Question about gas gauge on a 2018.

2859 Views 8 Replies 4 Participants Last post by J.M., Jan 9, 2020

Dude

Discussion Starter · Aug 5, 2018

I recently bought a 2018 Passat R Line. It's my first VW after years of having all kinds of other brands. I absolutely love the car.
I have a question about the gas gauge and am wondering maybe its just a VW thing.
I notice that after I fill my gas tank up the gas gauge needle starts moving down as soon as I leave the gas station. It continues to fall. Not real fast, but more then I feel it should. I can go not even 10 miles and its already down 2 lines. As soon as it hits the 3/4 mark though it slows down and moves at a normal rate.
Is this typical for the car? I dont see any leaks and I'm getting the proper mileage in the car. Are the gas tanks in these cars odd shaped or something? Is this typical or no?

Save

1 - 9 of 9 Posts

Mexicokid

· #2 · Aug 6, 2018

You say " I fill the tank", do you mean that when the pump shuts off as filled? Can't really say about a gasser but I assume it's the same as in my Diesel. After the pump shuts of I can get a lot more fuel in and I fill right to the top of the filler neck.!!!!!

Unless you live next door to a filling station fuel gets used up when you drive away and there is no problem filling to the top of the neck..

Save

Dude

Discussion Starter · #3 · Aug 6, 2018

Yea after the pump shuts off at the station. The gauge is all the way up. I'll have to see how much more gas I can get it without overfilling it.

Save

J.M.

· #4 · Dec 25, 2019

I have the same issue with my 2018 Passat fuel gauge, but after the sudden drop the indicator drops normally as well. I always get better mileage than advertised, and on the highway on long drives I constantly get close to 40 mpg and sometimes above 40 mpg when I stay between speeds of 60/65.
Also, when I first noticed the sudden drop, I checked my mileage with a calculator and it mirrored what what the car recorded as my mileage so I figured it was normal for my car.
Additionally, if I top off to the top of the filler neck the indicator still drops faster than it should to the first 2 marks, but the mpg I'm getting is phenomenal and it is not an issue for me.
All the best,

Save

J.M.

· #5 · Dec 27, 2019

Just today I filled to the very top of the filler neck, reset the trip meter and so far after driving 24 miles the needle did not drop.

Save

J.M.

· #6 · Dec 28, 2019

J.M. said:
I have the same issue with my 2018 Passat fuel gauge, but after the sudden drop the indicator drops normally as well. I always get better mileage than advertised, and on the highway on long drives I constantly get close to 40 mpg and sometimes above 40 mpg when I stay between speeds of 60/65.
Also, when I first noticed the sudden drop, I checked my mileage with a calculator and it mirrored what the car recorded as my mileage so I figured it was normal for my car.
Additionally, if I top off to the top of the filler neck the indicator still drops faster than it should to the first 2 marks, but the mpg I'm getting is phenomenal and it is not an issue for me.
All the best,

Save

J.M.

· #7 · Jan 9, 2020

I rechecked after filling up to the very top of the filler neck last weekend, and I went 80 miles before the needle dropped to two marks or one eighth of a tank with 20 miles city driving, before highway driving, moreover, for the 20 miles of city driving, the needle showed full as I posted before, but started dropping normally after I started driving on the highway.

Save

VAGguy

· #8 · Jan 9, 2020

DO NOT overfill. It will back up into the charcoal canister/vapor recovery and ruin it. Just let the pump click off and go about your day. It's not like your getting another gallon in by doing so.

Save

J.M.

· #9 · Jan 9, 2020

Sure, very good advice and that is my normal routine, not to top up, but I was only testing after seeing the post on the needle dropping which I noticed was the same issue on my car.
Thank you for looking out, and a happy new year to you and yours,

Save

1 - 9 of 9 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.

Top Contributors this Month