Bravedave82

Hi all I got in my car yesterday to do an 8 mile round trip. The fuel gauge said about quarter of a tank and the trip computer said 90 miles until empty. This dropped by 5 miles for every minute I drove. By the time I'd done 4 miles the fuel light was on and the computer said 35 miles remaining. I then returned to my car an hour and it said 25 miles remaining which promptly dropped to nill by the time I'd exited the car park. Now surely I'd notice a strong smell of petrol if I had a fuel tank leak. So I'm wondering if the fuel level sensor is shot?? Has anybody else had an issue like this. Any help would be great. Many thanks, David

Mister Bally

Yes, literally thousands of posts on all Audi TT forums regarding Audi TT fuel gauges and the dreaded instrument cluster issues. . Google is your friend since you didn't bother to search first.

Vegas-roadster

For both the Mk 1 and Mk 2, the Audi engineers do not average the fuel use rate over a sufficiently long time span when calculating miles to empty. Thus, in my experience, the number changes so much in a short period of time (up and down) that it is useless. I have found the trip average mpg calculations to be fairly accurate. It usually reads high by 1-2 mpg but close enough to be useful and if you have a vagcom it can be adjusted but I've never bothered. I like to monitor mpg and reset it and the trip odometer every fill up. I've found in the past that a significant change in mpg from what I expect for conditions is an early alert that something in the emissions control system is about to fail.

Bravedave82

I did search google but with no one having the same symptoms as me, most people have problems when the gauge reads half full when they have a full tank or full when they have hardly any fuel in, this is why I asked on here.

Mister Bally

I guess following the service manual procedure to determine if your fuel sending unit is bad would be best. That said, the MK1 instrument clusters are known for mainly bad central displays but also the stepper motors that operate the fuel gauge and the tachometer. There are instrument cluster repair companies that can help for a reasonable price.