I did a search on some gas gauge problems and found some dealing with the low fuel indicator coming on with gas still in the tank. My truck is doing something different. The gauge is all over the place. I'll come out in the morning it'll say 3/4 tank. I leave school and it is under half tank. An hour later, it's back to 3/4 tank. The next day it is on empty etc. Anyone experience this? Any ideas what may be wrong?

Kevin

 

You should still be under warranty right? That is a warranty problem with a TSB attached to it I believe.

The dealer should hook you up on that one.

 

Ya, go to the dealer, if they say it isn't covered anymore, just call toyota customer service, then it will be

 

I'm not under warranty anymore (41 k miles) I looked at alldata.com but didn't see any TSB's. I guess I can still take it in and see what they say. Thanks for the advice guys.

Kevin

 

Just like PHX said, call Toyota...they'll get ya fixed up. They have the greatest support.

Fink

 

TSB EL010

 

My gauge does the same thing. it actually almost stranded me in the middle of Montana at 4am. It read half full and went dry. i limped into a gas station...barely!

I called the dealer after my trip and asked them about the TSB they said i was out of warranty and the repair would cost $465 or so.

Maybe i'll go over to the dealer in person and see what we can do. It annoys me big time.

 

One thing about toyotas, the fuel gauges are not known for their reliability. I have experienced similar issues, sorry to hear that your brand new Toyotas maintain the same tradition. What I did was, I reset the trip mileage each time I filled up. That way, gas gauge or not, I knew when it was time to fill up, simply by knowing how many miles I can get out of a tank.

 

I do reset my trip religiously. I calculate my mpg almost every tank. My problem was I got some crappy gas in IA (must have been the ethanol they use) that yielded me a whopping 12mpg vs 18-20. I was out of gas at 195 instead of 280miles.

 

Yeah, I always set my trip when filling up too. Having a working gas gauge is just convenient though. I'll call the dealer although I think I know what they're going to say. Thanks again everyone.

Kevin

 

Here is the TSB info, use this info when you call the dealership or customer service.

Component Description:
11. INTERIOR SYSTEMS:INSTRUMENT PANEL:GAUGE:INDICATOR:GAS
NHTSA Number: 610059
Bulletin Number: EL01099
Bulletin Date: DEC 1999

Vehicle: 1999 Toyota 4Runner
Summary:
SUBJECT REGARDING FUEL GAUGE HORIZONTAL CALIBRATION PROCEDURE. *TT