Avalon fuel readings dead wrong, is it fuel sensor?

[felixadacatz]

the digital gauge on my avalon dash says i only have 260 miles left
when its at full tank. i remember when we first had the car back in
2000’ it would say 430miles on the full tank

once in a while it would say 430mi but is only seldom


My friends 02’ avalon still says 420miles on a full tank on her
digital gauge.



is something whent he fuel sending unit on my car? or is something out
of place in the fuel tank?

[Jeff Strickland]

My BMW had a similar problem. The fuel level sending unit was dirty. There
has been a reported problem with high sulfer levels in the gas causing the
fuel sending units to go out. This is an old story, and may not be a factor
in youir problem, but the affected refineries were in the southeast
somewhere.

Post by felixadacatz
the digital gauge on my avalon dash says i only have 260 miles left
when its at full tank. i remember when we first had the car back in
2000' it would say 430miles on the full tank
once in a while it would say 430mi but is only seldom
My friends 02' avalon still says 420miles on a full tank on her
digital gauge.
is something whent he fuel sending unit on my car? or is something out
of place in the fuel tank?
--
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Articles individually checked for conformance to usenet standards

http://www.autoforumz.com/Toyota-Avalon-fuel-readings-dead-wrong-fuel-sensor-ftopict120675.html
http://www.autoforumz.com/eform.php?p=586608

[C. E. White]

Post by felixadacatz
the digital gauge on my avalon dash says i only have 260 miles left
when its at full tank. i remember when we first had the car back in
2000’ it would say 430miles on the full tank

Do you mostly drive your Avalon around town? The miles to
empty is calcualted based on the amount of fuel in the tank
and your recent driving histroy. Assuming you do a lot of
stop and go city driving it is possible that your miles to
empty might really be 260 miles on a full tank. For the cars
I've owned with a "miles to empty" indicator, the miles to
empty can actaully increase as you start driving on a long
highway trip, at least until the moving average mileage used
by the computer to calculate the miles to empty matches the
actual mileage.

Of course, there could be a problem with the tank sensor.
Just comapre the miles to empty reading before and after a
few fill-ups and see if the dleta matches (or least
approximates) the miles actually driven.

Regards,

Ed White

Post by felixadacatz
once in a while it would say 430mi but is only seldom
My friends 02’ avalon still says 420miles on a full tank on her
digital gauge.
is something whent he fuel sending unit on my car? or is something out
of place in the fuel tank?
--
Posted using the http://www.autoforumz.com interface, at author's request
Articles individually checked for conformance to usenet standards
Topic URL: http://www.autoforumz.com/Toyota-Avalon-fuel-readings-dead-wrong-fuel-sensor-ftopict120675.html
Visit Topic URL to contact author (reg. req'd). Report abuse: http://www.autoforumz.com/eform.php?p=586608

[felixadacatz]

Post by felixadacatz

Post by felixadacatz
the digital gauge on my avalon dash says i only have 260

miles left

Post by felixadacatz
when its at full tank. i remember when we first had the car

back in

Post by felixadacatz
2000’ it would say 430miles on the full tank

Do you mostly drive your Avalon around town? The miles to
empty is calcualted based on the amount of fuel in the tank
and your recent driving histroy. Assuming you do a lot of
stop and go city driving it is possible that your miles to
empty might really be 260 miles on a full tank. For the cars
I've owned with a "miles to empty" indicator, the miles to
empty can actaully increase as you start driving on a long
highway trip, at least until the moving average mileage used
by the computer to calculate the miles to empty matches the
actual mileage.
Of course, there could be a problem with the tank sensor.
Just comapre the miles to empty reading before and after a
few fill-ups and see if the dleta matches (or least
approximates) the miles actually driven.
Regards,
Ed White

Post by felixadacatz
once in a while it would say 430mi but is only seldom
My friends 02’ avalon still says 420miles on a full tank on

her

Post by felixadacatz
digital gauge.
is something whent he fuel sending unit on my car? or is

something out

Post by felixadacatz
of place in the fuel tank?
--
Posted using the http://www.autoforumz.com interface, at author's request
Articles individually checked for conformance to usenet

standards

Post by felixadacatz
Topic URL: http://www.autoforumz.com/Toyota-Avalon-fuel-readings-dead-wrong-fuel-sensor-ftopict120675.html
Visit Topic URL to contact author (reg. req'd). Report abuse: http://www.autoforumz.com/eform.php?p=586608

well the avalon has, avg econ setting, avg mph, and "miles to empty"
setting

i understand the econ and avg miles, but the "miles to empty"
setting it shouldnt vary, default mpg on the avalon is 26mpg. that
means i should have at half a tank around 221 mi left. and full tank
420-440mi. im thinking its the fuel sending unit as spamcatcher said,
hopefully someone with the same problem can direct me in the right
direction


i went to toyota they were going to charge $80/hr to locate the
problem. it means they may take their time "locating".

