Ok, I'll Admit This ...

[rotwang1985]

This is a long background story, please move to the bullet points if you want the 'jist' of it.

On Tuesday this week I had to go to Birmingham city centre (from Mexborough nr Doncaster).

Perfect Trip down, did what I had to do & set off home around 3.30pm (ish) letting SatNav lead the way - So far so good.

Lets wind back a bit, leaving NCP car park I had 3 bars of fuel, this instantly dropped to 2 (I imagine I was border line 3/2). Within some minutes of driving the beeps for reserve came on & I knew that I would need to stop at the next services. But knew I would be OK.

Within minutes I felt a massive drop in power, I can't say (due to noise & road vibration) whether the engine cut out completely, But I was forced to pull on to the inside lane of the A38 (heading towards Lichfield) with hazards on - One of the scariest moments ever, especially when a large arctic smoked his tyres trying to stop - thankfully he did.

Now although I've banged on about fuel, I did not know that was the reason for the engine trouble.

So I was on the side lane of a 2 lane busy m/way with hazards on, within minutes a Police car came & parked behind me with lights flashing, for some protection. The car would not start.

RAC came (after an annoyingly long conversation based around my number plate) & towed me to a lay-by. He plugged in the computer with ODBC connection, but the Aygo/C1/107/new Yaris (1KR-FE engine) are not in the database just yet, so he tried some general engine codes & found no faults & he didn't know why nothing was coming up because "there is clearly a fault, 'cos the (amber engine management) light is on".

In the engine bay he checked the fuel line connected to the engine & was happy, he then broke the news.

"I think you've run out of fuel", "I've had loads of these (107/C1)" "The fuel gauge is inaccurate".

To sum up I'll use bullet points:

• The Aygo fuel gauge is inaccurate
  
• The RAC man had dealt with "a few of these"
  
• RAC guy explained that 'new cars' don't cough & !Removed! when running out of fuel & once fuel pressure drops below a level the engine cuts out & goes into a safe mode.
  
• Has anyone had this (willing to admit)?
  
• Has anyone found the gauge to be suspect?
  

I would appreciate any conversation on this & will answer any questions you ask.

I'd like to add that I don't consider myself 'thick' & even the RAC guy told my Mum that he didn't think I was an idiot (I'll let you be the judges of that). I will now monitor fuel more closely & be even more careful on long journeys

[weevicky]

Once my fuel gauge gets to the third bar I fill up; becasue the second two bars have not got alot of fuel in it. When you were parked were you parked on a slope/hill. I live on a hill and when i take off from home the fuel guage always takes a couple of mins to come to an accurate level :(

No I don't think your an idiot. I think the fuel system in the car and the digitial display is :censor:

[crisskro]

Never rely on electronics to be accurate.

As soon as I got the car, I rushed to fill up the tank. Then, drove it normally for 200 miles, keeping an eye on the blobs. I wrote down the number of miles I did before blobs dissapear. Filled up the tank again. I did this three times, when the car was new.

The fuel consumption has gone down since then, but I reset the ODO every time I fill up the tank so I'll know ~ when I will run out of gas and go fill up way before that happens.

My father has an identical aygo, his first blob lasts about 100 miles; my first blob lasts abous 60 miles. I guess it's different for each of the cars, all displays suck.

[Ecoboy]

did filling it up sort out the engine light or like some cars, does a run out of fuel necessitate a dealer visit to reset error codes??

Good Cautionary Tale....thanks

[jdavtz]

That's strange and slightly concerning. You'd think that they could make a fuel gauge accurate in the 21st century.

Having said that, mine is very consistent - first blob goes after 130-140 miles, second goes after another 100 miles, third lasts another 90 miles, fourth lasts another 90 miles, so I'm down to two blobs at about 410 miles. Consistently. I usually fill up then with 28-29 litres, but the couple of times I've run the tank down to the beginning of the last blob (when it bleeps once) it's gone to about 480 miles.

[rotwang1985]

did filling it up sort out the engine light or like some cars, does a run out of fuel necessitate a dealer visit to reset error codes??

Good Cautionary Tale....thanks

Appreciate all the support at this difficult time :P

Adding £10's worth of fuel sorted everything out. The light went out, although the RAC guy didn't plug computer back in to look for any codes. I think without the correct code database for Aygo/107/C1 it would have been a waste of time.

