so i was filling up for gas and my tank overfilled, spilling gas in the process. i think it's a faulty gas sensor. i've been using the trip meter and my low gas light turns on when i have 3 gallons of gas left in the tank.
for example, i was driving and my low gas light turned on. after 10 mins the needle on the gauge rose and the light turned off. what's up with that?

is this an inherent problem with 7th gens?
any help would be appreciated. just me throw ideas. thanks!

 

If you tank overflowed upon filling, that's a problem with the station's pump. That has nothing to do with your car.

The fuel sensor uses an electronically compensated float system. I'm guessing you turned hard enough, or went up or down a hill or something that caused the level at the float to drop just enough to send the "warning" to the ECU.

If you think about it, the computer is going to intervene. If the light was on every time the fuel level dropped below 3 gallons, it'd be flashing real bad any time you had between 2 and 4 gallons of gas in the tank.

 

I have the same problem. one second my gas light is on and my needle on the gas gauge is below the line and the 5 or 10 min later it goes back up and the light shuts off. and my civic gets really bad gas millage what could be wrong with it

 

Thanks unevolved. Yeah I drove over two deep manhole covers that night. Each one was only a few feet from each other. That probably threw off my fuel sensor. But the low gas light was already on before I drove over the two deep manhole covers. But yeah, you think my car will be fine? Thanks a bunch for your help!!

sammer92, i get about 34mpg for my 05 civic coupe lx. the gauge reads a lil' off though but i usually get about 320 to 340 miles before my gas light turns on. i use the trip meter each time i get gas to tell how many miles i've been driving the whole week.

 

You're going to have to give us more information than that if you want a diagnosis. That's like saying, "My car's making a bad noise. What's wrong with it?" You're going to have to do some leg work yourself.

It's actually a really common behavior for most cars with that style of fuel metrology.

Since we're talking about mileage, I usually get about 30ish around town, and I got 38 on a tank of highway driving the other day.

 

i wouldnt worry about it, if the gas level is that low to the point where the light will soon come on and it does and then goes out again its normal, its just the sensor readjusting, could be cause by a bump or a hill, which ever.

as far as gas mileage goes, its winter here and its cold everyday mostly so mine is gone to sh*t, its on average -10 c everyday, so i get roughly 500km's before my light comes on, where as during the summer it will go to about 575km's.
if i go on a trip and its mostly all highway i'll fill up with 89 octane and will get a bit over 650km's(404 miles) before the light comes on.
my best was 730 km's(453 miles) on 1 tank, i barely made it to the gas station but still, lol, 50 Litre tank, it took 47 litres to fill it.