Hi all,
First the specifics:
2010 F-150, 5.4l, 4x2, S'crew, 26 gallon tank.

I parked the truck, nise down in my druveway with 1/2 of a tank of gas. When i started the truck in the morning it showed 20 miles till empty. I drove 2 miles to the store and let the truck sit for 15 minutes. When i restarted it it showed 1/4 of a tank. Being paranoid, i drove to the chevron and put in 14 gallons, just a bit over 1/2 a tank. This has happened twice.

Not sure if it's the baffles in the tank not allowing the fuel to move back to the sender, the sender not getting the levels right or if it's the computer not resetting.

Anyone else have this happen?

 

Mine did the same thing on my first tank of gas. I'm only on my second so I don't know if its a re-occuring issue.

 

2k miles so far...has happened 2 times.

 

Really? Just 2 of us?

 

I doubt it. People probably just either don't notice, or haven't looked in the thread.

 

I've had this issue as well, as I park in the same manner as the OP. I've also found that if you turn the key in the ignition to "ON", but not crank it, and leave it that way for about 10-15 minutes, the gauge goes crazy. I made that mistake twice, each time the next morning it shows crazy "XX Miles to Empty" readings.

I'm about due for my 1st oil change, so I think I'll ask again. I've asked before, but they service advisor really had nothing to say to me.

 

I have had it happen once. Was parked on an uphill and the gauge read almost empty when 20 minutes prior it was at least half full.

 

Have you looked under your truck to see how long the gas tank is? If you are parked down hill most of the fuel moved to the front of the tank.If the guage unit is in the middle of the tank it will change because the level of the fuel is different becaused it moved to the front.When you start the truck up the next morning it sees less gas than you have so it recalculates based on the amount of fuel it sees.As you drive awhile it sees what looks like more fuel and it recalculates again.Keep the tank fuller and this will not bother you.I dont know how a guage can be 100% accurate with such a large and long tank setting uphill and the downhill with gas moving from one end to the other.There is nothing wrong with it.

 

I respectfully object with your summation at the end. I had a 2004, and this did not happen ONCE in my 5 years of ownership. And, I never had the issue that I mentioned earlier with key position as related to fuel gauge. A gauge should not be affected by something as trivial as parking angle. That is something that Ford should have accounted for.

As I said, my 2004 never did this. What did they feel needed changing? It's a bit unnerving the first time this happens, thinking you have a full tank, for example, and then the gauge shows you have a handful of miles to E. It wastes your time, and money, as you then pull into a station only to find out the tank was already sufficiently full.

So, what did Ford think was wrong with the previous way of doing things?

 

This truck has a larger gas tank than your old one. I had a 07 Tundra that did the same thing and it only had a 26 gal. tank.I also have a 06 corolla with a 13 gal. tank and it does that.I have noticed this going up or down long steep grades with my 09 f150 and other vehicles I have had.The larger the tank the more it seems to do that.The sender unit sets in one place with the float going up and down as the gas goes up and down while the gasoline moves around.

Drive and enjoy.

 

Negative, Ghost Rider, the pattern is full.

My 2004 and this 2009 have exactly the same size tank. Next...

 

My issue is why.....(again for those who need the crux of whati am asking reinforced) Why does the gauge not level itself out? Why does the sender not realise that the fuel has actually moved back to a level where the gauge has to move.....


Maybe it's linked to the very interesting gas mileage meter. Sorry but steady cruising, on flat ground, at 55, doesnt make for 14.2 MPG....for 30 miles. Once you hit the reset, magically it reads correct again.

I just think Ford may have a programming or code logic error in their system. With the gauges cycling at startup we do not have the direct cable actuated fuel gauges.

 

This has been affecting me too. I have the 36 Gal tank, and park nose down on an angled driveway every night. I initially noticed it when I had approximately 100 miles to empty; the next day, it read approximately 20. Once I started to take notice, I realized that it's a daily occurrence; my gas level always reads much lower if parked nose down for a period of time. I assume the engineers didn't factor grade into their equations - or they did and $ or time was more important than getting it right. Either way, it's annoying to have to keep track of fuel levels more than I should have to.

 

Heres my stab at the cause...

One time I drove my truck (2010, 36gal tank) all the way to E, until the "mileage to empty" icon came on...from there on it was a countdown. At about 20miles left i decided to put 3 or 4 gallons in it from a gas can i had in the garage till i went to the pumps. After i put that fuel in and for the next day or two the countdown did not reset with more miles to empty. Even with a few xtra gallons in it.

What does that mean?

In my opinion i believe once the gas low, "miles to empty" gauge has been tripped it does not reset until the tank is refilled prob to at least 1/4 or 1/2 tank, maybe because of the minimal fuel sloshing around.

In any event, unless you got a hole in your tank, you should know about how much gas you got left.

 

My gas gauge changes its mind on me about 2-3x/wk. It's rather annoying, but I don't really know what to do about it, so I ignore the problem and just remember when the last time I filled up was. Typically it levels itself out after 20 minutes or so of driving, sometimes shorter. If there was a fix, I'd take it in, but I'm not going to a dealer and them not having a clue what is going on, and end up making more of a mess.