But I am surprised that the fuel pressure sensor, would not have left an ODBC record at all. I will ask my friends if they have a scanner to check for myself.

Honestly thought I had learn't the gauge. On the 1.0l Yaris (1SZ engine) I once reset the trip when getting into the reserve & got over 80miles before wussing out & filling up.

During the actual event I was scared that police would take action, as I have heard (urban myth maybe) that it is an offence to undertake a motorway journey without sufficent fuel. The 2 policewoman asked anumber of times if it was fuel & all I could say was "It shouldn't be" & "I would be very surprised" - although it was a niggling thought in my head.

The police were going to remove my car, at my cost, if the RAC didn't come within 40-60mins, as A38 is an extremely busy road. The police did treat me with respect & were very good.

[SJandMR2]

My fuel guage actually went up once while I was driving - I was like YAY I can grow fuel, I will be a millionaire .. I rely on knowing how much I put in it now and not letting it get to low, and no your not idiot, so many people have done this, even if they dont admit it!

SJx

[feldman]

My fuel guage actually went up once while I was driving - I was like YAY I can grow fuel, I will be a millionaire .. I rely on knowing how much I put in it now and not letting it get to low, and no your not idiot, so many people have done this, even if they dont admit it!

SJx

I did that once. Was down to the beeps and just put a tenner in it to tide me over 'til payday. The fuel gauge went up to two bars but had reached three by the time I got home

[daveyjp]

Did you fill up before leaving? Donny to Brum return should easily be covered on half a tank, its only 200 miles or so.

If you filled up and only managed Donny-Brum-Lichfield before running out your car has a problem.

[gordonh]

Electronic fuel gauges are often wrong, esp after starting a journey.

I ride a bike most of the time and I can stop the bike with only one bar and come back and have just one blanked out when I go to drive off again. It quickly sorts itself out but can be a pain if you loose track of the expected miles. The gauge will even go up if I stop pushing the bike hard on the roads sometimes. I just work on 130miles between fill ups, or every 3 days going to/from work.

[rotwang1985]

Did you fill up before leaving? Donny to Brum return should easily be covered on half a tank, its only 200 miles or so.

If you filled up and only managed Donny-Brum-Lichfield before running out your car has a problem.

I hadn't filled up before the journey but knowing the distance I was sure I had enough. I will be making sure that I study what i put in & the distance I cover & make notes.

Does anyone know if the 'ScanGauge2' can access the petrol tank info? I'm interested in getting one for an odometer & the MPG info.

[Toblerone]

Does anyone know if the 'ScanGauge2' can access the petrol tank info? I'm interested in getting one for an odometer & the MPG info.

It can't, but you can set up you own gauge (you need to read the manual for this!) to show your remaining miles on each tank. It's quite good because you have to tell the Scangauge your tank size, but it only allows whole gallons and the Aygo has a 7.7 gallon tank. i've set mine to 7 gallons, so when it shows 0 miles range i know i've got 0.7 gallons left :)

I think the Scangauge is a must have for the Aygo - I have mine showing water temp, range, MPG and average MPG. You can make your own gauges using any of the trip info you like.

My Volvo S40 had a superb range system, i used to safely take it down to 1 mile range and could fill up with 49.9 litres for the 50 litre tank!

[rotwang1985]

I think the Scangauge is a must have for the Aygo - I have mine showing water temp, range, MPG and average MPG. You can make your own gauges using any of the trip info you like.

My Volvo S40 had a superb range system, i used to safely take it down to 1 mile range and could fill up with 49.9 litres for the 50 litre tank!

Quick question Tobler', where did you get your ScanGauge from? & How much? (if you don't mind) does it need a 12v feed? & have you any pics of yours fitted?

Alot of questions for ya, but I'm really interested in getting one. PM me if you don't wanna post.

[Wild west Drifter]

[Quick question Tobler', where did you get your ScanGauge from? & How much? (if you don't mind) does it need a 12v feed? & have you any pics of yours fitted?

Alot of questions for ya, but I'm really interested in getting one. PM me if you don't wanna post.

Likewise, I am also very interested Where was is the connection in car for it?

