[_bdiddyb_]

Wow - my "ultimate driving machine" is fully of surprises. Fuel gauge shows 1/4. Miles left was 95. There was NO INDICATION or WARNING of low fuel. Normally there would be a warning at 50 miles. Even at 70 miles - i rushed to fill up. The car shuts off right in the middle of a big intersection, 5 o'clock rush hour traffic too. It would crank, turned over, then shudders to a stop. Initially I didn't know the tank was empty. Troubleshooting later at home, I realized this was the case (the car had NEVER gone to 350 miles on a full tank.)

30 minutes before the tow truck arrived, was long enough to caused mile long traffic jam. The car is 3 years old - practically brand new. So embarrassing! What kind of a chinese made early warning system is this anyway? Anyone had this issue with the fuel gauge?

Also, it was a bitch to put the car into neutral for the tow guy. Just turning on the car didn't allowed me to shift. I had to crank it, quickly shift into N, then immediately shut it off. Several tries before this would stick. WTF?

[robbiep]

So a 2013 335i (in your profile) is 3 years old, and practically brand new. Obviously maths isn't your strong point.

Also, in this image, the engine is running. Which is odd, because I'd have thought that you'd have only taken a picture when the car had stopped running, in which case the rev counter would be on zero. And if there was 'NO INDICATION or WARNING of low fuel', then why on earth did you decide to take a picture ?

[_bdiddyb_]

dude, why so technical. 3 years is nothing for a car that is worth this much and not abused. When you are stuck in the middle of an intersection and people are honking at you, that is not a good time to pull out the phone and snapchat. Car was towed home, I put in half a gallon of gas (was for the lawn mower) then I took the pic before heading out to the station to fill up. I thought I would take a pic and share with members of this forum. The point of the picture was to show that the gauges looked normal - EVEN THOUGH I was actually EMPTY.

So do you have issue like this with your fuel gauge on your 335d? or you just want to be nit picky?

[robbiep]

Originally Posted by _bdiddyb_

dude, why so technical. 3 years is nothing for a car that is worth this much and not abused. When you are stuck in the middle of an intersection and people are honking at you, that is not a good time to pull out the phone and snapchat. Car was towed home, I put in half a gallon of gas (was for the lawn mower) then I took the pic before heading out to the station to fill up. I thought I would take a pic and share with members of this forum. The point of the picture was to show that the gauges looked normal - EVEN THOUGH I was actually EMPTY.

So do you have issue like this with your fuel gauge on your 335d? or you just want to be nit picky?

The point is, you've not taken a picture of the fault. 30 minutes until the tow truck arrived, and yet you didn't take a picture of it. So you've no idea if that was definitively the cause or not.

You say that you troubleshot it yourself - how ? If you've just shoved some extra fuel in and it's then started, then you might have had an obstruction in the tank that was preventing fuel from being pumped through, and the fuel you then put in 'washed' the obstruction out of the way. You might have a failing fuel pump.
Unless you've definitively determined that the cause was an inaccurate fuel gauge, then you've not fixed the fault.

Are you absolutely certain that the tank was dry ?

[Polo08816]

Originally Posted by _bdiddyb_

Wow - my "ultimate driving machine" is fully of surprises. Fuel gauge shows 1/4. Miles left was 95. There was NO INDICATION or WARNING of low fuel. Normally there would be a warning at 50 miles. Even at 70 miles - i rushed to fill up. The car shuts off right in the middle of a big intersection, 5 o'clock rush hour traffic too. It would crank, turned over, then shudders to a stop. Initially I didn't know the tank was empty. Troubleshooting later at home, I realized this was the case (the car had NEVER gone to 350 miles on a full tank.)

30 minutes before the tow truck arrived, was long enough to caused mile long traffic jam. The car is 3 years old - practically brand new. So embarrassing! What kind of a chinese made early warning system is this anyway? Anyone had this issue with the fuel gauge?

Also, it was a bitch to put the car into neutral for the tow guy. Just turning on the car didn't allowed me to shift. I had to crank it, quickly shift into N, then immediately shut it off. Several tries before this would stick. WTF?

Is your powertrain stock? The reason I ask is because a tune may throw off how the car calculates remaining mileage.

[_bdiddyb_]

robbiep, u didn't get my point. The picture was to show where the needle was pointing and the calculation of miles left. Totally within range of not being empty, therefore not a low fuel warning icon. I figured I was empty due to the TripA odometer reading of 350 miles from the last fill up. The car never ran 350 miles on the tank before, usually around low 300s is where it shows 70 something miles left. I appreciate your diagnosis but damn, the fuel is not that dirty out here. Chevron is not that bad. No, I didn't fix any fault by refilling. The car has a 15.8 gallon tank, and at the gas station I put in about 14.8 gallons. I'm certain I was empty. I'll take note of failing fuel pump though, car ran great yesterday and today.

Polo, BMS stage1, afe intake, cat back exhaust, IC, charge pipe, TIC pipe, 19" wheels - but within specs. The odometer seems to be correct in counting total miles driven. Counting down the miles was jumping from 96, 93,94, 95, 92, 93 then back up to 95 and stuck there.

Let me ask anyone this. How far have you gone on a full tank on your 335's or 328's?

