gas gauge on empty

[crsh2]

hello it started yesterday. I was at the light and the see the gas gauge drop to empty for a few second then it shot up back to where it was.

same thing when i start the car gauge stays at empty with no light indication thats empty. as soon as i shift the gear to drive it go up to where it suppost to be.

any ideas

thanks

[adelaros]

This problem usually happens when you fill up the gas tank all the way up. If this is the case , drive for a while it will fix it self..I happens to al the time.

[Gorister]

I work at Carmax and recently had another W202 that had the same problem. We sent it back to the shop only to find out the reason for the failure was a gas cap that wasnt on tight. I had never heard of anything like that, but once the gas cap was on tight there was no other problem. This one never showed Full however...it just always stayed on empty.

[crsh2]

Originally posted by adelaros
This problem usually happens when you fill up the gas tank all the way up. If this is the case , drive for a while it will fix it self..I happens to al the time.

Oh thank you very much i will check both but i think
the culprit would be the filling the gas tank all the way to the top.

but i thought i did this all the time..

Thank you guys

have a nice weekend

[Gorister]

If this happened after you filled up then I would imagine that is the problem. Glad I learned of that as well because that is something i usually do. Good Luck man!

[crsh2]

Thank you again adelaros and Gorister

open and close the gas cap and use the car all the and it
stop doing it.

Its FIX

thanks

[kameraguy]

Stupid gas gauge!

A lot of us have this happen all the time. Hopefully your issue won't come back.

For me, I tried all the suggestions offered here....check gas-cap, replace gas cap, don't fill-up all the way, try a different brand gas, fill up on a cold day, don't drive too long before filling-up, yet i still have this problem. It's intermittent really.

I did find that by not filling up until the gas pump stops on it's own somewhat helps, but even if I don't fill to that point it still happens eventually. The gauge will drop to E after a few miles. Then it will recover a day or so later.

I tried filling up to 3/4 full one time and that had the same symptoms.

I guess in my case I hope it's not some vacuum leak. I read on mercedesshop that could also cause this behaviour.

[Three Point 6]

All 202's eventually do this history shows. It will only get worse not better. A gas guage sending unit in the tank is the culprit. Part is like $180+labor. Im still just going 290-310 miles and pulling into the gas station cause mine went out last Spring! Our cars also have issues w/filler neck check valves.(especially pre 'mid' year 97's) 2 months ago my car wouldnt let me add fuel until I had a retro-fit neck put in - 3 George washingtons later - ouch

[Gorister]

Three George Washington's later? Hmm...maybe you mean Benjamins?