available? or..... what?

mmartinez

Two different things, the fuel level sending unit in your car has the build up of deposits causing the gage to read empty. Some cars experience problems where the fuel doesn't transfer from one tank to the other, couple treatments of the Techron should solve your cars problem.

feeder82

If your that worried fill it up and write down your mileage. Watch the miles traveled

memememe

okay, so next question:
1. ppl have said different things, so not sure which is correct. when I get the techron:
a) do I put the whole bottle in the tank?
b) do I wait until I am almost empty in gas, 1/2 of gas, or almost full before putting it in?
c) some ppl said let the car sit, while others said drive it. which is it?
d) and I'm assuming as long as the fuel gauge doesn't drop again, means it worked?

2. what is the difference between issue of fuel being transferred from 1 tank to the other? (I thought ppl were saying that was causing the fuel gauge to read empty - or - was that a completely separate issue/something different?)

thanks!

Napoleon_Tanerite

Ok, here are some direct answers to your questions--
1. No, the car will not shut down because it thinks it doesn't have fuel. It will run until it genuinely doesn't have fuel, regardless of what the gauge reads.
2. Techron is a WAAAAAY over-rated bandaid solution to this very common problem. It might work for a while, but it's very likely you're just wasting your money. For use, get the tank full (you need to submerge the sending unit in fuel) and add it. By the time you get the tank burned down it will either have worked or not.

What you really need to do is replace the fuel sending units in the tank. If your car is early 03 or older it's not too terrible of a job. If it's mid-03 or newer it really sucks.

grinder11

Yup, worked for motorcycles for 100 years! It took many bottles/1,300 miles of driving before my gas gauge started reading correctly.......

PDQC5

Once I started using non ethanol fuel in my 98 I have had no gauge issues.

memememe

is costco ethanol fuel? (that's usually where i fuel up) - and/or how would I know?

memememe

it's a 2001 C5. re: techron, shoot - well, purchased 2 bottels already (its dumb "they" make you do it online, but that's the only place I could find it)... thx.

Napoleon_Tanerite

Techron isn't going to hurt anything, but don't be surprised if it does nothing to help either.

wrmiles

The answer to your original question is: Maybe

If it went to zero because of a sender malfunction or contamination, you can use all the fuel, but it is on you to figure out when that is.

If it went to zero because the right tank is not transferring to the left tank (plugged jet pump, usually goes to zero 150-200 highway miles from full tank), you will run out of fuel with 6 or 7 gallons left in the right tank.

memememe

ah, okay, makes more sense. more likey a sender malfunction/contamination... (right now I am at about 1/4 tank, and at least today was reading correctly)... it was just weird - because I had just gotten off the highway, and was pulling into a parking lot (around 1/2 full) - and then it dropped to zero... 5-10 mins later when I went to drive it again, it seemed to 'reset' properly...

mrlmd

In the three times over a 10 year period I owned my car that the gas gauge went to 0, it took maybe 2-3 min. after adding Techron for the gas reading to come back to normal. Worked every time.
If you add Techron periodically as a preventive measure, better to do it with the tank empty or 1/4 full rather than to a full tank so the Techron gets mixed with the gas and gets into both tanks.

JHrinsin

Mine just acted up yesterday. Was reading fine, gradually going done over the last couple of weeks of limited driving on the full tank of "over the winter gas with stabilizer". Got off the freeway after about an hour drive and the gauge went from 3/8 tank to zero near instantly. Pulled into a station and put 5 gallons in the tank (just because I got spooked) and the gauge jumped up to 5/8 tank. Hmmm.... later drove back home and filled her up - it took 11.2 gallons and the gauge now reads full. Okay so something is amiss. So this morning after doing some reading here, I poured in a can of Berryman's B12 that I had in the garage. We shall see what happens. Just another reminder I guess of why we should stick with Top Tier rated gasoline brands and skip the cheap ****.

JHrinsin

BTW, I checked the codes yesterday and found a P1431 code. I erased that code and will see if the Berryman's B12 and fresh Top Tier gas helps.

oh1vette

All depends how bad the deposits on the sensors is,,,

I've had this problem intermittently for many years, for me, adding Techron solves the issue every time...depending on bottle size I'll add 1 or 2 bottles of techron...

I'll add bottle when it fails and then another treatment when down to 1/4 or less...

helga203

I think i gave up after the 5th bottle of techron.

Napoleon_Tanerite

That's why I advise people to not even waste their time on techron. If the sensors don't already look like that they're well on their way to looking that way. 20+ years old means it's time to replace them anyway.