2001 V70 shuts off with gas left in tank

huntson · Post by **huntson** » 24 Mar 2016, 05:17

I have a 2001 V70 that has been doing the oddest thing for the past 2.5 years - even with gas left in the tank it will shut off. I've hit the accelerator anywhere between 150 mile stop empty tank to 30 miles to empty tank and found I can't accelerate and instead am decelerating - within 30 seconds the engine shuts off. If I wait for around 5 minutes and turn the car back on I usually can drive to a gas station. I've had both a local body shop and our dealership take a look at it and they say they can't find the issue and that I need to keep more gas in the tank.

It's quite frustrating as I used to be able to run this thing all the way down without ever worrying about it. A while back a bad fuel pump was found and everyone thought that was the culprit. While this wasn't the case my fuel gauge now bobs a bit between the 3/4 and 1/4 mark meaning it will hold at one indication, go down after 10 miles, then hold, then go back up, then back down. While this doesn't appear to be related it is quite annoying - perhaps the two fuel pumps aren't in sync (it was explained to me there are actually two tanks and one pumps into the next).

First, can someone explain to me all I need to know about the fuel system - why are there two pumps? Are there two tanks or is it simply for redundancy? Does the fuel gauge and the "miles to empty tank" indicator read from the same place in the tank(s)? Then can someone let me know what they think about my issue please.

rjS60Turbo · Post by **rjS60Turbo** » 24 Mar 2016, 16:44

Same with my 2002 s60. HAPPENED Over Last Weekend While On highway. Ok since.

Post by **oragex** » 24 Mar 2016, 17:14

There is only one pump but it has a tube going into the second half of tank. Maybe this pipe is clogged or the pump is on it's last leg.

Also, the fuel gauge on these cars is notoriously inaccurate and sometimes by a huge margin and it also does the yoyo.

Post by **abscate** » 24 Mar 2016, 18:52

I'm guessing you have an XC with AWD.

The rear driveshaft splits the tank into two saddles, and the fuel pump has to move gas between the two, as well as read the level in the two, independently. There are a couple of threads on this, search "saddle tank"

huntson · Post by **huntson** » 28 Mar 2016, 10:29

I do not have an XC. I do only have V70 2001 - no XC, no AWD. Is the gauge and the "Miles Left to Empty Tank" derived from the same source? Is there anyone else that could shed some more light on this?

Post by **abscate** » 28 Mar 2016, 12:15

Then your shut off condition probably has nothing to do with fuel level at all. If you had an XC you have two fuel tanks and the main fuel pump pumps from only one of them.

Engines really rarely shut off from loss of fuel - its more likely you are having a cam sensor error, an ignition fault of some kind. The one exception to this is the fuel pump relay, which can go flakey on you and intermittent.

The ME7 engine management system measures fuel as it is used by the injectors so it is pretty accurate.

Post by **matthew1** » 28 Mar 2016, 12:18

abscate wrote:Then your shut off condition probably has nothing to do with fuel level at all.

I was kinda thinking the same thing... , i.e., what points to a fuel problem?

huntson · Post by **huntson** » 28 Mar 2016, 15:23

The dealership and that shop I mentioned keep saying I need to keep more fuel in the tank. That's the only thing I've had to go on.

Post by **abscate** » 28 Mar 2016, 17:34

huntson wrote:The dealership and that shop I mentioned keep saying I need to keep more fuel in the tank. That's the only thing I've had to go on.

Lets discard that advice and troubleshoot this puppy correctly.

We need to figure out if fuel or ignition is getting cut off when you lose power. Will it restart immediately after the stalling event?

huntson · Post by **huntson** » 29 Mar 2016, 10:31

Most times yes but it will then shut off after about 10 seconds. I have to wait about 5 mins before it will start and continue for a bit.