2019 Escalade fuel level wrong

[jyi786]

2019 Escalade ESV. All of a sudden the fuel level is way inaccurate.

It has a 31 gallon tank, with a range of about 530 miles. The gauge is digital. I can fill up the truck completely, and while driving, it will "lose" 2-3 miles of range over a short amount of time. The worst I've seen is that it shows about 1/4 tank left after being filled up completely and only about 80 miles of driving.

No, this isn't a leak either, because while driving, and randomly, it will slowly creep back up to the correct "level", both the level and the range.

Today, I ran the tank down till it said "LOW", put in 25 gallons, and when I started up the truck, it showed that it was only 3/4 full and that the range was 376 miles, which is obviously incorrect. Then, while driving, it slowly crept its way up to 7/8 full and 476 miles, which was better, but still incorrect.

Does it sound like my fuel pump is bad and needs replacing? I've also once heard a super loud banging back there, underneath the seat, in the tank area.

Thanks!

 

[SpyShops212]

I would replace my fuel pump which the fuel level sender is part of. I would say hook up a scan tool to see if it matches or the Cadillac app but it may show the same as your gauge but wouldn’t hurt to check. This is the weirdest thing I heard and I owned Escalades since 1999 and know just about everything about them.

 

[B-train]

I'd say there's either something wrong with the resistive sender, or a float that has a leak and is partially full of fuel which will alter it's response.

 

[jyi786]

This is how the fuel level sensor looks for my truck. Doesn't seem to be like a traditional sender kit or float.

2015-2020 GM Fuel Level Sensor Kit 13535373 GM | GMPartsDirect.com

2015-2020 GM part # 13535373 - Fuel Level Sensor Kit

www.gmpartsdirect.com

Still think it's the entire unit?

 

[SpyShops212]

This is how the fuel level sensor looks for my truck. Doesn't seem to be like a traditional sender kit or float.

2015-2020 GM Fuel Level Sensor Kit 13535373 GM | GMPartsDirect.com

2015-2020 GM part # 13535373 - Fuel Level Sensor Kit

www.gmpartsdirect.com

Still think it's the entire unit?

I would just change the whole thing while I had the gas tank down. I would check with the Cadillac app and code reader which both give you the levels.

 

[swathdiver]

2019 Escalade ESV. All of a sudden the fuel level is way inaccurate.

It has a 31 gallon tank, with a range of about 530 miles. The gauge is digital. I can fill up the truck completely, and while driving, it will "lose" 2-3 miles of range over a short amount of time. The worst I've seen is that it shows about 1/4 tank left after being filled up completely and only about 80 miles of driving.

No, this isn't a leak either, because while driving, and randomly, it will slowly creep back up to the correct "level", both the level and the range.

Today, I ran the tank down till it said "LOW", put in 25 gallons, and when I started up the truck, it showed that it was only 3/4 full and that the range was 376 miles, which is obviously incorrect. Then, while driving, it slowly crept its way up to 7/8 full and 476 miles, which was better, but still incorrect.

Does it sound like my fuel pump is bad and needs replacing? I've also once heard a super loud banging back there, underneath the seat, in the tank area.

Thanks!

There's nothing wrong with your fuel gauge or sending unit in the tank. The truck is constantly computing based on short term fuel usage. If you idle the truck while your wife runs into the grocery store for "just one thing" and shows up 5 songs later, you're not going to see maximum range if you fill up right afterwards. If you spend an hour in the car running errands around town the range is going to drop like a rock. If you then head out onto the highway, the range usually doesn't increase much but will drop slower than the mile posts you are passing.

More than a few times we filled up in Orlando, drove around town all day and the gauge said the range was 68 miles and drove home 125 miles and the light didn't come until I pulled up into the driveway. That's because the range shown was based on all that city driving which was probably like 10 mpgs but once she was up to highway speeds was getting double that. The computer is not suddenly going to display the range based on your current speed and the fuel left, it's taking into consideration your previous driving habits since the trip meter was last reset too.

