Intermittent problem with fuel gauge

A

A6 Avant

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I'm having a bit of a strange problem whereby the fuel gauge works fine between fill-ups but when I add fuel it initially seems to think only a small amount has been added (if any at all).

It then gradually corrects itself after driving for a bit and, once showing a full tank, works perfectly until the next time I fill up (which is the part I find odd). I've also tried filling up from half a tank and didn't have any issues (the fuel gauge went up correctly).

I've found an intermittent error code “fuel gauge sensor 1 - resistance too high” (B103E1B) but I’m not getting any errors on the dash.

This started after I accidentally slightly overfilled the tank (topped up after the click and a small amount of fuel came out). I’ve never done that before and this issue first happened the next time I filled up so it seems like too much of a coincidence for it to be unrelated.

I'm wondering if I've perhaps knocked the calibration out somehow by overfilling it?
 
There was a recall on some A6s to address an issue where the fuel sensor was getting caught leading to errors. Recall reference was 20DN. Not sure if it applies to you car, mine was a 2021 build and I was notified of the recall in Feb 2023.
 
Thanks for this - I've just looked it up and it does sound like it's the same issue. I haven't received a recall letter though so I doubt my car is in the 'affected VIN range' but hopefully they'll still cover it if I complain as that's the exact component which seems to be faulty.
 
Hi, I am experiencing exactly the same issue with the fuel gauge as you described. I have an A6 avant 45 tfsi from 2019 (C8 model). The remarkable thing is that mine already had the 20DN recall done. So I am currently wondering whether the recall was not adequate or this is a new and unrelated issue.

Did you manage to resolve this issue?
 
megawat12 said:
Hi, I am experiencing exactly the same issue with the fuel gauge as you described. I have an A6 avant 45 tfsi from 2019 (C8 model). The remarkable thing is that mine already had the 20DN recall done. So I am currently wondering whether the recall was not adequate or this is a new and unrelated issue.

Did you manage to resolve this issue?
Click to expand...
Hi there,

Audi UK have said that my car is not in the affected VIN range but I’m still pursuing it with them.

To answer your question, I used a diesel fuel additive called LiquiMoly and the problem has gradually gone away. Last few fill-ups have been fault free, the fuel gauge has gone up correctly and no error codes.

I'm thinking that the additive has perhaps cleaned/released the float (or something else in the tank) which was maybe a bit clogged up causing this intermittent issue. Either way it's obviously not the best system though as this shouldn't be happening on a premium car of this age in my opinion.
 
Thanks for replying to my question. Totally agree with you that you would not expect such an issue on a young premium vehicle.

Good to hear that you managed to get rid of the issue in a relatively easy way.
 
There was a definite recall for a band of cars where the level float would stick, sounds like yours was getting stuck and the movement of the fuel as you drove helped the float to move. Hopefully the treatment has cured it
 
Unfortunately this fuel gauge issue randomly happened again recently as I hadn't put in the additive for a while (which as I've mentioned above seems to clear the blockage/prevent it from forming) and whilst the fuel gauge was stuck on zero for a week or so it wasn't letting the car do any DPF regens.

By the time the fuel gauge became unstuck again after I'd put in the additive, the DPF light had come on and the car had gone into limp mode. Now the fuel gauge is working again it should be able to do a DPF regen and clear any soot buildup by itself but I don't think it's allowing this because the cars in limp mode.

The problem is that I can't get it out of limp mode without clearing the fault code (which will only clear once the car does a regen) so it's a catch 22 situation and I'm really not sure what to do.

Has anyone got any suggestions please?
 
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