[B***@mailcity.com]

Actually you think wrong, the miles to empty is a calculation
based on the AMPG. Let say you drove in town for the first half
of the tank. The miles to empty now indecated would not hold
true, if you then drove 60 MPH per hour on the interstate, for
the reaming half tank.. The miles to empty would go UP, not stay
the same, based on
the new higher average MPG. ;)


mike hunt

Post by felixadacatz
well the avalon has, avg econ setting, avg mph, and "miles to empty"
setting
i understand the econ and avg miles, but the "miles to empty"
setting it shouldnt vary, default mpg on the avalon is 26mpg. that
means i should have at half a tank around 221 mi left. and full tank
420-440mi. im thinking its the fuel sending unit as spamcatcher said,
hopefully someone with the same problem can direct me in the right
direction
i went to toyota they were going to charge $80/hr to locate the
problem. it means they may take their time "locating".

[Art]

In fact Mike is correct for once. If I leave my Avalon set to show miles
per empty, sometimes it will go up if I am driving at a steady speed.

Post by B***@mailcity.com
Actually you think wrong, the miles to empty is a calculation
based on the AMPG. Let say you drove in town for the first half
of the tank. The miles to empty now indecated would not hold
true, if you then drove 60 MPH per hour on the interstate, for
the reaming half tank.. The miles to empty would go UP, not stay
the same, based on
the new higher average MPG. ;)
mike hunt

Post by felixadacatz
well the avalon has, avg econ setting, avg mph, and "miles to empty"
setting
i understand the econ and avg miles, but the "miles to empty"
setting it shouldnt vary, default mpg on the avalon is 26mpg. that
means i should have at half a tank around 221 mi left. and full tank
420-440mi. im thinking its the fuel sending unit as spamcatcher said,
hopefully someone with the same problem can direct me in the right
direction
i went to toyota they were going to charge $80/hr to locate the
problem. it means they may take their time "locating".

[D***@mailcity.com]

Acutely I'm correct 99.9% of the time, you just don't
know it. LOL


mike hunt

Post by Art
In fact Mike is correct for once. If I leave my Avalon set to show miles
per empty, sometimes it will go up if I am driving at a steady speed.

Post by B***@mailcity.com
Actually you think wrong, the miles to empty is a calculation
based on the AMPG. Let say you drove in town for the first half
of the tank. The miles to empty now indecated would not hold
true, if you then drove 60 MPH per hour on the interstate, for
the reaming half tank.. The miles to empty would go UP, not stay
the same, based on
the new higher average MPG. ;)
mike hunt

Post by felixadacatz
well the avalon has, avg econ setting, avg mph, and "miles to empty"
setting
i understand the econ and avg miles, but the "miles to empty"
setting it shouldnt vary, default mpg on the avalon is 26mpg. that
means i should have at half a tank around 221 mi left. and full tank
420-440mi. im thinking its the fuel sending unit as spamcatcher said,
hopefully someone with the same problem can direct me in the right
direction
i went to toyota they were going to charge $80/hr to locate the
problem. it means they may take their time "locating".

[felixadacatz]

Post by D***@mailcity.com
Acutely I'm correct 99.9% of the time, you just don't
know it. LOL
mike hunt

Post by Art
In fact Mike is correct for once. If I leave my Avalon set

to show miles

Post by Art
per empty, sometimes it will go up if I am driving at a

steady speed.
 > > Actually you think wrong, the miles to empty is a
calculation
 > > based on the AMPG. Let say you drove in town for
the first half
 > > of the tank. The miles to empty now indecated would
not hold
 > > true, if you then drove 60 MPH per hour on the
interstate, for
 > > the reaming half tank.. The miles to empty would go
UP, not stay
 > > the same, based on
 > > the new higher average MPG. ;)
 > >
 > >
 > > mike hunt
 > >
 > >
 > >
  > >>
 > >
  > >>
  > >> well the avalon has, avg econ setting, avg
mph, and "miles to empty"
  > >> setting
  > >>
  > >> i understand the econ and avg miles, but the
"miles to empty"
  > >> setting it shouldnt vary, default mpg on the
avalon is 26mpg. that
  > >> means i should have at half a tank around 221
mi left. and full tank
  > >> 420-440mi. im thinking its the fuel sending
unit as spamcatcher said,
  > >> hopefully someone with the same problem can
direct me in the right
  > >> direction
  > >>
  > >> i went to toyota they were going to charge
$80/hr to locate the
  > >> problem. it means they may take their time
"locating".

when does it know when to recalculate the MPG? when i pump?