 

[Fless]

There's nothing wrong with your fuel gauge or sending unit in the tank. The truck is constantly computing based on short term fuel usage. If you idle the truck while your wife runs into the grocery store for "just one thing" and shows up 5 songs later, you're not going to see maximum range if you fill up right afterwards. If you spend an hour in the car running errands around town the range is going to drop like a rock. If you then head out onto the highway, the range usually doesn't increase much but will drop slower than the mile posts you are passing.

More than a few times we filled up in Orlando, drove around town all day and the gauge said the range was 68 miles and drove home 125 miles and the light didn't come until I pulled up into the driveway. That's because the range shown was based on all that city driving which was probably like 10 mpgs but once she was up to highway speeds was getting double that. The computer is not suddenly going to display the range based on your current speed and the fuel left, it's taking into consideration your previous driving habits since the trip meter was last reset too.



View attachment 408808

While this answers the "range" question, it seems to me that the fuel level is still an issue. From the description, the fuel level isn't being reported correctly. Unless, of course, the "fuel level" reading the OP is referencing is not the actual fuel tank level reading.

Is there a separate reading for the actual fuel tank level?

 

[swathdiver]

While this answers the "range" question, it seems to me that the fuel level is still an issue. From the description, the fuel level isn't being reported correctly. Unless, of course, the "fuel level" reading the OP is referencing is not the actual fuel tank level reading.

Is there a separate reading for the actual fuel tank level?

You can see the percentage with a scan tool or phone app. I think he's just not familiar with it. The 25 gallon fill to 3/4 is normal, the time when it showed 1/4 tank after 80 miles of driving was probably all city driving or lots of idling.

All of my previous GM cars since the 1980s, the gas needle would stay on full forever and then suddenly sweep towards empty right on time. Then with my Yukon and 2 Sierras, they swing off of full before I even get home from the gas station and you can seemingly drive all day on empty. Now I just replaced my Evap canister after the last 3 tanks were hard to fill and it seems to have changed how much fuel I can pump into the truck. Only filled it up once since so more time is needed to learn if anything really changed.

 

[SpyShops212]

I constantly idle my car while the wife is out shopping and I wait. There are times I am in the car for a hour or more. My fuel gauge doesn’t do anything strange. The only thing that happens is my mpg

The 1990’s BMW 8-series had the most accurate fuel gauge I ever saw.

 

[jyi786]

You can see the percentage with a scan tool or phone app. I think he's just not familiar with it. The 25 gallon fill to 3/4 is normal, the time when it showed 1/4 tank after 80 miles of driving was probably all city driving or lots of idling.

All of my previous GM cars since the 1980s, the gas needle would stay on full forever and then suddenly sweep towards empty right on time. Then with my Yukon and 2 Sierras, they swing off of full before I even get home from the gas station and you can seemingly drive all day on empty. Now I just replaced my Evap canister after the last 3 tanks were hard to fill and it seems to have changed how much fuel I can pump into the truck. Only filled it up once since so more time is needed to learn if anything really changed.

I am very familiar with driving this truck. I've driven it 100,000 miles in the last year. It has never acted like this until now.

When I said it filled 25 gallons, I mean that there was still 6 gallons left in the tank. And ALL the miles I put on it at that time were highway miles. I never idled it. That's why I'm worried something is very wrong. A 31 gallon tank, even with the computing, should NEVER read that it has only 1/4 left when only 80 miles of highway driving has passed. Again, when that happened, it ever so slowly again inched its way back up.

Notice how I never say "range", which I totally understand, as that can be calculated based on my driving habits. But what should NOT be calculated is actual fuel. If I put 25 gallons in a tank that is almost empty, it should show that it is full. Range, sure, calculate it. But not the actual gauge.

In my truck, I have found that the gauge is directly tied to the range. When the computer calculates that there is a lower range, it will decrease the fuel level. To me, that is strange behavior, but it's exactly what's happening.

Final note, this just started happening. Hasn't happened since I bought the truck.