Honda Car Forum

So it's weird, I got my grandmother's 2004 CRV as part of my
inheritance to replace the 2001 Accord my ex totaled. The car only
has like not even 60,000 miles on it. The low fuel light is ALWAYS
ON, no matter what. The gas tank will only let you put so much in.
It doesn't let you fill it up, and you never know how much gas is in
it. Because it never displays, about 2 months ago it came back on and
started working. Then, went out again. So, now I have to use the
mileage thing and to be safe, I have to put gas in every day pretty
much. I don't know that much about cars, well because I am a girl and
all. Does anyone know what could be causing this? Well the check
engine light is on, but thats because I need an oil change really bad.

<meganrhamilton_8@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1177286510.231755.11270@y5g2000hsa.googlegrou ps.com...
> So it's weird, I got my grandmother's 2004 CRV as part of my
> inheritance to replace the 2001 Accord my ex totaled. The car only
> has like not even 60,000 miles on it. The low fuel light is ALWAYS
> ON, no matter what. The gas tank will only let you put so much in.
> It doesn't let you fill it up, and you never know how much gas is in
> it. Because it never displays, about 2 months ago it came back on and
> started working. Then, went out again. So, now I have to use the
> mileage thing and to be safe, I have to put gas in every day pretty

Look under the car to see if there is a dent or anything in the gas tank.
Sounds like something is stuck or pushed in.

> much. I don't know that much about cars, well because I am a girl and
> all. Does anyone know what could be causing this? Well the check
> engine light is on, but thats because I need an oil change really bad.

The Check Engine light or the Maintenance Required light? The maint light
is for an oil change, the check engine light is because there is a problem
detected.

On 4/22/07 7:01 PM, in article
1177286510.231755.11270@y5g2000hsa.googlegroups.co m,
"meganrhamilton_8@yahoo.com" <meganrhamilton_8@yahoo.com> wrote:

> So it's weird, I got my grandmother's 2004 CRV as part of my
> inheritance to replace the 2001 Accord my ex totaled. The car only
> has like not even 60,000 miles on it. The low fuel light is ALWAYS
> ON, no matter what. The gas tank will only let you put so much in.
> It doesn't let you fill it up, and you never know how much gas is in
> it. Because it never displays, about 2 months ago it came back on and
> started working. Then, went out again. So, now I have to use the
> mileage thing and to be safe, I have to put gas in every day pretty
> much. I don't know that much about cars, well because I am a girl and
> all. Does anyone know what could be causing this? Well the check
> engine light is on, but thats because I need an oil change really bad.
>

They have a pretty small gas tank, slightly over 15 gallons total, but it
should go about 300 miles on a tank. If you fill it up every 250 miles you
should be safe until you get the indicator fixed.

If, as you say, the low fuel light never goes off, I suspect the fuel level
sensor in the gas tank is failing or the wiring to it is damaged. Another
possibility is that the gas tank has been dented in, which could make the
sensors read wrong. Best bet is to take it to a Honda dealer and have it
checked out.

There are two "check engine" lights. One that indicates a possibly serious
problem with the engine and the other, a "maintenance required" light means
it needs an oil change. Make sure you know which one is lit. Check the
owners manual.

Be careful with this... as mentioned in a previous post, it could be a dent
in the tank. I had this problem on my 98 civic at around 35000kms. The dent
didn't look that big, but it was right at the middle of the tank. This
caused fuel to flow to either side of the tank and away from the fuel pickup.
Therefore, in my situation, the low fuel light NEVER came on. It would say I
had 1/4 tank, and if I drove on the highway, the car would lose power and
eventually stall.

Ended up getting a new tank.

t

E Meyer wrote:
>On 4/22/07 7:01 PM, in article
>1177286510.231755.11270@y5g2000hsa.googlegroups.c om,
>
>> So it's weird, I got my grandmother's 2004 CRV as part of my
>> inheritance to replace the 2001 Accord my ex totaled. The car only
>[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
>> all. Does anyone know what could be causing this? Well the check
>> engine light is on, but thats because I need an oil change really bad.
>
>They have a pretty small gas tank, slightly over 15 gallons total, but it
>should go about 300 miles on a tank. If you fill it up every 250 miles you
>should be safe until you get the indicator fixed.
>
>If, as you say, the low fuel light never goes off, I suspect the fuel level
>sensor in the gas tank is failing or the wiring to it is damaged. Another
>possibility is that the gas tank has been dented in, which could make the
>sensors read wrong. Best bet is to take it to a Honda dealer and have it
>checked out.
>
>There are two "check engine" lights. One that indicates a possibly serious
>problem with the engine and the other, a "maintenance required" light means
>it needs an oil change. Make sure you know which one is lit. Check the
>owners manual.

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Oh yeah, the whole point of my post was that the dent reduced my effective
range by over 200 kms. Normally I get about 450 to 500 kms on a tank... so
reduction by almost 40%! Be careful, don't run outta gas!

t

loewent wrote:
>Be careful with this... as mentioned in a previous post, it could be a dent
>in the tank. I had this problem on my 98 civic at around 35000kms. The dent
>didn't look that big, but it was right at the middle of the tank. This
>caused fuel to flow to either side of the tank and away from the fuel pickup.
>Therefore, in my situation, the low fuel light NEVER came on. It would say I
>had 1/4 tank, and if I drove on the highway, the car would lose power and
>eventually stall.
>
>Ended up getting a new tank.
>
>t
>
>>On 4/22/07 7:01 PM, in article
>>1177286510.231755.11270@y5g2000hsa.googlegroups. com,
>[quoted text clipped - 19 lines]
>>it needs an oil change. Make sure you know which one is lit. Check the
>>owners manual.

--
Message posted via CarKB.com
http://www.carkb.com/Uwe/Forums.aspx...-cars/200704/1