Help! - Ran out of gas - Second Time

aNoodle

aNoodle

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So I wrote a while back how I ran out of gas in Pennsylvania on a road trip. It was extremely cold out (single digits) but I was on a long road trip, so the car was warm. The indicator said I still had gas. I couldn't tell how much was put in the tank to fill it up again.

Well, last night I ran out of gas in Greenwhich CT. The indicator said I had slightly more than 1/4 of a tank!! I found a gas station and put one gallon of gas from a canister, then when I got back to the gas station I filled it up with only 12 gallons. That means a total of 13 gallons, so the indicator appeared roughly correct...I still had 1/4 left in there out of a 16.5 gallon tank.

So why am I running out of gas?

Do you suppose it's the gas pump? But why would it stop working only as the gas gets low. I looked at the parts diagrams...it doesn't look like there are multiple drainage lines, so it's not like the lower one is blocked or frozen (it wasn't all that cold last night, but was below freezing). Has anybody had expericne with this? Any ideas? Thanks for the help.
 
Bmw 325i 7803

Bmw 325i 7803

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I wouldn't let it get down to 1/4 in first place, as a rule of thumb when you go less than 1/2 or roughly 1/3 get gas ASAP especially on an older car...

Maybe the pump can't get the gas when it falls below a certain level??? I really don't know, but as my rule goes, don't ever let it run that low in first place especially with this problem.
 
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dcaron9999

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aNoodle said:
So I wrote a while back how I ran out of gas in Pennsylvania on a road trip. It was extremely cold out (single digits) but I was on a long road trip, so the car was warm. The indicator said I still had gas.
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I am the ownwer of a 1999 328i, and have stretched my luck more than once, with my car's trip computer and gas ETA indicators. I cannot believe how accurate this thing has been. I have driven it until it had an estimated 10-15 miles left of gasoline in the tank, and never had any surprises. I obviously do this when I doing city driving with gas stations near by. I also always use supreme gasoline with 92+ octane, and I use injector cleaner about once a month.

You should have this checked by the stealership, and hopefully you are under extended warranty, such as is the case with certified pre-owned car. Mine is coming to an end next month on my 1999 328i. [eek]
 
Abdoman

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New tires lately? Check your gas tank - I had the same thing happen to me. An unnamed company changed my tires and accidently jacked my car up using the tank. He crushed part of the tank.
 
Tom

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Not sure what the problem is, but I do agree in not letting your gas levels get down that low since its not good for the fuel pump.
 
aNoodle

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Tom said:
Not sure what the problem is, but I do agree in not letting your gas levels get down that low since its not good for the fuel pump.
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Yeah I guess, but a quarter of a tank?

My problem is that the car ran out gas and still had 1/4 of a tank left with fuel in it. Why would the car only restart when I added an extra gallon to the existing 1/4 tank full of gas?

Fuel pump? I'm not leaking gas, no cracks. Anybody familiar with a problem like this? It seems if the pump was shot then the engine wouldn't draw any gas at all. Here it seems to stop working at 1/4 of a tank. Can the engine suck the gas on in own accord down to a certain point, then the pump would show it's not working by not drawing the last 1/4 tank?
 
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Bubba

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Vacuum and/or plugged filter

This used to happen to my Triumph Daytona bike all the time. I recoated the interior of the metal tank when I had it painted. The coating prevented rusting, but covered the air intake. As the gas ran out, the tank went into vacuum. It took me a long time to figure out that after I stopped, out of gas, when I opened the tank and saw gas it would start up.

The extra gallon probably didn't do anything for your car, opening the tank probably released the vacuum. Do you remember a wooshing sound when you opened the tank? If it happens again, try to pull the gas cap and listen. Put the cap back on and try to start the car.

The other option is a partially plugged gas filter. The filter lets through less gas than the engine needs. As you drive a longer way the situation gets worse until you starve the engine. Shutting the car off for a bit gives the gas some time to fill the supply again, then the problem appears to go away.

In either case you should get it checked out. My motorcycle was carbeurated, so I just ran out of gas. In a modern fuel injected engine, running out of gas multiple times can really cause havoc.

Good luck.
 
K

karren

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Gas Sensor Gage

Hi,

I had a similiar problem with my car. My gas guage said I had 1/4 tank left (and 55 miles left according to my console) and the car ran out of gas. I thought I had some sort of engine malfunction. so I used my BMW Assist and they picked the car up and towed it to the dealership.

I found out my 2004 330i has two gas tank sensors (I think that's what they were called-it's been a year and my memory is failing) in my car. They replaced one of the sensors and it works fine now.

You may have a faulty gas sensors. Just a thought. I'm not a real expert with cars but your situation sounds like mine so it might be worthwhile to call the dealership.

[wave] -Karren
 
Bmw 325i 7803

Bmw 325i 7803

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If his car was new yes, otherwise the $tealership isnt really an option. But your suggestion does make sense, theres a faulty pump or sensor in there somewhere....
 
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ferrarib8

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the promplem is probably that you have a leak in the tank smell around if you smll fuel while your car isnt om. then turn on your car and smell again. If you cant find anything go to active autowerke miami florida 9940 sw 168th terrace. Call at 305-233-9300 ask for craig wong top tech
 
andreyiv

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Guys, can't you read? aNoodle said that he could not fill up the tank, a leak has nothing to do with it nor not running the car till its almost out of gas, there has to be another problem. I think the only two valid answers are Abdoman's and Bubba's. Anyway, aNoodle,keep us posted, I personally would love to see what the problem is.
 
Kirby

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It could be vacuum lock as described above.

If that's not it, the fuel pump and/or fuel pump suction line could have a hole in it on the suction side. As long as it is submersed, it sucks fuel through the hole. But when the fuel level drops it sucks air.
 
aNoodle

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Thanks everybody for the ideas....Bubba, that's an interesting idea on the pressure...maybe the return line is blocked somehow? And Kirby...you always bust out the interesting ideas. I'll have to look the parts diagram and see if they show a line down in the tank.

Well, I've kept the car over 1/2 full since then and have not had any porblems. I can take it in to a dealership or an independent, but it seems like they're just gonna start replacing sensors, pumps, and lines in random order...hell, even the entire tank if it goes into the stealership (maybe throw in a new engine too? LOL). Does anybody know of a good independent BMW shop in southwest CT...or north NYC suburbs?

I was kind of hoping to recreate the problem again to make sure it definitely has something to do with the tank getting to that 1/4 full level when it runs out of gas. I'm thinking about filling up an extra 1 gallon canister and running the car down to 1/4 of a tank to see if I can recreate the problem. But I don't know....running out of gas isn't too good for the car, is it? I mean, what kind of damage can be done? It can't be all THAT bad can it?
 
Kirby

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aNoodle said:
.....
I can take it in to a dealership or an independent, but it seems like they're just gonna start replacing sensors, pumps, and lines in random order...hell, even the entire tank if it goes into the stealership (maybe throw in a new engine too? LOL).
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If they tell you that you also need new blinker fluid or muffler bearings, you should be really suspicious LOL.

aNoodle said:
...
But I don't know....running out of gas isn't too good for the car, is it? I mean, what kind of damage can be done? It can't be all THAT bad can it?
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I don't think running out of gas a few times is going to hurt anything... but maybe someone knows differently?
 
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