A week ago the gas reminder light came on and the needle of the gas gauge was on E, so I filled the tank but to my suprise it only took 12 gallons to fill. today It was almost to the E on gauge so I decided to fill again and this time it only to 11 gallons to fill. My question is why is the gauge saying it's on empty but I have at least 1\3 of a tank still left. I have been monitoring my gas milage and I'm getting a steady 25 mpg. Also the range indicator always says >373 after the refills, but as soon as i start driving it goes down with the milage that I put on it. I just bought the car 3 weeks ago and was wandering if this is normal or do I have a problem with the mid. Should I need to take the battery cable off and let everything set back to the basic? Any info I would appreciate.
Mark

 

Greetings and welcome to AZ.....

We have a 17 gallon tank, but when you reach empty you still 3-4 gallons left in reserve.

We have some people here that have driven 60-75 miles on empty

In regarding the MID showing you >373 the moment after it fill up full, the computer adjusts the mileage range per your driving style. On my TL-S, I fill up full, and the needle is above F, after 15-18miles of driving, it drops by like 2 indicators... TL-S loves gas.

 

I didn't think that the gas gauge would be that far off. Is there anything that I can check or do to make sure that the system is working proper.

 

You have a problem, but you also have a warranty. Best of luck.

 

Yes.

If the "RANGE" in the MID is at ~25 miles the low fuel warning light should come on.

When the RANGE reaches 0, fill up to the 1st pump cut off. If you get ~13 - 14 gallons then everything is TOTALLY normal.

 

so I should watch the mid range and dont worry about the gas gauge?

 

Oops! Sorry. Misunderstood where you were going and this question comes up *so* often.

What I suggested will tell you if your MID RANGE and/or the amount of gas you are getting at a fill up is normal. It won't tell you if your gas guage is normal.

But, if the gas guage generally matches the MID RANGE at the low fuel levels, I'd say that's pretty good evidence that the guage is fine.

I've had TL's for a little over 6 years. I can say that on both cars the first half tank (by the gas guage) seems to go pretty slowly or "normal". For the 2nd half of the tank the guage has always seemed to drop like a rock.

 

bearcat94
thanks for the response. I just think something is wrong when my gas gauge says empty and my total milage driven was 291 miles, so i fill up and it only takes 11 gallons to fill up. so that means that I had 6 gallons of gas left in the tank at fill up. I was expecting it to be closer than that. So if I get 25 miles per gallon then I just need to watch the total miles and when I get close to 425 miles it's time to fill up.

 

Take it into your dealership and have it checked. Doesn't sound normal to me that your on "E" and still have 6 gallons. Should be closer to 2 or 3 gallons left. Wouldn't hurt to have it checked. My first car I ever owned, the fuel gauge was broken and was pegged on "Full" (wish it was true). Had to judge by the mileage. Good luck with it. Keep this thread up to date.

 

I have the same problem with my 08 TL base. I do mostly city driving so I expected it to be bad but i Only get 210 miles and the needle was almost pointed to E. Another thing was my fuel indicator is not very "stable" 1 sec it is down by 2 dots and the next couple seconds, the needle went back up. Seems very inaccurate, should I take it in?

 

any help guys ??

 

I have an 08 Type S and mentioned same problem as redcamaro72's initial post. They said that eveyone complains about this - Acura has set their gauges this way. My interpretation is that Acura figures the best way to keep the fuel pump in some gas (ie and so keep cool=last longer) is to calibrate the gauge so it looks like we need gas before we do. Guess we owners are too dumb to know when to fill up - lol.

 

not going to saw nothing on this one

 

08- TL Type S- with 600 miles. Only 2 tanks of gas- I just experienced the same exact issue. The low gas light came on. I filled the car and it only accepted 13 gallons. It just so happened that I was on my way to the dealer and asked the question on this. I was told that the car holds 3-4 gallons in reserve in a 17 gallon tank. I really don't beleive this but I will monitor it and advise.

 

i bought my tl-s in may of 2007. maximum i filled was always less than 14gal after driving little bit more after light comes on. usually it only takes 12gals right after the fuel light comes on.

 

i have see a 13 gallon fillup once on my 08 type s that was riding with the light on so i think the gauge is fine and acura thinks we will mess up the cars by not putting gas in them when we are supposed to

 

No need to "monitor and advise", it is a fact and has been proven over and over. I understand the confusion, but if you read the posts in this thread and the ones below, you'll understand *how* it works. *Why* Acura/Honda set it up this way - there are theories, but which is correct - .

F-061: Miles to Empty, Low Fuel Warning, and Fuel Tank Capacity
https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=84730
https://acurazine.com/forums/acurazine-clubs-meets-15/location-ideas-next-large-northeast-meet-71425/
https://acurazine.com/forums/ramblings-12/made-switch-86945/
https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=107341


There is one other possiblity - the fuel system really is NOT a 17.1 gal capacity system.

Even if that is the case, which is *extremely* unlikely, the light will come on with ~25 milkes RANGE and you can put in 12 - 13 gals OR if RANGE = 0, you can put in ~14 gals.