| Subject: | Mitsubishi Diamante |
| Question: |
I have a pre owned 2002 Mitsubishi Diamante LS. When I first purchased the car I did not notice anything unusual about it. After about a week I notice the gas gauge constantly pointing to empty. When I would put gas in the tank, it would rise to full but only for a few minutes and then it would point back to empty. Do you have any idea to what can be causing the problem? A friend told me I should have the gauges recalibrated. |
| Answer: | Key, It sounds like the fuel level sending unit is not working properly. This is a simple floater device that sits in your gas tank (on your fuel pump) and moves up and down with the changing fuel level. It sends its reading to the fuel gauge on your dash, and this lets you know the amount of fuel left in your tank. You should not be required to replace your fuel pump, but your mechanic will need to remove the pump in order to replace the sending unit. The unit will probably cost around $100-$120. I'm not sure of the procedure in that year of Diamante to get to the fuel pump itself. The mechanic may be able to access it by removing the rear seats, or they may even have to remove the entire fuel tank to get it. But this is probably what's causing the problem and should be relatively easy for most any mechanic to replace it. Just be sure to have a near empty gas tank when you go to have it serviced. This will make the job quicker for the mechanic if they don't have remove 16 gallons of gasoline. Good luck! |