Inaccurate fuel gage on my 2006 2nd Gen Tacoma

I posted this problem some time back and never ran it to ground. My excuse is that I'm in Nursing school. I have a couple of weeks before the next semester starts so hopefully I can fit it in. If you have responded to the previous thread and I missed it I do apologize. I have not posted a lot but what I have noticed since becoming a member of this forum a few years ago is there are some dang fine folks on here that truly passionate about troubleshooting peoples problems. You guys are unmatched! and for that I thank you. My 2006 tacoma was running out of fuel at the 1/8 mark on the fuel gage and this evening it ran out at just over the 1/4 mark. Can someone shed some light on my fuel issue?

 

It is more than likely the sending unit which is located in the gas tank.

 

Just to be clear, I own two tacomas, an 07 and an 08.

 

Will still be in the tank.

 

I will have them check it out, thanks much.

 

Pulling the gas tank to fix this is not going to be cheap or easy. With most trucks you have to remove the bed to get to the fuel tank. It wouldn't be worth the expense to me on a 14-16 year old truck. If the fuel gauge on my 07 completely stopped working it wouldn't be a problem.

I never trust fuel gauges anyway. Fill-up, reset trip meter and buy gas again when you reach X number of miles. I know my truck and typically fill up at 250 miles for normal everyday driving and at 300 on road trips. Your tank holds 21 gallons. After a few fill-ups you'll be able to predict within 1-2 gallons how much you'll pump just by using the trip meter.

That usually puts me around 1/8 tank. I don't push my luck and rarely go below 1/4 tank. Too many bad things can happen and running out of gas is a PITA.

 

This is correct. You’ll likely end up pulling it out in the end.

You could test it I guess.

Spec
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/2008-tacoma-fuel-gauge-only-reads-3-4-full.738806/#post-26300022

See post #18 and #25 on how to “easier”
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/gas-gage-on-dash-shows-empty.729840/page-2

 

Throw some sea foam, or something like it in the tank when you fill up. It helped my gas gauge issues. I do it every 3k now and the issues have completely gone away.

 

Appreciate the feedback. I have been kicking the idea around about using the trip meter as a gauge. I may have to get over my OCD about things not working correctly and just suck it up. I will try and test the wiring on the fuel meter as I'm not that savvy when it comes to electronics but it looks easy enough. Thanks again.

 

I have a similar issue: 2005 TRD EC. The problem started about a year ago when the truck sat idle for about a month. The fuel gauge is now resting on empty with the amber warning light a-glowing. I just filled the tank today with a little less than 10 gallons from the pump. I figure I will "safe-side" it by filling up every 250 miles on the trip tic.

 

This would be my advice. I've learned at best the fuel gauge on the dash gives an estimate. For some vehicles, the first quarter of the tank goes fast, in others it is slow and it can be the same in the last quarter.
Only time I let mine get below a quarter of the tank is when we're on a trip and I know how far to the next station.
Try a good fuel cleaner and see if it changes it.

 

I’d check for an open in the circuit.
Your gauge is reading empty. Empty is high resistance/no current.
Maybe mice chewed some wires while it was sitting?

 

Thanks, I'll check that.