[lexusoman]

Something strange happened yesterday on my 2015 NX200t.
I had 1/2 a tank of gas left when I came back from Lunch.
It rained for about 90 mins, I mean heavy rain.
When I left work and started the car, the Fuel needle stayed on Empty and the fuel light came on. On the center information display it said fuel was low. For sure I thought that someone had stolen gas from my car as this has happened in our area before. I opened the Fuel cover to smell if there was any gas spilled. No there was just rain water. The Gas Cap was not loose, I opened it and closed it back.
Drove to gas station and topped off the tank at 7.7 gallons. If the tank is 15 gallons then 7.7 would make sense as the tank was 1/2 full. Now when I started the car everything showed normal. Fuel needle was on Full and no lights or information on display.
What causes that? has anyone had a similar issue? Is it weather related?
I had the car running in ECO mode could that have caused the issue? Spoke to the dealer and this is the first they have heard of this.
Your thoughts.

 

[TheLex]

This is the first time I've come across something like it. My only suggestion is for you to drive around in Eco mode and see if the indicator lights up again when you get to the 1/2 tank mark. See if you can reproduce it again.

 

[lexusoman]

I can try to reproduce it except for the heavy rain. LOL!! Someone I know had a similar issue kind off. He rented a Ford Mustang in CA and was driving it thru the mountains and had about 1/2 tank of gas, all of a sudden he saw the fuel needle go from 1/2 to Empty in matter of seconds. He stopped checked everything, all looked well. He was able to drive 70 more miles to AVIS and exchange the car. He never found a resolution to the issue.

 

[TheLex]

It may be the temperature difference as the tank and the liquids inside expands and contracts depending on the weather. Seems like it happened to the both of you when the temperature of your car dropped and the fuel gauge just read the levels wrong because of the contraction. This is just a shot in the dark of course so don't take it as fact. Maybe someone may have a better answer.

 

[Kennedy]

It may be the temperature difference as the tank and the liquids inside expands and contracts depending on the weather. Seems like it happened to the both of you when the temperature of your car dropped and the fuel gauge just read the levels wrong because of the contraction. This is just a shot in the dark of course so don't take it as fact. Maybe someone may have a better answer.

That's something i've learned with my other cars especially since I park outdoors and where I park the vehicle is on a decline, so you can imagine what that'll do for the fuel level reading.

Best thing to do is to let the vehicle warm up completely and drive on level road for 10-15 minutes, that should bring the fuel level where it needs to be.

 

[mister]

Could be a problem with whatever sensor measures the fuel level. I think its more likely that the incline would be the culprit.

 

[avocado]

In an attempt to rule out water causing a short in the fuel gauging system, when your tank is half full, take your car to a self service car wash and completely wet the exterior, maybe underside too. Before drying, see if the problem exists. Modern cars reset the fuel related readouts upon refueling. Maybe this caused the system to come back to "normal". I don't know if the NX lets you over-ride the reset so that if it happens again, maybe the fuel gauge won't show full when you fill up. Many systems are designed by OEMs, so other manufacturers could be affected as well. I also would not rule out a software glitch. Hope this doesn't happen again.

 

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my 2016 nx 200t f sport also have the same issue

hi,

just checking if this issue was resolved? my 2016 lexus nx 200t f sport has the same issue, low fuel indicator around quarter tank, then the fuel gauge goes to empty...then when i start the car again after it goes back to quarter tank but still with the low fuel warning sign on the middle.

please help

-Peter