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Feds Investigating GM SUVs For Fuel-Gauge Issues

By Bengt Halvorson
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2005 Chevrolet TrailBlazer LS

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2007 GMC Envoy SLE

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The federal government's National Highway Traffic Administration (NHTSA) is looking into claims that the fuel gauges on many General Motors [NYSE: GM] sport-utility vehicles could be inaccurate.

"Consumers have reported incidents of inaccurate and random fuel level reading while


driving, resulting in the vehicle running out of fuel and causing vehicle stall with no

restart," stated NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) summary on the matter

The issue potentially affects 865,000 vehicles, including the 2005-2007 Chevrolet Trailblazer, GMC Envoy, Buick Rainier, and Saab 9-7X.

Overall, the federal agency has seen 668 complaints; in 58 of them, the vehicle had run completely out of gas and stalled, while the gauge showed that there was fuel remaining. Although there have been no injuries or fatalities yet attributed to the issue, the summary shows one crash—when a vehicle ran out of vehicle when exiting an Interstate and was rear-ended.

The investigation could lead to a recall after the federal agency (and GM) determine the scope and cause of the problem, and whether it's determined to be a safety issue.

[NHTSA via New York Times]


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Comments (8)

  1. Tom Posted: 4/30/2011 7:20pm PDT

    Yep, our company has an S-10 with this problem. My boss says I'm crazy, but that gauge is all over the place! That truck has stranded me several times. Just add this to the list of problems we've had with it...
     
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  2. Ken Posted: 5/1/2011 7:18am PDT

    This report is a day late and a dollar short. The s10 series has had a problem with there gas gauges ever since they where made!!! The Feds are only looking at it now??? People get with it, If you drive 150 miles you know you have about a half a tank, So go fill it up again. Take some reasonably for a change.
     
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  3. piqued Posted: 5/1/2011 9:03am PDT

    I know what this is. I have a 2004 trailblazer and the speedometer went nuts on me. I fixed it myself after doing some research. On the back of the instrument cluster there are stepper motors for each gauge. If they go bad, the gauge fails to provide the correct readout. This is true for the gas gauge and the speedometer and tachometer as well. Google "speedometer failure trailblazer" and you will find lots of complaints. The stepper motor is $12. I was able to find a site that listed how to repair it. GM wanted $600.
     
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  4. Scott Posted: 5/1/2011 11:04am PDT

    This problem has be ongoing for years... each unit has diff problems. Some the cluster is bad, some have a fuel gauge buffer this is in the dash some where and others are the fuel sending unit. GM is not the only vehicle that has this problem. Nissan also has it on the Pathfinders, Frontier and Infinity QX56 and FX, along with others.
     
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  5. Amanda Posted: 5/3/2011 1:05pm PDT

    Mine is completely inoperable now. I have to fill up and reset my odometer just to have some sort of idea how much gas I actually have. VERY freustrating!
     
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  6. juliehastings31@yahoo.com avatar juliehastings31@yahoo.com Posted: 11/1/2011 11:02am PDT

    I had a 2005 GMC Envoy that had the fuel sensor go out on it while still under warranty. Went back to the same GMC Dealer and up graded to a 2006 Envoy- SAME ISSUES I believe the darn sensors are faulty from the MFG. This happened to both with LOW MILEAGE.... I have less than 120,000.00 miles on this vehicle and am getting tired of having to reset the Trip - and have to fuel up with a full tank eacgh time getting gas to have a accurate reading. GMAC just needs too EAT the cost of labor and repair since this is clearly been on going issue for years
     
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  7. fb_1603830227 avatar Larry McDonnell Posted: 5/9/2011 8:08am PDT

    My Envoy XUV just turned 66K and the fuel guage will bounce all the way to E, stick there for a little while then bounce back to the actual? fuel level. Edmonds Forums say it could be the tank sensor or the instrument cluster. My question is do I have the repair done or deal with it until GM determines whether or not to recall?
     
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  8. bigred avatar Mike Anderson Posted: 11/24/2012 8:00am PST

    Ever since the ethanol was added to gas, the newer engines and electrical parts began to fail. Since GM was bailed out by the Govt, maybe GM will help bail out the consumer by having a recall on the fuel system problems.
     
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