[Art]

Post by felixadacatz

Post by D***@mailcity.com
Acutely I'm correct 99.9% of the time, you just don't
know it. LOL
mike hunt

Post by Art
In fact Mike is correct for once. If I leave my Avalon set

to show miles

Post by Art
per empty, sometimes it will go up if I am driving at a

steady speed.
 > > Actually you think wrong, the miles to empty is a
calculation
 > > based on the AMPG. Let say you drove in town for
the first half
 > > of the tank. The miles to empty now indecated would
not hold
 > > true, if you then drove 60 MPH per hour on the
interstate, for
 > > the reaming half tank.. The miles to empty would go
UP, not stay
 > > the same, based on
 > > the new higher average MPG. ;)
 > >
 > >
 > > mike hunt
 > >
 > >
 > >
  > >>
 > >
  > >>
  > >> well the avalon has, avg econ setting, avg
mph, and "miles to empty"
  > >> setting
  > >>
  > >> i understand the econ and avg miles, but the
"miles to empty"
  > >> setting it shouldnt vary, default mpg on the
avalon is 26mpg. that
  > >> means i should have at half a tank around 221
mi left. and full tank
  > >> 420-440mi. im thinking its the fuel sending
unit as spamcatcher said,
  > >> hopefully someone with the same problem can
direct me in the right
  > >> direction
  > >>
  > >> i went to toyota they were going to charge
$80/hr to locate the
  > >> problem. it means they may take their time
"locating".

when does it know when to recalculate the MPG? when i pump?

Depends on what model year Avalon. Other brands have a manual reset button
but the 2001 Avalon restart calculating average MPG everytime you start the
car. In other words it zeroes out when the car is turned off. I believe
later Avalons are supposed to zero only when you fill up the tank but that
is just based on postings I've read here.

[R***@mailcity.com]

I own a 1983 Continental Mark VI Signature. I has nearly 90K on
the clock. I have never reset the AVG MPG since new.
No matter if I drive for three weeks in town or 3,000
on a trip, the average never changes since it has record my
average MPG for 90K. Is shows 23.X Naturally the MTE varies in
those different scenarios ;)


mike hunt

Post by Art
Depends on what model year Avalon. Other brands have a manual reset button
but the 2001 Avalon restart calculating average MPG everytime you start the
car. In other words it zeroes out when the car is turned off. I believe
later Avalons are supposed to zero only when you fill up the tank but that
is just based on postings I've read here.

[R***@mailcity.com]

No it calculates approximately every five minutes of
operation.


mike hunt

Post by felixadacatz
when does it know when to recalculate the MPG? when i pump?

[Jeff Strickland]

Post by felixadacatz

Post by felixadacatz

Post by felixadacatz
the digital gauge on my avalon dash says i only have 260

miles left

Post by felixadacatz
when its at full tank. i remember when we first had the car

back in

Post by felixadacatz
2000' it would say 430miles on the full tank

Do you mostly drive your Avalon around town? The miles to
empty is calcualted based on the amount of fuel in the tank
and your recent driving histroy. Assuming you do a lot of
stop and go city driving it is possible that your miles to
empty might really be 260 miles on a full tank. For the cars
I've owned with a "miles to empty" indicator, the miles to
empty can actaully increase as you start driving on a long
highway trip, at least until the moving average mileage used
by the computer to calculate the miles to empty matches the
actual mileage.
Of course, there could be a problem with the tank sensor.
Just comapre the miles to empty reading before and after a
few fill-ups and see if the dleta matches (or least
approximates) the miles actually driven.
Regards,
Ed White

Post by felixadacatz
once in a while it would say 430mi but is only seldom
My friends 02' avalon still says 420miles on a full tank on

her

Post by felixadacatz
digital gauge.
is something whent he fuel sending unit on my car? or is

something out

Post by felixadacatz
of place in the fuel tank?
--
Posted using the http://www.autoforumz.com interface, at author's request
Articles individually checked for conformance to usenet

standards

http://www.autoforumz.com/Toyota-Avalon-fuel-readings-dead-wrong-fuel-sensor-ftopict120675.html
http://www.autoforumz.com/eform.php?p=586608

Post by felixadacatz
well the avalon has, avg econ setting, avg mph, and "miles to empty"
setting
i understand the econ and avg miles, but the "miles to empty"
setting it shouldnt vary, default mpg on the avalon is 26mpg. that
means i should have at half a tank around 221 mi left. and full tank
420-440mi. im thinking its the fuel sending unit as spamcatcher said,
hopefully someone with the same problem can direct me in the right
direction
i went to toyota they were going to charge $80/hr to locate the
problem. it means they may take their time "locating".

They are going to replace the fuel lever sending unit. In my BMW, this is
either $150 or $250, give or take a few bucks, for the parts. (I have two
sending units, the expensive one is an integral part of the fuel pump.)

On my car, the needle wouldn't point to F either. When it managed to move
off of E, it gave a correct calculation of the remaining fuel supply, both
the needle and the Distance to Empty display. If you needle goes to F, then
I suggest that the problem with the Distance to Empty is not the sending
unit. Toyota could have gotten fancy with the design, and used a separate
sending unit for the Distance to Empty display.

[Joann]

replying to felixadacatz, Joann wrote:
I have a 2015 Avalon that reads 329 when I fill it up and it usually says
around 405. I depend on this a lot because I travel alone from time to time.
What has happened? I really liked this feature on my Avalon