Fuel Gauge Accuracy

[48to49]

My Gladiator is still new to me, but the fuel gauge is causing me anxiety. Went out chasing Northern Lights the other night with less than a quarter tank. Rookie move, but I was like only going to Baldy Trailhead just up the road (less than 10 miles). On the way back down the mountain I had it manually geared down to 2nd and 3rd gear for engine braking on the ice and curvy mountain road. Low fuel warning light comes on and the estimated range starts dropping fast.

Got off the mountain and filled up. So with my range estimation stating 7 miles to empty and fuel gauge on empty, I only put 16 gallons into what I thought was a 22 gallon tank. This does not inspire confidence.

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[DylanM]

Jeep and "accurate fuel gauge" never have gone together in my experience. Now they do tend to be consistent at least, so they can be relied on once you get to know the real quantity remaining at each mark, but you can be assured that when the gauge reads a quarter full it definitely does not mean there is a quarter of the tank's rated capacity remaining.

 

[Duece McCracken]

My Gladiator is still new to me, but the fuel gauge is causing me anxiety. Went out chasing Northern Lights the other night with less than a quarter tank. Rookie move, but I was like only going to Baldy Trailhead just up the road (less than 10 miles). On the way back down the mountain I had it manually geared down to 2nd and 3rd gear for engine braking on the ice and curvy mountain road. Low fuel warning light comes on and the estimated range starts dropping fast.

Got off the mountain and filled up. So with my range estimation stating 7 miles to empty and fuel gauge on empty, I only put 16 gallons into what I thought was a 22 gallon tank. This does not inspire confidence.

Yep, it's super conservative. Ridiculously so. Low fuel pops up on mine, 17 gallon fill. I did run her to stall once just to know, and yeah you have another 3 or 4 usuable gallons depending on your driving.

So, carry a gas can and push it, or fill at low. Lol

 

[Hootbro]

If you search the board on the subject, there is more than a few threads talking at length about it.

Basically you are not going to realize full use of the stated 22 gallon capacity and expect it to coincide with the DTE numbers on the dash.

 

[sharpsicle]

My Gladiator is still new to me, but the fuel gauge is causing me anxiety. Went out chasing Northern Lights the other night with less than a quarter tank. Rookie move, but I was like only going to Baldy Trailhead just up the road (less than 10 miles). On the way back down the mountain I had it manually geared down to 2nd and 3rd gear for engine braking on the ice and curvy mountain road. Low fuel warning light comes on and the estimated range starts dropping fast.

Got off the mountain and filled up. So with my range estimation stating 7 miles to empty and fuel gauge on empty, I only put 16 gallons into what I thought was a 22 gallon tank. This does not inspire confidence.

To me, this does inspire confidence. Confidence that it'll properly alert me before I run out of gas!

I would rather have this than it telling me I have 20 miles left and then it sputters out after only 5.

 

[Gvsukids]

My Gladiator is still new to me, but the fuel gauge is causing me anxiety. Went out chasing Northern Lights the other night with less than a quarter tank. Rookie move, but I was like only going to Baldy Trailhead just up the road (less than 10 miles). On the way back down the mountain I had it manually geared down to 2nd and 3rd gear for engine braking on the ice and curvy mountain road. Low fuel warning light comes on and the estimated range starts dropping fast.

Got off the mountain and filled up. So with my range estimation stating 7 miles to empty and fuel gauge on empty, I only put 16 gallons into what I thought was a 22 gallon tank. This does not inspire confidence.

https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/forum/threads/fuel-gauge-too-safe-inaccurate.64035/

https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/forum/threads/fuel-remaining-incorrect.45602/

 

[Chappy11BRN]

My Gladiator is still new to me, but the fuel gauge is causing me anxiety. Went out chasing Northern Lights the other night with less than a quarter tank. Rookie move, but I was like only going to Baldy Trailhead just up the road (less than 10 miles). On the way back down the mountain I had it manually geared down to 2nd and 3rd gear for engine braking on the ice and curvy mountain road. Low fuel warning light comes on and the estimated range starts dropping fast.

Got off the mountain and filled up. So with my range estimation stating 7 miles to empty and fuel gauge on empty, I only put 16 gallons into what I thought was a 22 gallon tank. This does not inspire confidence.

