[inameditolaf]

I've had my 2019 Ioniq PHEV for about 2 weeks now and I filled up my tank for the second time since I've owned it. I noticed that when I filled up my tank, the fuel gauge stopped at the 3/4ths mark even though I topped it off. Also the calculated range the computer estimated was 430 miles instead of 600+ miles. After about driving for maybe 20 minutes, the gauge finally read that it was full but the computer said that the range was still only 430 miles? The first time I filled up it didn't do this.

Has anyone else had this experience before? Should I have Hyundai take a look at it or is this just a common thing?

 

[ds093]

I've not heard of this myself.

It might be worth seeing if it happens again, and if so, talk to your dealer; otherwise it could just be a fluke.

Also, could you please add your location to your profile by clicking on your avatar in the upper right corner and selecting Account Settings from the dropdown? This is a global forum with many differences on the cars between countries, so it helps to know where folks are from. Additionally, it is helpful to have your variant and trim info in your signature. You can see other users' locations by hovering over their avatars.

 

[inameditolaf]

I've not heard of this myself.

It might be worth seeing if it happens again, and if so, talk to your dealer; otherwise it could just be a fluke.

Also, could you please add your location to your profile by clicking on your avatar in the upper right corner and selecting Account Settings from the dropdown? This is a global forum with many differences on the cars between countries, so it helps to know where folks are from. Additionally, it is helpful to have your variant and trim info in your signature. You can see other users' locations by hovering over their avatars.

Thanks for the reply! Yea I'll keep an eye on it and see if it happens again.

My apologies, I'll do that right now.

 

[inameditolaf]

Update: I fueled my tank up twice after this incident and I haven't had the problem since.

I think this is what happened. While I was filling up the tank in question, I turned on the car to the accessories position to see how many miles I drove on the tank to calculate my average MPG. Then I shut the car off WHILE the car was still filling up. After a minute, the gas pump clicked, I calculated what my average MPG was, and then I drove off without checking the fuel gauge until after I got onto the freeway.

So afterwards, trying to figure out what happened, I realized that maybe me turning the car on to the accessories position while I was fueling the car was the cause. So I tried to not do that for my next couple of fuel ups. So,I kept the car off and got the miles on the tank before or after I completely filled up the car. Ever since I did that, no more problems with the gauge being delayed.

Just thought I'd share what I found and hopefully that is what it actually was. I'll let you guys know if it happens again under different circumstances. Thanks.

 

[IonGiant]

The same thing just happened to me today and I'm freaked out about it.

I fueled up once on auto, then after the click. I tried it again because the gauge wasn't full. Tried it once again (this time by holding on to the pump) then click. Gauge still wasn't full.

I tried again on another pump and the gauge still wasn't full after hearing the click. I drove away and after a few minutes, the gauge became full but it's stuck at around 400 miles.

Now I'm worried that if the miles is wrong, I may have just ruined the car by over stopping it twice or there's something else going on inside that's preventing the car to get a full tank.

Any ideas? And did I just ruin my gas tank or some other part of the car?

 

[IanL]

Update: I fueled my tank up twice after this incident and I haven't had the problem since.

I think this is what happened. While I was filling up the tank in question, I turned on the car to the accessories position to see how many miles I drove on the tank to calculate my average MPG. Then I shut the car off WHILE the car was still filling up. After a minute, the gas pump clicked, I calculated what my average MPG was, and then I drove off without checking the fuel gauge until after I got onto the freeway.

So afterwards, trying to figure out what happened, I realized that maybe me turning the car on to the accessories position while I was fueling the car was the cause. So I tried to not do that for my next couple of fuel ups. So,I kept the car off and got the miles on the tank before or after I completely filled up the car. Ever since I did that, no more problems with the gauge being delayed.

Just thought I'd share what I found and hopefully that is what it actually was. I'll let you guys know if it happens again under different circumstances. Thanks.

Now that you're getting a consistent experience, please can you say what your range calculation gives? My 2020 UK PHEV shows around the same as your 430 miles on a full tank, but I have seen 600+ quoted several times on this forum. My range never showed 600+, so I have discounted that as a wildly optimistic factory setting that soon adjusts itself to the real world. Am I right, or does the US model maybe have a bigger tank than mine?? (As I recall, your miles are the same as ours, but you have more of them!!)

