Oh-oh... Where did my petrol go?
 

Parked on the drive last night. Fuel gauge just above half-way mark.
Started car this morning. Fuel gauge just below half-way mark.
I thought it might rise a bit after the car had warmed up (my Fiesta's used to) but it didn't.
Great :-/

I think we managed to arrive at a conclusion that the fuel gauge was in some way a calculated value, rather than a measured value. It can rise and fall depending upon how the car is driven.

I'm obviously not driving it very well, then :o

i think local down and out thought what a beautiful place to spend a night jumped in went for a spin.on a more serious note have you checked for any slight leaks,i am inclined to agree with harry dials are not as accurate as they should be.

I would have looked under the car for signs of a leak, but I had to park it on the grass last night so it wouldn't really have shown up. Will check under car after work today.

Interesting.

I started a thread about this sort of problem a while ago, in my case the needle would fall after fiddly parking but rise back up after driving about for a bit. The consensus then was that the gauge should only move down in direct proportion to the amount in the tank, whereas I had wondered if it showed the amount left in conjunction with the current manner of driving i.e. goes down quickly if hoofing it or using a bit extra when doing fiddly parking.

Harry, do you have a link to the previous discussion you are referring to please?

No, but I remember reading about it and I agree the gauge (and the low fuel light) do seem to wonder about due to some other influence other than the actual tank contents. Likely the warning light works on remaining range, rather than remaining litres, so instantaineous consumption affects it.

The tank contents, as we know, is a calculated value due to the tank being a saddle shaped tank with it splitting into two at below the 1/4 level.

Well, you will in a few days.

Fuel on grass will kill it forever...

Unfortunately there's not much of it left anyway. I live in a flat in a large converted house and visitors (not mine :p:) seem to be incapable of backing out of the drive :shrug:; instead they drive all over the little patch of grass, churning it up, get their cars stuck on the little wall that rises from the ground as the drive slopes, and generally make a mess of things and their cars. Thankfully, of the other two residents who own cars, one is a capable enough drivers that they back out and the other drives a Smart car and turns round easily.

I had to park on the (balding) grass patch yesterday, as the Smart car was parked over two spaces :rolleyes:

My gauge does exactly the same thing,put some fuel in it reads half a tank, get in the next morning and it will say three quarters full, arrive at work back to half full, next morning quarter full. Weird:o