srs

At the end of a long driving day (about 600 miles), the first of four on our summer trip - We ran out of gas. The weird thing was - the tank was about 1/4 full!! The gas tank(s) are a pretty complex affair, with two saddle tanks and an upper part connecting them.

Tom at Spokane (WA) Audi was great. It turns out that there is a "jet pump" which transfers gas from the driver's side tank to the passenger's side tank when the gas level is below the lip of the saddle tanks. This pump failed during the second half of the day's drive (I know because I had less than the 1/4 tank left earlier in the trip). The gauge registered correctly, but the gas wasn't flowing so the passenger's side tank (which pumps to the engine) ran dry.

Aside from screwing up our vacation plans, all is now well. If this problem happens to you - now you also know the solution.