Car won't take gas

Last Saturday, Dec. 26, we drove 250 miles south of Salt Lake City, stopped for gas and the car would only take 2.84 gallons of gas. Usually the 1999 Audi gets about 25 miles per gallon on the road. So Frank, my husband, thought there must be a problem with the pump, so he moved to another pump and got 1.49 gallons in the tank, but then the gas came rushing out. He quickly put on the cap to stop the flow. When we stopped for

gas, the needle showed we were below 1/2 tank and the tank holds 18.5 gallons.

When we got back in the car the needle showed full. How could that be?



We drove another 70 miles and stopped again for gas but could only get .23 gallon in the tank. We stopped to see a mechanic and he got another 1.42 in the tank. The needle is

still on full. This mechanic also put a hose down the tank to make sure he could reach the bottom of the tank. He did reach the bottom.



We drove another 70 miles and this time we only got .7 gallons in the tank. We have now driven about 388 miles and can only get about 7 gallons in the tank. That is about 57 miles per gallon. Unheard of for the Audi. We find another mechanic at this stop and he jacks up the back end of the car and loosens the connection between the tank and the line feeding into the tank. He immediately closes it as it begins to leak and announces that we have a full tank. Doesn’t seem possible.



We drive on to the next stop, about 82 miles and are able to get 3 gallons in the tank. From then on we were able to get what we thought was the right amount in the tank based on the miles per gallon that we usually get with the Audi on the road. The question that the mechanic can’t answer is why did we get such good gas mileage the first 388 miles and then after the mechanic look at the tank, it went back to normal. According to our last trip from Salt Lake City, we spent 1/3 less on gas this time. It is a mystery to us. I know we shouldn’t complain that our car uses less gas, but do we have a problem.


This kind of mileage can be obtained if you have a 50-60 mph tailwind, common on I-70 and I-80 in the wintertime. When you head westbound or northbound if will be pay-back time…

Caddyman’s theory is plausible in my book.

Also, you should never post your personal phone number or any personal information on an open forum like this. Just looking out for your safety.

I too consider Caddyman’s theory plausible. A huge amount of the energy used to keep a car going 70 on the highway is to move it through the air. If you have a large tailwind the amount of energy needed can be reduced considerably. 50-60 mph tail winds would make a huge difference.

The only unresolved questions in my mind are that the gage showed less than 1/2 tank the first time you stopped and that the mechanic’s fiddling with the tank connection made everything go back to normal. But I cannnot for the life of me come up with a theory that fits.

Yes. Use the edit feature (the little pencil) to remove your last name and phone number.

i don’t think topic starter posts are able to be edited