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B5.5 DTE/Fuel Gauge Incredibly Inaccurate?

7K views 20 replies 8 participants last post by  2002GLXV6 
#1 ·
Okay, I'm not embarrassed to admit this, I have run out of gas twice now in my B5.5 Passat with AWM 1.8T and 5sp.

I bought the car and took it three days later 900 miles away. Silly me for doing that with a new (to me) car, agreed. Ran out of gas on I-95 down in Maryland.

Doing the math with the MPG it claimed I was getting, I should have had another 2.5 gallons (assuming a 16 gallon tank). I was towed to a gas station and only put 15 gallons in (maybe it's a 15 gallon tank?). At that point, I did not know the car had a DTE meter (distance to empty).

Now I do know, so I went on a 70 mile highway ride at about 80 the majority and the car says I have 60 miles to empty and the car quits. Out of gas again. I even took a picture of the gauge cluster while I was parked. The gas gauge was at 1/4 tank, nowhere near the red.

Is this something I can fix or is this just a "known issue" with the B5.5 Passat? I'm not one to burn the red on the gas gauge or go down to 5 miles on the DTE, but when it says 60, you'd think I could still drive another 20-30 miles without issue.
 
#2 ·
It's not a particularly accurate gauge (based on my 2000 and 2004) but it should be erring on the high side. Did you get a warning, aside from the needle reading? You should get a yellow fuel pump icon, a chime, and a "refuel soon" admonition in the display. You definitely should not run out of gas showing 1/4 full. I'm thinking a bad sender in the gas tank.

BTW, actually running the tank dry is a good way to ruin your fuel pump.
 
#3 ·
I did not get any warning at all. I expect the warning is either going against the DTE or the gauge sensor, either way, they both seem to be expecting the same amount of fuel which is inaccurate.

During my entire ownership of the B5.5 (only ~7 months and about 11k miles now), I have only seen the yellow low fuel once and it was when I was getting particularly good gas mileage.

I'm not interested in dropping the tank (assumed) to fix the sender. I just make it a habit to get gas before 300 miles. My heavy foot on the highway causes me to get around 22-24mpg on average. If I'm in the country (lower speeds, infrequent stops) I'll get 28-30mpg, but that doesn't usually last a whole tank so the best I've ever seen on a fill up is just 26mpg.

I am fully aware that running a high pressure fuel pump to empty is a good way to shorten its life. As I was not warned at all in either case, I'm not going to take the blame but I definitely get gas earlier now to be on the safe side.
 
#4 ·
You should not be running out of gas with your gauge at 1/4 of a tank. I run mine below 1/4 of a tank quite often and have never run out of gas so I'm going to say it's not common. Also my DTE computer is much more accurate than yours! When it gets down below what it can measure it'll start saying 0 miles.
 
#8 ·
At how many miles roughly do your gas gauges get down to Full? (assuming they start above full, I forget).
I actually had to read that a couple of times to see what you were getting at. When "filling" my tank (filling to the point where the pump shuts off, and not more) my needle reads very slightly above the painted full line. It starts to move downward immediately - within 20 miles, it's below the full line. This is in contrast to the Ford and GM cars I've owned, where the needle would go well past "full", loiter there for days, and then begin a precipitous drop.

(GRIN) I recall my Mk1 Jetta had the most frighteningly accurate fuel gauge I'd ever seen: If the needle touched "E", you'd coast into the gas station; whereupon you could pump in exactly the rated capacity. At the other end of the spectrum, I recall a Beetle (1963?) that had no gas gauge at all. When it started to stutter, you'd switch to the tiny "auxiliary tank" and head for a gas station.
 
#7 ·
Looking like the sender is a dealer only item as Rock Auto and AutoZone don't appear to list one.

Does anyone know how much they roughly go for at the dealer?

Any links to a write-up with pictures?

Seems like this was an issue for the B5 4Motion and even got a recall once upon a time.
 
#9 ·
On my 99, I could predictably drive about 40 miles around town AFTER the low fuel warning chime and light came on, which was just before the needle reached the lowest mark. If I pushed it until I was on fumes (not good, as mentioned), the needle was just a hair past the empty mark.

Here's a full service kit from gernmanautoparts.com for all b5.5 4mos. Includes both senders.

