CEL after wierd fuel up incident

**BSIXER** · 06-26-2008 10:42 AM

My car was on 1/8 tank so I decided to put some gas in. I only put 30 bucks worth in to get me by, and when I get in my car, I notice that my fuel gage hasn't moved and my computer is still showing 15 miles to empty. So I drive around a little, stop and start the engine a couple of times, and then it reads empty.

I went back to gas station and put 2 more gallons in, and after 15 minutes of driving or so, my guage slowly starts to move towards the 1/2 tank mark, and my computer ends up saying I have 200 miles to empty.

I didn't think too much of it since it has been avg. of 110 here in phx, but the next day I started my car and now I have the CEL on??? Any ideas of what this could be?

Any help appreciated.

**SlappyB6** · 06-26-2008 12:02 PM

As always, did you check the gas cap? If it's loose it can cause a "vacuum leak" in the fuel system and set your CEL off.

**pondside36** · 06-26-2008 12:07 PM

Need to click it all the way.. 3 times

**BSIXER** · 06-26-2008 12:22 PM

Really, I never knew that about the gas cap. Do I need to take it in to clear the CEL or will it clear by itself?

**junkie1.8TQ** · 06-26-2008 03:04 PM

should clear on it's own

**davidlizard** · 06-26-2008 03:46 PM

Except the CEL, I've experienced that before, the dealership replaced the tank connector that was rusted and the trouble is gone...

**BSIXER** · 06-27-2008 03:32 PM

Its been a couple of days and the CEL is still on. Do I need to go to autozone or the dealer to get it reset?

**nimski62** · 06-27-2008 03:47 PM

CELs rarely reset themselves.. autozone wont RESET it for you, they will just tell you the code... your best bet is going to be taking off the battery cable for 10 mins and you'll be SET!

**PRY4SNO** · 06-27-2008 03:59 PM

Originally Posted by pondside36

Need to click it all the way.. 3 times

Once is fine.

The MIL indicator light disclaimer is inside the gas cap panel. And in the owner's manual.

**BSIXER** · 06-27-2008 05:42 PM

I went to Autozone to run the codes and they came up with P0491 and P0492. I will reset via the battery and see if the codes persist. Does anyone have experience with these 2 codes?

**BSIXER** · 06-27-2008 06:18 PM

Originally Posted by BSIXER

I went to Autozone to run the codes and they came up with P0491 and P0492. I will reset via the battery and see if the codes persist. Does anyone have experience with these 2 codes?

So I am pretty sure that these codes were in direct relation to the gas cap incident. I did a google search and several German auto forums were experiencing the same codes.