fuel gauge
 

I have a 2002 3.0i with about 51k. I am noticing that after I fill the tank, and go driving the my needle will stay at the full tank marker for close to 100 miles, especially when I am driving on the highway. My guage showed a little under 3/4 a tank at 176 miles. But once I get around half tank, the guage drops a lot quicker. Anyone experiencing something similar? Could this be a fuel sending unit? Thanks in advance.:thumbup:

Which brand of fuel are you using? I had the same exact problem until I switched to Shell.

Check out my thread: http://www.xoutpost.com/x5-e53-forum/...uel-gauge.html

The last tank I filled up with was shell, but the two tanks before that was 76 and chevron. I also threw in a few gallons of 100 octane, a couple of tanks ago. Checked out the thread. My guage isnt sticking at sticking where yours was, mine seems to stick after I fill up.

Try sticking with Shell for the next few tanks and see if that fixes it. :goodluck:

Ill try it and see if it works. Should I drive each tank to empty, or does it not matter when I fill up?

I normally drive each tank to empty, so that's what did it for me. Not sure about the others who had the same problem, though.

ran about 3 bottles of redline s1 complete fuel system cleaner, seemed to fix my sticky needle situation.

I use to run redline s1 through the system, but lately I have had trouble finding it. Is there another product that you can recommend?

my 2001 X5 had the same 'sticky' fuel gauge - but come to think about it, it has disappeared since using Shell exclusively

you have a reserve of a few gallons that's why the needle doesn't move very fast from the full b/c it is essentially over-full (at a higher level than the gauge can read)