Gas gauge inaccurate
 

My girlfriend just bought an rsx and her gas gauge is somewhat not accurate. When the needle as at a 1/4 tank left, its empty. Her gas light doesnt come on, and im assuming it doesnt because the needle isnt on E. My question is, to fix this problem, can it be as easy as to just take the cluster out and adjust the needle down to empty when it actually is empty? Would that fix the problem or do I need some sort of new sensor? Thanks for reading guys

Re: Gas gauge inaccurate
 

interesting, well if nobody here can answer ur ? then ur best shot is to take it to a dealership or a local import shop to get it replaced/fixed. But you said it ran out of gas @ a 1/4 tank and there was no indicator light? My 05 Type S gas light will show @ a little less than 1/4 tank, but i can still drive it til about empty.

Re: Gas gauge inaccurate
 

I saw this once before.....the car had been modded in the past and when they changed the fuel pump, they messed up the flote in the tank....you could check that....

Re: Gas gauge inaccurate
 

yeah, i dont wanna pay and arm and a leg to get the dealer to fix this. The car was not modded before, it was owned by and old european women.

Could taking the face off the gauge cluster and adjusted the needle to empty when its bone dry work????

Re: Gas gauge inaccurate
 

Cud be an ecu issue but if it is you would see fluctuation when driving too.

Re: Gas gauge inaccurate
 

how do you know it's empty at the 1/4 mark? did it actually run out of gas?

Re: Gas gauge inaccurate
 

yeah, it actually did ran outta gas, twice. When it gets to low, around a 1/4 tank, we park it, then it wont start up until we put in 1 gallon of gas. What could it be?? and no the gas gauge doesnt flucuate. Good guess though.

Re: Gas gauge inaccurate
 

Looks like your car is used and was previously modded. Most likely, the previous owner messed with the fuel pump and put in an aftermarket one. The little lever thats inside the fuel tank is messed up or not aligned properly. To get this fixed, you need to take out the rear seat and open her up and turn out the fuel cap holder and see whats up with the assembly.

Re: Gas gauge inaccurate
 

Doubleoazn03: Based on what you've described, I'm almost positive it's the sending unit for the fuel gauge. The sending unit is on the top of the fuel pump in the gas tank. Your choices are to replace the sending unit, or use your trip odometer to keep track of your actual mileage and fill your tank before you run out.

There's a DIY repair thread for this problem on ephatch.com, complete with pics. Search "fuel gauge." The repair involves removing the back seat, opening the fuel tank, draining the pump, and installing a new sending unit.

Also, the fuel pump is supposed to remain submerged in gas. When you run out of gas, the pump continues to run and tends to overheat, which will eventually cause it to fail.

Finally, a word of caution: There is a real risk of fire or explosion from the first moment you open the fuel tank. If after reading the DIY you are not confident that you can do this repair without risk to yourself or others, you really should take your car to someone who does this work for a living.