[Toblerone]

I got mine from the people on link below. You can by paypal and they delivered the next day iirc. I think it was around £120 all in.

It simply plugs into the OBD2 socket by your left knee. It doesn't need any batteries or other power, and it turns on and off with the ignition. It lights up permanently a bit like the stereo display - amazingly, you can choose between loads of colours including an orange similar to the Toyota dials.

I've positioned mine in the shelf above the stereo (I wasn't the first to do this, a few others on here have them in the same place) but i've drilled a hole in the panel to take the cable. I think it looks pretty factory which I like! I'll try and take a photo tomorrow.

I've found mine has paid for itself as i always keep one eye on the MPG value ;)

http://www.ukobd.co.uk/gstore/store/g_view...CFQplHgodRGBYjw

[gordonh]

149 euros(need to check the exchange rate) from http://www.scangauge.net/ incl free postage all of europe

[Chris81]

Haven't read all subsequent posts but its a similar prob on the Yaris. I;m assuming you guys have some sort of trip computer (or old fashioned clock) in the Aygo, but just remember to reset that everytime you fill up and then when you've covered say 250 miles, go and fill it back up.

Call me old school but I miss proper analogue temperature and fuel guages.

[cabcurtains]

Quote:

"The police were going to remove my car, at my cost, if the RAC didn't come within 40-60mins, as A38 is an extremely busy road. The police did treat me with respect & were very good"

It could of been my brother who parked behind you, however he's a bit of nasty copper so it probably wasnt him

The A38 isn't a motorway so i doubt you would have got a ticket ;)

[rotwang1985]

Quote:

It could of been my brother who parked behind you, however he's a bit of nasty copper so it probably wasnt him

The A38 isn't a motorway so i doubt you would have got a ticket ;)

Definitley wasn't your brother - unless he had run out of shirts & trousers & was forced to do the whole day in a policewoman's uniform - complete with long hair & !Removed!

These were 2 women in a Focus estate.

I know A38 isn't 'motorway' (3 lanes of traffic etc), but is it true or false about the ticket/prosectution for running out of fuel? Is it "careless driving" or "driving without care & attention"? Anyone know of anything like this happening?

A suggestion for the police; How about tea/coffee making facilities in the squad cars - it was very windy day, we were freezing :P

[cabcurtains]

Quote:

It could of been my brother who parked behind you, however he's a bit of nasty copper so it probably wasnt him

The A38 isn't a motorway so i doubt you would have got a ticket ;)

Definitley wasn't your brother - unless he had run out of shirts & trousers & was forced to do the whole day in a policewoman's uniform - complete with long hair & breasts

These were 2 women in a Focus estate.

I know A38 isn't 'motorway' (3 lanes of traffic etc), but is it true or false about the ticket/prosectution for running out of fuel? Is it "careless driving" or "driving without care & attention"? Anyone know of anything like this happening?

A suggestion for the police; How about tea/coffee making facilities in the squad cars - it was very windy day, we were freezing :P

He would get promoted if he did have the swap Equal ops and all that

Definite ticket on the motorway for running out of fuel, however as with all things it’s the officers discretion. The ladies you met weren’t traffic so you probably get a better reaction than a white cap would give :)

[Demonic Angel]

The digital gauge has never been the most reliable bit of kit - it was the same one on both my previous Yaris' and I tended to work more with the range than the fuel gauge.

Mines occasionally gone up a bar too, but never gone from 3 bars to flashing 1 that quickly! Its been sitting on 2 bars for the past 40 miles so I can safely say that it'll start flashing in the next couple of days or so.

[Leeky]

Mine has always been spot on.

Driving on a brimmed tank (driving extra careful for economy in red) -

1st Bar 130(150)miles

2nd Bar 80(100)miles

3rd Bar 80(100)miles

4th Bar 55(80)miles

5th Bar 55(80)miles

6th Bar 30miles

I've ran out of fuel in the aygo a few times now because i've tried pushing it as far as it will go. And no matter how easy or hard you drive it i always get about 30miles on that last flashing bar.

[Guest]

The gauges must calibrate differently, i wonder if the sensor comes from different suppliers, hence th difference, Mine goes at almost the same distance from every blob, 90 from the first, then 80 for the second, 70 for the rest, and i normally fill up before i get to the bottom blob.