Rep Power: 0

As the title says, my fuel gauge always tells me the wrong amount I have. It's not like I have a full tank and it shows empty. For example, let's say I have a little less than half a tank when I start my car. I'll drive two miles to work and turn the car off (I'm a delivery driver). An hour or two later I'll go back to start my car, but all of the sudden the gauge tells me I have a quarter tank or less in it. Then, as I'm driving, the gauge slowly creeps up again. The gauge doesn't fall to a certain point all the time. The only time I'm sure of how much gas I have is when I just fill up and I see the gauge go up. I just took a picture of the gauge after putting 20 bucks worth of gas in it. I will snap another photo when it is very low and I'll tell you how much I drove between the two pictures when I get back from work tonight.

Has anyone else ever dealt with an annoying fuel gauge like this?

 
Rep Power: 292

I believe it is a common problem with our civics (innacurate fuel readings)

But as for your problem:
As you're doing delivery, take notice of the curbs you're parking on.
If it slants towards the right, your fuel may drop, due to the unevenness of the road.
The same goes for the other side. If you park on the left, and the road slant towards the left, your fuel will read more than you actually have.
Then, when you drive, your gauge will even out again once the road is level.

 
Rep Power: 194

Yeah there's a TSB somewhere for the 7th gens. Iirc it was the gauge clusters causing the problem. Ive never heard of a 6th gen doing it though

 
Rep Power: 205

Mine's a joke as well. It varies about an 1/8 to 1/4 tank depending on whether I'm parked on an angle or simply going around a curve. I've entered on ramps and parking garages and had the gas light come on just from the cornering.

I just set my tripometer when I fill up then I know I'm good for 750 kms before I need to fill up again.

 
Rep Power: 0

The gauge changes far too much for it to be caused by being parked on uneven roads. Unfortunately, It was a busy night tonight so my car never sat for more than 15 minutes so the gauge was accurate throughout the night.

Does the gas light come on based on where the gauge's hand sits, or is it triggered by a sensor that checks the level of fuel in the tank?

 
Rep Power: 292

I've never seen the inside of a gas tank, so I cant say for sure,
But my theory is that it's something similar to a toilet's water tank
Where it has a flotation level that determines the fuel amount

 
Rep Power: 205

this

 
Rep Power: 194

I worked on an old s-10 that uses a float to determine how much fuels in the tank...id say modern day tanks probably use the same thing.

 
Rep Power: 0

I hope that's the case. I wouldn't want my gauge to tell me I still have a little bit when I'm running on the last drop.

 
Rep Power: 292

Just calculate your average fuel economy.

I know I get roughly ~28MPG all the time, and our cars carry 12 US Gallons
So for sure I'd be set for at least 300 miles

Know the limits of your car

 
Rep Power: 813

fuel sender is faulty. ever since i replaced mine the gas gauge has been much more reliable (altho near the end you dont get much warning before the gas light comes on). before i would have the needle on empty and there was still 5 gallons or more in the tank.

 
Rep Power: 0

I always try to shift before 3000 rpm on flat ground, it doesn't bother me if I accelerate slowly either. at 3k rpm I feel it's unnecessary to continue in the gear I'm in when the next gear can maintain the same speed at a lower RPM.

I love the gas mileage I get. I just don't love not knowing how much gas I have all the time.

 
Rep Power: 0

I never seen that in a 6th gen civic have you ever had your gas tank cleaned out and you injectors clean aswell as replacing the fuel filter? Many places have water in their gas or people are a** wipes and may do stuff to your tank when you aren't looking.

 
Rep Power: 211

It's baffling! literally, or should I say lack "lack there of". Most likely poor baffling design in 6th gen tanks that may cause this issue. My 98 Ex coupe does this too, and it's hard to tell just how many miles per tankful I am getting.
The worst pisser is how much quicker it goes down from half-to-empty compared to full-to-half.
I am tempted to run it out of gas just to see how below empty it will go, but that's not good to do as it can inject air into the fuel pump.

 
Rep Power: 205

Meh, every vehicle I've ever owned has some sort of quirk to it's fuel gauge accuracy. I agree it's probably the tank design though. From what I've seen of my gas tank it's like a dinner plate so the float probably sloshes around more. My Toyota truck tank is shaped more like a brick and is more accurate than the Civic.

You shouldn't run your tank down under 1/3 though not because of getting air in the system but because the fuel pump needs to be submerged in gasoline to keep it cool. It'll come to an untimely demise if you don't.

 
Rep Power: 813

ive been running to emtpy (gas light on) and sometimes further every week. i only get at most 5 gallons at a time and run to empty every time. been doing that close to 10 yrs and the car runs like a champ. never had a fuel system problem. to me its worth the weight reduction and always having fresh gas in there. and it gets hot here in the summers sometimes 100F but usually in the 90s. even if the pump goes sometime soon, i would say its worth doing if i only have to replace it every 10 yrs.

 
Rep Power: 0

Meh, I've learned to deal with it at this point. Although the gauge is inaccurate, it's inaccurate in a certain range in which I can (most times) successfully guess how much gas I have left. It's not a hassle, but I wouldn't lose any sleep at night if the problem just went away.

I also noticed over the course of the last two weeks that when I'm working (delivery driver) the gauge is at the same spot between start ups (Let's say I go out on a delivery every 15-30 minutes). The problem with the gauge occurs if I leave the car for longer than two or three hours.

 
Rep Power: 0

My 99 civic does the same thing for example the other day i put 20 euros worth of petrol so about 12 litres and the gauge went up to 3/4 of the way full then it dropped under half and then goes back up its like it has a mind of its own...

 
Rep Power: 0

It really does have a mind of its own. After a few days of dealing with it you can just tell how much gas is left in the tank

 
Rep Power: 0

Just go to the junk yard and pick one out of a dash. There are a few screws to get in, nothing fancy (phillips screw driver). Just replace the one gauge, and save the rest for later, for you will probably see your rpm guage go out, but not before your speed gauge goes out, and that's a problem, because you will then need to adjust the mileage, which isn't too hard but it is a headache process.

My speedometer went out, fluctuating in 20 mph, then the gas gauge started lying to me, sometimes going down to the correct level, and most of the time sitting at full. It is now at full and I haven't seen it go down in a long time.

The speed works, the rpms work, and the miles work. The only reason I don't have the gas gauge replaced is that my model has a gear display in the middle of the gas gauge and heat gauge, which some 98 honda civic ex's don't have, and I can't replace one or the other because both of them are nicely bound together by the front cover, which I would have to snap in half damaging the cluster, then not having a nice looking plate at all.

98 Honda Civic Ex coupe 2 door D16Y8