I just filled my car up two days ago. Today as I was driving it I noticed the fuel guage showed that I had less than a quarter of tank. My trip odometer shows that I have only driven 80 miles since filling up. Could there be a problem with my guage? I have looked around and can not see or smell any fuel leaks. Does anyone have any ideas what could be going on? Any suggestions are appreciated.

 

the meassuring sending unit is faulty. are you under warranty?

 

not under warranty. is this an expensive part to replace? is it possible to do on my own? or should i leave that to the pros?? thanks.

 

If you are no longer under warranty I would buy the Bently Manual for MINI. What a FANTASTIC shop manual to have. If you are mechanically inclined you should be anle to do the work. Just be sure to empty that fuel tank a bit, it can be heavy!

Also, be sure to follow all the good and common sense precautions when working with gasoline!

 

First, give it a while and see if it 'wakes up'. This issue has been seldomly reported here on NAM.
The sender(s?) are in the fuel tank, so it wouldn't be a fun job.

 

just took it for a spin and i started tapping the guage (like a movie pilot when his fuel runs out) and surprisingly it started going up. is there a way i can test the sending unit? i'm sure that was the problem and it looks like it still needs to be replaced.

 

you can test the resistance on the sending unit inside the tank. i would rec. getting the service manual and looking it up for proper values. the fuel pump and sending unit are under the rear seat. i can't recall which of the 2 sides is the sending unit on.

is a pita to do the sending unit since you have 2(or was it 3) tubes that must go from one side of the tank to the othr(to the pump) and is a hassle. just takes times and patience.

good luck!