GermanAutoParts.com : Volkswagen Passat Fuel


I'm still on my first tank with my b5.5, but I'm expecting the same behavior as my b5. I'll call you if I get stuck somewhere. :D
 
#10 ·
Just a thought; but since the gauge is working somewhat and seems to be sticking at 1/4 tank. Why not try running a couple tanks of gas with Chevron Techron fuel system cleaner and see if that doesn't free things up? It's only a few bucks a bottle. You just need to remember to fuel up at 1/4 tank. They make a few different products so make certain you buy the correct one.

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#11 ·
Just a thought; but since the gauge is working somewhat and seems to be sticking at 1/4 tank. Why not try running a couple tanks of gas with Chevron Techron fuel system cleaner and see if that doesn't free things up? It's only a few bucks a bottle. You just need to remember to fuel up at 1/4 tank. They make a few different products so make certain you buy the correct one.
I'd read about this Techron stuff in other threads while searching before making this post. Unfortunately, I've never seen it in a store.
 
#12 ·
Do you have wal-marts up there? They should carry it as well as any auto parts store.

Over the past 120K miles on B5.5 (total is 135k), it has been very consistent. 40 miles to empty and the light comes on. I can go another 50 or so safely under light driving. Never ran out of gas.

The MTE can change during a trip. On my hour commutes, it frequently gains 5-10 miles under certain driving conditions. It can be 30 mte when I start and then 30 miles later, still have 10 mte showing. Sometimes, I could hit 0 well before that.
 
#13 ·
Two things: I had a similar problem with my 2000 GLS 1.8T. It was a sulfur buildup on the sender which after about a half dozen tanks of quality gas (Chevron & Union 76 in my case) and 3 or 4 bottles of Techron (the Fuel System Cleaner, not the Fuel Injector Cleaner), the sender did start working properly again. So, that's my first suggestion. Plus, Wal Mart carries the Techron Fuel System Cleaner. Since I did this 7 or 8 years ago, I run a bottle of Techron through the system annually.

Secondly - Apparently you have a 4-Motion. There was a substantial recall 6-8 years ago for 4-Motions because of faulty senders due to sulfur build up. Those of us with non-4 Motions hoped that VW would be pressured into including the recall because of our issues with the senders, but that didn't happen. I'd suggest you take your car to VW and see if the original recall was done, and if VW will now do it if it wasn't done before. If the dealer won't handle it, call VW Customer Care and rattle their cage - mention the running out of gas twice and see if that makes them more accommodating.
 
#14 ·
Apparently you have a 4-Motion. There was a substantial recall 6-8 years ago for 4-Motions because of faulty senders due to sulfur build up. Those of us with non-4 Motions hoped that VW would be pressured into including the recall because of our issues with the senders, but that didn't happen. I'd suggest you take your car to VW and see if the original recall was done, and if VW will now do it if it wasn't done before. If the dealer won't handle it, call VW Customer Care and rattle their cage - mention the running out of gas twice and see if that makes them more accommodating.

:hmmm: Sounds like I need to carry a spare gas can with me until my first tank safely runs low and indicates as much...
 
#16 ·
I can't give you a definitive answer on the 15 vs 16 gallon issue, but the non-4 Motions are 16.4 gallons. I do know that the 4-Mo's have two senders as the tank has to bridge across the rear driveshaft or differential.

Hang in there and keep us informed of your progress; there's lots of folks trying to help out here.
 
#17 ·
I'll pick up some Techron (or order off the net if I can't find it) and try that out.

If there is really a hump in the middle of the tank, I wonder if that could explain the running out of gas as both times I was on the highway. No right/left turns so no sloshing of the gas to the side with the pump (assuming only one pump).
 
#18 ·
The Capacity of the 4 Motion tank is listed as 16.4 gallons with a reserve of 2.1 gallons. The 2.1 gallon reserve is included in the 16.4 gallons not in addition to.

The Chevron Techron Fuel System Cleaner is as stated available in Walmart and just about every national chain auto parts store.
Change the oil, add a bottle of Techron to the gas. That's my program.

Since the ETKA files are down here are the parts files for ya,

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#20 ·
The Capacity of the 4 Motion tank is listed as 16.4 gallons with a reserve of 2.1 gallons. The 2.1 gallon reserve is included in the 16.4 gallons not in addition to.

The Chevron Techron Fuel System Cleaner is as stated available in Walmart and just about every national chain auto parts store.
Change the oil, add a bottle of Techron to the gas. That's my program.

Since the ETKA files are down here are the parts files for ya,

View attachment 8872 View attachment 8873 View attachment 8874 View attachment 8875
What exactly is a "reserve" in a modern EFI car?
 
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