R56 Fuel Gauge Inaccurate
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Neutral
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 6
Likes: 0
From: San Jose, CA
Fuel Gauge Inaccurate
I did a search on this topic and although I found others having issues with the fuel gauge, I was not able to find the same exact problem. I just purchased a new MCS a few weeks ago and have noticed my gas gauge might not be working correctly. The gauge reads full until I drive about 70-80 miles then goes down a tick. Also, last week I fueled up after driving 310+ miles. The gauge showed I had about 1/2 tank left but I had to put in 10.5 gallons. Is there something wrong with the gauge or is this something that will settle itself out being a new car?
4th Gear
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 459
Likes: 0
From: Richmond, IN
I personally have a good guestimate.
1st bar = 3 gallons
2nd bar= 2.5 gallons
3 - 10 = 1 gallonish
All MINI's are like this I think. I usually get 105 miles (highway and city mix) on my first bar.
1st bar = 3 gallons
2nd bar= 2.5 gallons
3 - 10 = 1 gallonish
All MINI's are like this I think. I usually get 105 miles (highway and city mix) on my first bar.
The fuel gauge isn't linear, below is what I think the individual petals mean. I worked this out with the help of a scangague, and it seems it was designed in litres.
Code:
Petal Litre used remain gal used remain 10 9 9 51.5 2.4 2.4 13.6 9 6 15 42.5 1.6 4.0 11.2 8 5 20 36.5 1.3 5.3 9.6 7 5 25 31.5 1.3 6.6 8.3 6 5 30 26.5 1.3 7.9 7.0 5 4.5 34.5 21.5 1.2 9.1 5.7 4 4.5 39 17 1.2 10.3 4.5 3 4.5 43.5 12.5 1.2 11.5 3.3 2 4 47.5 8 1.1 12.5 2.1 1 4 51.5 4 1.1 13.6 1.1
2nd Gear
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 80
Likes: 0
From: South Florida
In today's digital petal fuel gauges I don't think the petals represent equal amounts of gas. In my Toyota Prius I get more miles out of the upper petals (when the tank is full)then from the lower petals. I do average 50-52 mpg, about 500 miles per tank, but I noticed that the greatest amount of mileage are in the upper range of the petals.
4th Gear
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 459
Likes: 0
From: Richmond, IN
The fuel gauge isn't linear, below is what I think the individual petals mean. I worked this out with the help of a scangague, and it seems it was designed in litres.
Code:
Petal Litre used remain gal used remain 10 9 9 51.5 2.4 2.4 13.6 9 6 15 42.5 1.6 4.0 11.2 8 5 20 36.5 1.3 5.3 9.6 7 5 25 31.5 1.3 6.6 8.3 6 5 30 26.5 1.3 7.9 7.0 5 4.5 34.5 21.5 1.2 9.1 5.7 4 4.5 39 17 1.2 10.3 4.5 3 4.5 43.5 12.5 1.2 11.5 3.3 2 4 47.5 8 1.1 12.5 2.1 1 4 51.5 4 1.1 13.6 1.1
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We just managed to get 14.6 gallons in the MINI. It was reading 0 miles when we got to the pump. This was after the last session on the track yesterday, we were both driving. In the last session I was riding along and the low fuel dinged just as we were going on track. I thought there'd be enough for the session and then enough to find a gas station. I was wrong.
2nd Gear
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 55
Likes: 0
i thought that it was just a terrible fuel gage. if this is true it should be so easy for mini to fix! gah!
-Alex
-Alex
The fuel gauge isn't linear, below is what I think the individual petals mean. I worked this out with the help of a scangague, and it seems it was designed in litres.
Code:
Petal Litre used remain gal used remain 10 9 9 51.5 2.4 2.4 13.6 9 6 15 42.5 1.6 4.0 11.2 8 5 20 36.5 1.3 5.3 9.6 7 5 25 31.5 1.3 6.6 8.3 6 5 30 26.5 1.3 7.9 7.0 5 4.5 34.5 21.5 1.2 9.1 5.7 4 4.5 39 17 1.2 10.3 4.5 3 4.5 43.5 12.5 1.2 11.5 3.3 2 4 47.5 8 1.1 12.5 2.1 1 4 51.5 4 1.1 13.6 1.1
2nd Gear
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 97
Likes: 0
From: Los Angeles
The gas gauge should be a linear, straightforward representation of the gas remaining in your tank. You should be able to judge this with just a glance, not have to pull out a calculator to figure it out.
MINI cherishes its "quirky" rep, but the gas gauge is just goofy. Fix it, BMW. You can keep the big, worthless speedometer in the middle of the dash, but give us a useful gas gauge.
MINI cherishes its "quirky" rep, but the gas gauge is just goofy. Fix it, BMW. You can keep the big, worthless speedometer in the middle of the dash, but give us a useful gas gauge.
6th Gear
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 2,358
Likes: 1
From: Graham, NC
There are lots of cars out there now that have non-linear fuel gauges. Probably two factors driving this - 1. some psychological/behavioral reasons related to people not really believing their fuel gauges and 2. the challenge of making units specifically calibrated for fuel tanks with unusual shapes (e.g. not simple square or rectangular cubes).
4th Gear
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 548
Likes: 2
From: Colorado
In this digital age (micro controllers) it's very easy to make a fuel gauge that is accurate for ANY shape! A wholesale controller and sensor would cost less than a dollar.
The gas gauge should be a linear, straightforward representation of the gas remaining in your tank. You should be able to judge this with just a glance, not have to pull out a calculator to figure it out.
MINI cherishes its "quirky" rep, but the gas gauge is just goofy. Fix it, BMW. You can keep the big, worthless speedometer in the middle of the dash, but give us a useful gas gauge.
MINI cherishes its "quirky" rep, but the gas gauge is just goofy. Fix it, BMW. You can keep the big, worthless speedometer in the middle of the dash, but give us a useful gas gauge.
Gas Used = -0.0246212121(x)^2 + 1.504772727(x) + 0.99166666667 where x is the amount of "candy corns" missing on your gauge.
wouldn't it just be easier to use our time biatching about the lack of a temperature gauge - at least we can estimate our fuel consumption!
6th Gear
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 2,194
Likes: 2
From: Washington
The gas gauge should be a linear, straightforward representation of the gas remaining in your tank. You should be able to judge this with just a glance, not have to pull out a calculator to figure it out.
MINI cherishes its "quirky" rep, but the gas gauge is just goofy. Fix it, BMW. You can keep the big, worthless speedometer in the middle of the dash, but give us a useful gas gauge.
MINI cherishes its "quirky" rep, but the gas gauge is just goofy. Fix it, BMW. You can keep the big, worthless speedometer in the middle of the dash, but give us a useful gas gauge.
I love my cars and all that comes with em. I like the big worthless speedometer. It's Mini. But you can always eliminate that by getting the Nav.
Pat
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