My MOM has a 1998 malibu 3.1 L V6. She got in the car to start it today and she said the fuel guage needle swung violently from one side to the other. Now it is on the other side of the peg it rests on, looking like it is super empty all the time. Also today the battery went bad. I cleaned the terminals and jump started the car, drove it for a while did not hold a charge...so what do youu think ?

these cars are notorious for doing this. my 97 does this whenever the battery is disconnected.

you just need to change or charge the battery, then pop the dash open and turn the needle back around to the right position.

i'm thinking about just getting another peg (like the one it rests on) and putting it above the full line. so when it does this again, it won't twist all the way back around again.

it's happened to me 3 times so far.

You can lift the fuel needle over the pin by putting a paperclip through the trip odometer reset button hole. It only takes a few minutes vs. tearing up the dash.

I just experienced the same problem on a 98. Should you have the power on as you pluck the needle over the pinstop? I had to remove the battery to replace a section on front brake line, then replaced the battery, and found that the gauge went wacko.

I had the ignition on when I did it. It appeared to be easier since in created a load on the needle that positioned itself once it cleared the pin.