Bad fuel and failed fuel gauges

[ColonelPanic]

Thought I'd share this with you all... http://www.thelouisvillechanne....htmlI've heard about similar incidents in the past where additives or impurities in fuel killed the fuel sensors. But I think this is the first time I've seen an oil company offer to reimburse customers for repairs...Sulfur.... BAD!

[Raven]

This happened to my '99 GMC Sierra a couple of years ago but I have been unable to get it fixed for free. That would be excellent , it's a pricey repair.

[Mavrik]

We have been plaqued with this problem for a year now and its quite costly for ppl who's cars were not under warranty because you have to replace that sensor. Its about time the companies admitted to that sulfur.

[ColonelPanic]

Quote, originally posted by Mavrik »Its about time the companies admitted to that sulfur.Definitely! I'm not sure how it is on the majority of cars these days, I know with some cars you have to replace the entire fuel pump if the sending unit goes bad. That would be costly indeed. The fuel pump went bad on the Malibu I owned, and the dealer replaced it under warranty. When they got it back together, then the fuel gauge stopped working. They told me the pump and sending unit was all one piece, so they had to order another fuel pump so I could have a functional gas gauge again. Not sure how common the all-in-one setup may be these days, but for those who have it, ouch! $$$

[Mavrik]

In CAD, you'd be looking at a good $800 plus for that repair... Some cars we could get away with replacing the sensor but most, yes we needed to replace the pump.

[03VibeGT6Spd]

I ran out of gas may 5th in my Riviera with the wife and daughter in the car.I couldn't figure out what was wrong but I was lucky and coasted into a gas station.my gas gauge was reading 1/4 tank of gas.finally I put a few gallons in it and it fired up!Now I'm pissed, I sold it a couple days later.I was thinking the car's electrical system was dying.My wife told me she bought gas at the shell station down in fenton, a few days before that.So this thing is spread out farther then there admitting to.

[jcarvibegt]

Interesting, there was just a report on the news in Orlando about several Shell stations being shut down b/c of sulfur in the gas and that it was damaging peoples fuel gauges. I just saw the report like 2 hours ago!

[cobra55]

thanks for sharing this,i live in owensboro,ky and go to louisvilleat times i will make sure my vibe is full before i leave

[03VibeGT6Spd]

I did a google search and I found trouble in Nawlins, Indy, Orlando and I know this was my trouble here in mid michigan.

[MadBill]

This was a Big Deal in Ontario a year or so ago, supposedly due to one batch from one refinery. The oil companies (mostly Shell) got in a p***ing contest with the vehicle manufacturers (mostly GM) over whose fault it was. Most GM fuel senders have silver vs. the more corrosion-resistant gold contacts, which is fine unless there's a ton of sulphur in the fuel, which there isn't supposed to be but was due to a refining error. Shell claimed the gasoline "met specifications", ignoring the fact that the specs are written by and for the convenience of the oil companies and are pretty rudimentary. (e.g., no one expects 30% battery acid in their fuel, so the spec. doesn't mention it...) Anyway, it was supposed to be over and done with, but maybe Shell had a bit more of the c**p than they admitted, and decided to export the rest...