I was taking a road trip today and started off with three bars showing on my fuel gauge. The temp was 74 with off and on rain. I drove 50 highway miles at about 65 and then hit country hilly roads going between 45 and 55 mph. When I was 94 miles into my trip I dropped to 2 bars and at 99 miles I heard the low fuel beep and the last fuel light was blinking. The car completely skipped the last bar before going to blinking. I was watching it very closely because I did not know the area and was unsure of the location of the next gas station so I was watching the gauge like a hawk. When I finally found a gas station it took 7.43 gallons, go figure. The car had 455 total miles on this tank. I have been reading gauge threads for awhile and know that the gauge is "finicky". My car has been pretty consistent with going 100 miles when I have 3 bars remaining. My question is has any experienced the car completely skipping the last bar before blinking.
Same thing happened to me. I went from two bars to the last blinking bar, totally skipping the second to last bar and the last bar before it started blinking. Jeff
Me too Also happened to me. I left home for work (100 mile round trip) with 3 bars showing. I figured no sweat. By tthe time I went 8 miles, the last bar was blinking and the add fuel warning went off. I thought it was just one of those things, but knowing it happened to at least 2 others, I am really starting to wonder how accurate that gauge really is.
It seems like it sometimes drops a level prematurely when I climb a long hill. The one time I ran out of gas was climbing a long hill and when that guy went 967 miles on a tank or whatever it was, he ran out going up a hill and had about 1/2 gallon left in his tank based on his fillup.
Gas Gague I have found that I can go about 150 miles after a good fillup before losing the first bar. Once the last bar starts blinking, I have driven as much as 150 miles. The most I have ever been able to put into the tank was 11.21 gallons The other day I received a notice to take my 2004 Salsa Red to the dealer for a software update, this morning I took it to a dealer for an oil change and the update. I had one bar left when I went in, and it should have been ready to blink, after the update, I had 3 bars! It is too early to tell, but I wonder if they reprogramed the bars due to all the complaints. I will post again if I have more info.
Re: Gas Gague Update SSC 40D actually has to do with the computer picking up error codes coming from the emission control systems. No update yet that I've heard of for the gas gauge.
This happened to me too... I had three bars left when I parked the car and six hours later I had one blinking bar. The car was parked downhill, so that probably did it.
Does anyone think the gas gauge problem might be related to when the car was manufactured? My car was manufactured in March, and I don't seem to have the gauge or tank filling problems that others report. Now, please understand, I am not interested in jinxing myself. It's just that I have driven 2500 miles without gas tank/gauge problems. I find it curious that some owners have problems that others do not.
Interesting. Mine was built this January, I've had the same problems described in the postings above (and documented in another thread). I would hope that if they had fixed the problem during the manufacturing process that they would share the fix, as they would be obligated to do under the warranty, with the rest of us poor schlumps!
From what I've seen, those who have spoken up around here, March or later seems to mean (generally now, and we're talking actual build date) the 'bug' is fixed. I'm pretty sure mine was built in Feb, but I could be wrong and it might have been Jan. -m.
There is a small white sticker on the front side of the drivers side door frame which will give the car's production date. Ours was 2/10/04. Gas gauge seems a little fitsy like that reported in the earlier half of the production run
I also have a late March production vehicle. I have had no issues filling the tank, and no issues with the gauge. Calculated fuel used matches the display MPG. It appears something has been changed.
not only has my gauge skipped a bar or two a couple of times, but the farthest I've driven after the bar starts blinking was 60 miles, and I can only get 9 to 10 gallons back in. My biggest fill up ever was 9.95 gallons, and I average about 8.8 gallons per fill up.
Gas Gauge Interesting question about date of MPG. My Salsa Red was received 12/12/03, so figure about 11/12/03 for MPG. The strangest indications were in the cold of winter, the manual says that fuel capacity will decrease by about 1 gallon in cold weather. I saw similar results, and noticed that I could drive about 125 miles before the first bar dropped. This summer I get about 150, and once 160 before the first bar dropped. People who did not have their car through the dead of winter might not have seen the "cold bladder" effect. Brian
I went from 5 bars to three bars today, totally skipping the 4th bar. This is the first time this has happened. Anyone else? Jeff
Just had the 40d update, drove 75 miles and then filled the tank...the gas gauge did not update and the LCD screen did not update....