 

[IanL]

The same thing just happened to me today and I'm freaked out about it.

I fueled up once on auto, then after the click. I tried it again because the gauge wasn't full. Tried it once again (this time by holding on to the pump) then click. Gauge still wasn't full.

I tried again on another pump and the gauge still wasn't full after hearing the click. I drove away and after a few minutes, the gauge became full but it's stuck at around 400 miles.

Now I'm worried that if the miles is wrong, I may have just ruined the car by over stopping it twice or there's something else going on inside that's preventing the car to get a full tank.

Any ideas? And did I just ruin my gas tank or some other part of the car?

I doubt you ruined anything, but please see the comment I just posted about the range estimate. I hope someone will set us straight on that.

 

[Shaun chipchase]

im sure iv read it somewhere that if you put less than(uk)6 litres of fuel in it wont register on fuel gauge,and your range is just an estimate on your last tankfull.

 

[chui]

Now that you're getting a consistent experience, please can you say what your range calculation gives? My 2020 UK PHEV shows around the same as your 430 miles on a full tank, but I have seen 600+ quoted several times on this forum. My range never showed 600+, so I have discounted that as a wildly optimistic factory setting that soon adjusts itself to the real world. Am I right, or does the US model maybe have a bigger tank than mine?? (As I recall, your miles are the same as ours, but you have more of them!!)

What matters is not the size of the tank or the estimated range that the car comes up with but the ACTUAL MPG you are achieving calulated by dividing the miles you have done since last fill by the number of gallons added. The range given by the car will always be an estimate, complicated by EV miles driven and probably erring on the conservative side, and never an accurate range. Also bear in mind that with the PHEV if you do a lot of EV miles a full tank will last for many months and the fuel is likely to become stale which is not good for car or mpg. Better to put in no more fuel than you will use in a month.

 

[IanL]

What matters is not the size of the tank or the estimated range that the car comes up with but the ACTUAL MPG you are achieving calulated by dividing the miles you have done since last fill by the number of gallons added. The range given by the car will always be an estimate, complicated by EV miles driven and probably erring on the conservative side, and never an accurate range. Also bear in mind that with the PHEV if you do a lot of EV miles a full tank will last for many months and the fuel is likely to become stale which is not good for car or mpg. Better to put in no more fuel than you will use in a month.

Different things matter to different people, I guess. True enough, the range estimate doesn't tell you how far you're going to get before you next fill up. But it's also of interest to me to know if my car is behaving in the same way as the others out there - and would be a bit worrisome if it were way out of line, as IonGiant is apparently wondering.

 

[chui]

Different things matter to different people, I guess. True enough, the range estimate doesn't tell you how far you're going to get before you next fill up. But it's also of interest to me to know if my car is behaving in the same way as the others out there - and would be a bit worrisome if it were way out of line, as IonGiant is apparently wondering.

Which is why you need to use real figures which will give you your exact range/MPG rather than the estimation of the car which is subject to errors.

 

[IonGiant]

I doubt you ruined anything, but please see the comment I just posted about the range estimate. I hope someone will set us straight on that.

Thanks. I'm not overly worried about it now but I'll continue to monitor the situation.

My guess is that there was some build up of pressure from back splash when I filled it up the first go. I read that this could happen if I inserted the pump wrongly or the oil rushed in too quickly.

The 600+ miles range number came from the last time I filled up my tank which was a couple of weeks ago (I've been filling up more often because of the price of gas).

Last time, I filled up was when it was around half full. This time it was about 3/4 full.

 

[yticolev]

I top off every single fill and have been doing so for 45 years including the two years I’ve owned this car. While there are some theoretical issues doing this, I can say with some certainty that the mechanism for detecting fuel levels can not be affected.

