94 Prizm, Fuel Problem

I left for school yesterday and in less then a mile it died on me. I can normally get about 250miles off a tank of gas. I look down and it was about 235. I looked at the fuel gauge and it was a little about half. Something isn't right, so I put about a gallon of gas into it and it started right up. Went down filled the tank up, but it only took 6 gallons. Arn't these tanks normally about 8-10 gallon tanks?? The fuel gauge also went back up to full. This is really confusing, does anyone have a clue what this could be???


Thanks

I have a 94 Prizm in which I know the total tank capacity is 13.2 gal and additionally with my 1.6 & AT I can get over 350 mi @ 31 MPG; normal full fill up of 10 or 11 gal. Maybe you’re heavy on the pedal whereas I drive conservatively....??

Aside from that, if this is a fuel issue, you may have had an intermittent fuel blockage. One thought, considering the age of your car, is that your fuel filter may have an excessive amount of sediment from your fuel tank that can create excessive resistance to fuel flow. This can create an intermittent blockage until it totally blocks fuel flow.

But don't limit your thoughts to the fuel tank since it sounds as though you had an adequate quantity of fuel. Get out your repair book and study the trouble shooting section for other causes creating similar symptoms.

In future queries, remember it is always helpful to provide additional details, providing some specs about your particular car and to describe other factors pertinent to your problem. :)