Lack of fuel...

Nov 21, 2006 5 Replies
P

Could a problem arise out of always having a low amount of fuel in the tank? I hardly ever have more than 1/2 a tank of fuel at one time and I usually add fuel when the guage falls between empty and 1/4 of a tank. I have 91,000 miles on my '00 Max SE (had it since the 55,000 mile mark). P0138 code pulled a month or so ago and repaired. Now, it's sputtering at times upon start with rough idle in drive until I accelerate somewhat. This morning was fine...fine cold start, no sputtering/hesitation whatsoever, etc. Just trying to figure out what the problem could be. Any tests I can run myself? The car hasn't had a tune-up since I've had it (not good I bet). Should I just wait until I get the code pulled first?



Thanks in advance... PJ



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C

The car has 100,000 mile spark plugs. It could be about time. You can start by simply replacing those.

CD

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R

I've heard in earlier times that a tank that was never filled up completely can be susceptible to rusting. Rust that has fallen off or other dirt that got into the tank lead to a somewhat similar behavior on a car of mine several years ago. But in that case the sputtering started when pressing the accelerator hard - as it turned out the dirt clogged a sieve. Not sure whether that could be related but I thought I mention it anyway. Maybe others have more insight.

Regards

robert

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P

was never filled up

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W

Moist from air condenses on cold surfaces. If filled with gas, no air, no moisture... so generally its better to be with full tank. But the less you have there, the less can be stolen:( Water in the system will definitely be a problem, that youll get if filling after a tanker has recently mulled the service station underground tank bottom sludge...

Coilpacks go by the mile, 2k model MAF is known to go bad (vibration?).

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