 

[inameditolaf]

Now that you're getting a consistent experience, please can you say what your range calculation gives? My 2020 UK PHEV shows around the same as your 430 miles on a full tank, but I have seen 600+ quoted several times on this forum. My range never showed 600+, so I have discounted that as a wildly optimistic factory setting that soon adjusts itself to the real world. Am I right, or does the US model maybe have a bigger tank than mine?? (As I recall, your miles are the same as ours, but you have more of them!!)

I've honestly stopped paying attention to what the estimated calculation says but for the most part I believe it will always say 620 miles of range on just gas when I fill up.

I use the EV a lot when I commute to work so usually my tanks last about 1,000+ miles so when I fill up it predicts that I will easily be getting 620 miles on a tank so it says that as my estimated calcuation.

I'm pretty sure when I'm on a road trip and I'm driving on just the highway using the engine for about 3/4ths of the tank I have never been able to get 620 miles just on the highway so the next time I fill up my estimated calcuation will read about 500ish miles.

I think it's possible to actually get 620 miles on gas but you have to drive EXTREMELY conservative. What I've noticed on mine is that it goes off of how you drove on your previous tank and will predict that's what you'll be getting on your current tank. The estimated calculations always change and it's never truly accurate. I always calculate my MPG by dividing the miles I've driven on the tank by how many gallons I've filled up and that's what I go off of.

 

[inameditolaf]

The same thing just happened to me today and I'm freaked out about it.

I fueled up once on auto, then after the click. I tried it again because the gauge wasn't full. Tried it once again (this time by holding on to the pump) then click. Gauge still wasn't full.

I tried again on another pump and the gauge still wasn't full after hearing the click. I drove away and after a few minutes, the gauge became full but it's stuck at around 400 miles.

Now I'm worried that if the miles is wrong, I may have just ruined the car by over stopping it twice or there's something else going on inside that's preventing the car to get a full tank.

Any ideas? And did I just ruin my gas tank or some other part of the car?

You're fine! I did the same thing!

The range was all messed up, my gas gauge wasn't reading full, I went to another gas station and repeatedly wanted to hear the click to make sure it was actually full.

About 10,000 miles later everything is still great. I ONLY did the multiple click thing once but all the other fill ups since I bought the car I always wait for the pump to click off, then pump again until I hear one more click then I stop. I just don't turn the car to the ON position while I'm filling up anymore and it reads just fine.

I actually drove a 2020 Kia Seltos (New SUV from Kia) and had to fill it up. I turned the key to the ON position while filling up and it did the same thing! It stopped at the 3/4ths mark on the fuel gauge but it was full!!! I don't know why Kia and Hyundai do that, I've never had that issue with Honda, Toyota, or Lexus cars. After driving the Seltos around for a bit, it finally read full.

I'm not sure if you turned your car into the ON position while filling it up and that's what caused it to read wrong but if you did just don't do that anymore and it won't happen again. After that incident on my Ioniq, I've never had an issue with the fuel gauge. But if this isn't the case for you then I don't know what to say.

 

[ecocentric]

I would like to add to @inameditolaf and others' remarks about not trusting the "Estimated Range." These estimations have so many inherent problems: 1) The Ioniq appears to use the MPG on the previous tank to predict the range on the next full tank 2) Fuel quality, temperature, rain, etc. vary between fills as can driving styles. 3) Terrain can cause more or less fuel to be used as can traffic.

In our previous vehicle (a 2013 Honda Civic Hybrid), I found the range estimator to be worthless. That vehicle had an extra wrinkle besides the factors I (and others) wrote about above: it used to show "E" on the fuel gauge when there was still 2.3 gallons of fuel (which is significant - ~20% - on a small tank), I would have preferred a gauge that showed a reserve capacity instead of claiming the tank was empty, or at least a smaller reserve capacity (say, 1g). Anyway, the range estimator used to go to ZERO on roadtrips while I could still comfortably drive another 100 miles (which I did once).

The PHEV appears to have additional gas tank complexity perhaps because of the shape/location of the gas tank? (I am speculating) - it takes 20-30 seconds for the fuel tank to depressurize and for the cap to open.

Overall, I would prefer to use calculated/actual MPG (past knowledge), the fuel gauge itself, and conditions on a given day to guess how much range I might get, instead of relying on the arbitrary estimated range displayed in the vehicle.