In my experience engine braking causes the MTE to plummet, but its not accurate. I always had more fuel.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

My Gladiator is still new to me, but the fuel gauge is causing me anxiety. Went out chasing Northern Lights the other night with less than a quarter tank. Rookie move, but I was like only going to Baldy Trailhead just up the road (less than 10 miles). On the way back down the mountain I had it manually geared down to 2nd and 3rd gear for engine braking on the ice and curvy mountain road. Low fuel warning light comes on and the estimated range starts dropping fast.

Got off the mountain and filled up. So with my range estimation stating 7 miles to empty and fuel gauge on empty, I only put 16 gallons into what I thought was a 22 gallon tank. This does not inspire confidence.

So you were not on the level, and you were geared down reducing your mpg drastically - likely down to lower single digits. And you expect the remaining miles to be unchanged?
These things take your historical data for that tank and mix in what your CURRENT driving is doing to mpg and adjusts accordingly.
Say you started out with 40 miles left - then not only was the tank unlevel, throwing any gauge off by some, but you also dropped your mpg down to nothing by the engine braking. No shock that it suddenly dropped.
It has nothing to do with "Jeep and inaccurate" or that sort of thing - it has to do with pure logic. It was trying to estimate your remaining miles based on an inaccurate reading of what's left in the tank, and your drastically reduced CURRENT mpg and comes up with a best guess. I'd bet anything had you taken it to level ground, shut it down, and taken off again with normal driving the range remaining would have jumped up. It does for me - it adjusts with restarts and changing in my current driving methods.
that remaining 7 miles could have been close if you had kept driving that way in a low gear.
but I suspect - it would have shot up a lot in a few minutes of normal driving on the flat.

 

[Camaroboi13]

ShadowsPapa is spot on. You had 40 miles remaining based on the overall average of say 18 mpg you were getting. Then you drove around in second gear probably getting crap for mileage and your miles remaining wasn't going to last those 40 miles based on the new average. I can get 100 miles on a quarter tank, or I can get 50 miles on a quarter tank. Of course... your mileage will vary.

 

[48to49]

No I just expect when a fuel gauge reads empty that the tank is actually empty and doesn't have another 6 gallons remaining.

 

[Sigz]

No I just expect when a fuel gauge reads empty that the tank is actually empty and doesn't have another 6 gallons remaining.

Yeah I'm also a little disappointed with the fuel gauge / range estimator.

I understand WHY the folks who built these things created a very SAFE system to prevent someone from running dry.

But at the same time, I wish it was a lot more accurate. There should be no reason that a low fuel light would come on when you have 5 gallons left until empty, or whatever it is.

I think when I do fill up towards the empty end of the spectrum, I also can only get like 17-18 gallons pumped in....

The way it is designed, the low fuel light could be on and the JT very well could be driven another 80-100 miles from my driving habits and usual MPGs average until it is empty.

I the "low fuel" light would come on if it were closer to gallons to empty.

 

[Badunit]

No I just expect when a fuel gauge reads empty that the tank is actually empty and doesn't have another 6 gallons remaining.

I don't recall the last time I drove a vehicle where "empty" was actually empty or even close to it. Maybe it is because I've always driven off-road vehicles. You need a few gallons in there to ensure it doesn't suck air as it sloshes around. I'd be a lot less confident in the level if it started sputtering or stalling or totally cut off when it said it had 1/4 tank left.

 

[Escape.idiocracy]

Are you taking into consideration the level change based on the grade? Nose down fuel running to the front of the tank. JT seems to be WAY better than my JKU in that the JKU would literally sputter and stall out coming down some hills when at a 1/4 tank…..

So- just throwing that out there having a long tank that runs with the length of the vehicle- up and down hills has an exasperated effect.

we have a diesel- and the range indicator has been pretty spot on. We haven’t ran it dry for obvious reasons… but have stuck 19.5 gallons in the supposed 20 gallon tank. (Diesel tank is supposedly smaller)

 

[Maximus Gladius]

So, just speculating here, could the “extra” hidden gallons of remaining gas be there to keep the fuel pump cool? Just spit balling here but I know in some tanks the fuel pump is on the inside of the tank and the gas sloshing around the pump is there to keep it from overheating. Did the engineering department plan ahead and put that pump on the bottom because they know so many of us run these things close to dry?

Op, for all this anxiety and trouble, did you at least snap some shots of the northern lights to show us?

 

[Hootbro]

No I just expect when a fuel gauge reads empty that the tank is actually empty and doesn't have another 6 gallons remaining.

There is not a modern made vehicle that has you sputter out of fuel once the fuel gauge firsts reads empty.

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