[flyguy27]

420 to 450 miles on a tank highway is not uncommon on my 328i

[robbiep]

I'll ignore the gallons calculation - I'm aware we have different sized gallons to you lot, confusingly ! I believe the tank is the same size.

People over here reckon they get anywhere from 280-400 miles on the 335i or the newer 340i (same size engine) before the fuel light comes on, which happens with 50 miles of range to go.

So your typical range would fit in with that lot - it certainly doesn't look noticeably wrong.
The other possibility could be a sticking level float sensor, I suppose. I do know that Jaguar/Land Rover have had a lot of issues with those in the last couple of years, but no idea if it's the same supplier to BMW.

[_bdiddyb_]

You are on to something. I did some more googling and found out quite a few F30 and F80 owners had issues with stuck gauges relating to either 1st or 2ndary float sensors being "stuck". One of the likely causes is "topping off". I have this habit since day one. Will stop this practice immediately and see if my condition goes away, otherwise i'm fcked.

Originally Posted by robbiep

I'll ignore the gallons calculation - I'm aware we have different sized gallons to you lot, confusingly ! I believe the tank is the same size.

People over here reckon they get anywhere from 280-400 miles on the 335i or the newer 340i (same size engine) before the fuel light comes on, which happens with 50 miles of range to go.

So your typical range would fit in with that lot - it certainly doesn't look noticeably wrong.
The other possibility could be a sticking level float sensor, I suppose. I do know that Jaguar/Land Rover have had a lot of issues with those in the last couple of years, but no idea if it's the same supplier to BMW.

[CleanKM]

This is why I always reset my trip counter every time I fill up. Had a car before that the fuel gauge needle got stuck and I ultimately got stranded because it was empty but said it had half a tank left. I basically fill my diesel up at 450 because I know I can get 600. Sorry to hear about your trouble.

[_bdiddyb_]

Update on this.

I had several fill ups since last problem reported. I didn't attempt to top-off anymore, and stopped pumping as soon as the pump clicks. The fuel gauge needle refused to go below 1/4 tank full. Miles left calculation didn't go below 90.

One day I ran into further complication. While cruising on the freeway at around 55mph on 6th gear, sport mode; I sped up to change lane. The car HESITATED, as if misfired, boost leak, or choking for gas. Subsequent days, the car felt sluggish and not as responsive when I gave it gas. Some of you, who feels at one with your car, may have this feeling of "something is not right" with the car. You feel it in your gut.

My diagnosis of hesitation due to "failing fuel pump" could be related to the gauge issue. Right level sensor is part of the pump assembly. So I went ahead and replaced the fuel pump assembly. I had the older model pump, doesn't hurt to switch out for the new model.

Car feels much more responsive now! Freeway acceleration from 6th & 7th gear is consistent with no hesitation. I also did a 1/4 mile WOT down the street, she's as good as new. Gauge needle showed below the 1/4 mark and calculation actually showed 75 mls left. Functional as it should.

I wrote a DIY for anyone who wants to tackle this on his own instead of bringing it to the Dealer and having to prove to them your car has issues. http://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho...4#post22197764

[F32Fleet]

Originally Posted by _bdiddyb_

Update on this.

I had several fill ups since last problem reported. I didn't attempt to top-off anymore, and stopped pumping as soon as the pump clicks. The fuel gauge needle refused to go below 1/4 tank full. Miles left calculation didn't go below 90.

One day I ran into further complication. While cruising on the freeway at around 55mph on 6th gear, sport mode; I sped up to change lane. The car HESITATED, as if misfired, boost leak, or choking for gas. Subsequent days, the car felt sluggish and not as responsive when I gave it gas. Some of you, who feels at one with your car, may have this feeling of "something is not right" with the car. You feel it in your gut.

My diagnosis of hesitation due to "failing fuel pump" could be related to the gauge issue. Right level sensor is part of the pump assembly. So I went ahead and replaced the fuel pump assembly. I had the older model pump, doesn't hurt to switch out for the new model.

Car feels much more responsive now! Freeway acceleration from 6th & 7th gear is consistent with no hesitation. I also did a 1/4 mile WOT down the street, she's as good as new. Gauge needle showed below the 1/4 mark and calculation actually showed 75 mls left. Functional as it should.

I wrote a DIY for anyone who wants to tackle this on his own instead of bringing it to the Dealer and having to prove to them your car has issues. http://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho...4#post22197764

Great news!

[MBH97]

Originally Posted by F32Fleet

Great news!

Old thread I know but looks like I started having this issue as well. Mine is a 335 (if that even matters) I've definitely gotten it under 1/4. Recently tho I have had that feeling of "something is wrong" and the performance isn't there. The big event was I was casually driving, tank was about 1/4 maybe a tiny bit under, and out of nowhere the car just bogged (as if I slammed on the brakes and then released it immediately after) I got a drivetrain malfunction and the car seemed to be misfiring and running real rough. I towed it to my mechanic who probably thinks I'm a dumb ass because he's like "there was no fuel in the tank" I'm definitely showing him this thread loool. I'm guessing my fuel pump is waving the white flag since I've been able to go under 1/4 tank previously but not anymore?

[F30Mo16]

Old thread... I know.. Just wanted to say Robbie is a dbag with his dbag replies.