 

[IonGiant]

You're fine! I did the same thing!

The range was all messed up, my gas gauge wasn't reading full, I went to another gas station and repeatedly wanted to hear the click to make sure it was actually full.

About 10,000 miles later everything is still great. I ONLY did the multiple click thing once but all the other fill ups since I bought the car I always wait for the pump to click off, then pump again until I hear one more click then I stop. I just don't turn the car to the ON position while I'm filling up anymore and it reads just fine.

I actually drove a 2020 Kia Seltos (New SUV from Kia) and had to fill it up. I turned the key to the ON position while filling up and it did the same thing! It stopped at the 3/4ths mark on the fuel gauge but it was full!!! I don't know why Kia and Hyundai do that, I've never had that issue with Honda, Toyota, or Lexus cars. After driving the Seltos around for a bit, it finally read full.

I'm not sure if you turned your car into the ON position while filling it up and that's what caused it to read wrong but if you did just don't do that anymore and it won't happen again. After that incident on my Ioniq, I've never had an issue with the fuel gauge. But if this isn't the case for you then I don't know what to say.

The first time it happened I put the car on the on position but when I moved to another pump, I did. Yea hopefully that was just the case.

Thank you for all the responses and I'm loving the community thus far

 

[jrl]

A similar thing just happened to me. I filled up my 2020 Ioniq for the first time. When I turned on the car after filling up, the dashboard gage says it still has the same amount of gas (about 1/6 tank) as it said before I turned the car off to fill up. It still says I have only 80 miles left before the tank will be empty. I drove for 10 minutes, and turned the car off and on to see if that would help, but it didn't. I called the Hyundai dealer who sold me the car, and the service person seemed never to have heard of the problem. I have an appointment to have it checked in a couple of days. Meanwhile, I don't know if there's a problem with the fuel tank, or just with the gage. If there's something simple I can do while I wait for the appointment, I'd be grateful to hear. Thanks.

 

[inameditolaf]

A similar thing just happened to me. I filled up my 2020 Ioniq for the first time. When I turned on the car after filling up, the dashboard gage says it still has the same amount of gas (about 1/6 tank) as it said before I turned the car off to fill up. It still says I have only 80 miles left before the tank will be empty. I drove for 10 minutes, and turned the car off and on to see if that would help, but it didn't. I called the Hyundai dealer who sold me the car, and the service person seemed never to have heard of the problem. I have an appointment to have it checked in a couple of days. Meanwhile, I don't know if there's a problem with the fuel tank, or just with the gage. If there's something simple I can do while I wait for the appointment, I'd be grateful to hear. Thanks.

You said you turned the car off before you filled up but, I just want to clarify, did you turn the car ON at any point while filling up?

If you did, then out of my 45k miles I've driven and the countless times I've filled up my Ioniq, I have never had a problem with my fuel gauge ever since I stopped turning my car on WHILE I was getting gas.

What I noticed during my incident was that I turned my car ON when getting gas at the 3/4th mark on the gas gauge and that's where it was stuck after I drove away. If you turned the car on while getting gas and it was at the 1/6th mark that's where I would assume your fuel gauge would be stuck at. So from what I remember during my incident, it did take a long time for the gauge to move to full. I'm talking like slowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww. I don't remember how long it took for mine to read full because I was panicking too and watching the gauge like a hawk but I know it was longer than 10 minutes. I also tried turning off and on my Ioniq and that didn't do anything either. If I were to guess, I'm going to say it took at least 20 minutes of me driving around before I started to gain one bar on the fuel guage. Since yours is all the way down at the 1/6th mark I would say that it would take an hour or more, if you are driving around, for it to read full.

Since it just happened, if the fuel gauge still doesn't show full by the next day after sitting all night, then there may be something more than what happened to me.

Let me know what happens, good luck!

 

[KevinT]

If the issue really is that the car was on while it was being filled, then maybe you can trick it. Turn the car off, pop the fuel door, remove the cap, wait a few minutes, replace the cap, close the fuel door, and turn on the car. Worth a shot at least...