• Hi Guest!
    You can help ensure that British Car Forum (BCF) continues to provide a great place to engage in the British car hobby! If you find BCF a beneficial community, please consider supporting our efforts with a subscription.
    There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
Tips
Tips

Engine starving for fuel before tank is empty - 2001 Audi TT

Share this page

Popeye

Popeye

Obi Wan
Silver
Country flag
Offline
Hi all,

My wife's car will not drive all the way to an empty gas tank. The engine will be fuel starved with about 1.2 gallons left in the tank. (Intermittent starvation)

The car is a base 2001 Audi TT (non-quattro, smaller engine). Same platform as the Mk 4 VW Golf. Fuel tank capacity is listed as 14.5 gallons. This morning after some hesitation on the freeway (talk about pucker factor), I filled up to 13.0 gallons when the fuel nozzle clicked off, then pumped a few more clicks to 13.3 gallons. I'm missing 1.2 gallons.

Most cars I can run all the way to essentially empty. A little history on the TT: the fuel gauge recently became a little wonky, i.e. it now reads empty with about 3 gallons of gas left in the tank (was previously accurate). Per an internet search, the reason for this is varnish on the sensor, so I've added fuel cleaner (Chevron Techron) to the past two fill-ups (and the reason why I want to drive it until most of the gas is out.)

Bottom line, I don't aim to drive the car until the last drop. But I am curious, why would the engine be fuel starved when the tank has a fair amount of gas left? Previously the car ran fine all the way to "empty". She has had the car since new, well-maintained. It is 15 years old and just shy of 40k miles. Is this the result of 15 year's crud accumulation in the tank?

Curious if folks here might know. I am posting on VWVortex as well, and will gladly share feedback.
 
No input on the Audi but, my last car, a Mazda 6 really would not let me drive past a quarter tank. I never really found out why but, I think, it was because there was no baffle in the tank and the gas would slosh away from the pump causing dry pumping for brief moments. I could carefully drive below 1/4 but it was just as easy - and likely better on the pump - to refill earlier. Just one of many things I came to hate about Mazda ownership.
 
Thanks John-Peter.

From the VW / Audi forums, a theory is the fuel pump housing may be cracked, and sucking at a higher point in the fuel tank.

Sounds like I have a winter project!!
 
No idea on Audi Doodies, but a whole lot of newer cars have two fuel pumps. The one in the tank is a "pusher", and the one outside the tank is a "puller".
We used to get cars into the shop all the time where they would quit or run ragged under 1/4 tank or so. The tank pump pushed the fuel to the frame pump...frame pump couldn't pull the "head" to get the bottom of the tank.

When is the last time you changed the fuel filter?
 
Fuel filter is a great suggestion - was also on the VW Vortex site. I do not believe it has ever been changed... I am "Guilty!" with a capital G.
 
Most fuel injection pumps are protected from running out of fuel. Makes for a hot pump and explosion. There is usually spare room for pump and area away from any sediment in the tank which is why you cannot completely empty tank. Not like the old carb tanks where you could run them out to see where the gauge reads. 2001 might be old enough for new pump.
 
Back
Top