Inaccurate Fuel gauge on 2000 GMC Jimmy SLT

[djk215]

I have a 2000 GMC Jimmy SLT with 82000 miles. For the past couple of weeks my fuel gauge has been randomly bouncing around to different fuel levels while I am in park. After placing it in drive it usually sticks in one spot, but I know for a fact it is inaccurate. I supposedly had 3/4 of a tank and then I put 15 gal in a 16 gal tank. No other guages are causing any problems. I took it to the dealership and they stated it was a faulty sensor within the fuel sender pump. (I have read several other posts on this board with similar situations so I believe this is likely correct.) I am told it will be $120 for the sensor plus 3 hours labor. However, the service rep is trying to talk me into replacing the whole fuel pump for $470 plus 3 hours labor. He states that at 80K miles the pump is about to wear out anyway. I have little automotive knowledge and am wondering what the average lifespan of a fuel pump is? Am I receiving good advice by replacing something that is not broken? I'm a student and can't afford to blow money, but if I can prevent an impending problem I have no problem fixing it now. I welcome any opinions or advice. Thanks.

[rlith]

Our fuel pumps (oem) tend to go around 100-120k, so less, some more. Hell, mine is still fine at a 150k.

[swalt]

Originally Posted by djk215

I have a 2000 GMC Jimmy SLT with 82000 miles. For the past couple of weeks my fuel gauge has been randomly bouncing around to different fuel levels while I am in park. After placing it in drive it usually sticks in one spot, but I know for a fact it is inaccurate. I supposedly had 3/4 of a tank and then I put 15 gal in a 16 gal tank. No other guages are causing any problems. I took it to the dealership and they stated it was a faulty sensor within the fuel sender pump. (I have read several other posts on this board with similar situations so I believe this is likely correct.) I am told it will be $120 for the sensor plus 3 hours labor. However, the service rep is trying to talk me into replacing the whole fuel pump for $470 plus 3 hours labor. He states that at 80K miles the pump is about to wear out anyway. I have little automotive knowledge and am wondering what the average lifespan of a fuel pump is? Am I receiving good advice by replacing something that is not broken? I'm a student and can't afford to blow money, but if I can prevent an impending problem I have no problem fixing it now. I welcome any opinions or advice. Thanks.

I had mine replaced by GM on my 2000 Blazer a few months back. I was almost a year and a half outside of warranty and they replaced it under a GM warranty, claiming that fuel additives were the problem causing premature wear of the sending unit. Maybe its just a Canada thing, as I had to fill out a questionaire of what stations I filled up at. My problem was identical to yours.

[dixieanny3]

Originally Posted by djk215

I have a 2000 GMC Jimmy SLT with 82000 miles. For the past couple of weeks my fuel gauge has been randomly bouncing around to different fuel levels while I am in park. After placing it in drive it usually sticks in one spot, but I know for a fact it is inaccurate. I supposedly had 3/4 of a tank and then I put 15 gal in a 16 gal tank. No other guages are causing any problems. I took it to the dealership and they stated it was a faulty sensor within the fuel sender pump. (I have read several other posts on this board with similar situations so I believe this is likely correct.) I am told it will be $120 for the sensor plus 3 hours labor. However, the service rep is trying to talk me into replacing the whole fuel pump for $470 plus 3 hours labor. He states that at 80K miles the pump is about to wear out anyway. I have little automotive knowledge and am wondering what the average lifespan of a fuel pump is? Am I receiving good advice by replacing something that is not broken? I'm a student and can't afford to blow money, but if I can prevent an impending problem I have no problem fixing it now. I welcome any opinions or advice. Thanks.

FUEL GAUGE MY Gauge is doing exact same thing after a fillup. Does this necessarily mean that my fuel pump is about to go out? I have been pretty good through 85,000 miles to keep at least a half a tank in it at all times. I sure do not want to get stuck out on the highway. Thanks in advance!

[Linger1974]

Originally Posted by djk215

I have a 2000 GMC Jimmy SLT with 82000 miles. For the past couple of weeks my fuel gauge has been randomly bouncing around to different fuel levels while I am in park. After placing it in drive it usually sticks in one spot, but I know for a fact it is inaccurate. I supposedly had 3/4 of a tank and then I put 15 gal in a 16 gal tank. No other guages are causing any problems. I took it to the dealership and they stated it was a faulty sensor within the fuel sender pump. (I have read several other posts on this board with similar situations so I believe this is likely correct.) I am told it will be $120 for the sensor plus 3 hours labor. However, the service rep is trying to talk me into replacing the whole fuel pump for $470 plus 3 hours labor. He states that at 80K miles the pump is about to wear out anyway. I have little automotive knowledge and am wondering what the average lifespan of a fuel pump is? Am I receiving good advice by replacing something that is not broken? I'm a student and can't afford to blow money, but if I can prevent an impending problem I have no problem fixing it now. I welcome any opinions or advice. Thanks.

I'm in the exact same boat, with the same truck. Can you let me know what it was (sending unit, pump, both) and how much it cost?

[old_master]

I replaced mine at 100k miles. I wasn't having any problems and wanted to keep it that way. Look at the big picture, your pump WILL need to be replaced. Why throw away the entire cost of the sensor replacement? (the sensor is included in the $470) Bite the bullet, do it right and be done with it! That way you'll only be pissed once!

[Smokee]

Check your fuel pressure. That should tell you if your pump is bad, or going bad. But I agree with the old_master. Do it all, if you do it at all. But you might wanna shop around for a better price. Looks like that guy is charging you $350 for the pump. I see those pump modules on ebay for as low as $150. They claim to meet or exceed OEM specs. Good luck.

[djk215]

I did do some shopping around and ended up replacing the whole pump assembly. I bought an aftermarket pump for about $170 and a shop manual for $20. It took me about 8 hours to install it compared to the 3 hours the dealership would have taken. However, I saved over 500 my doing it myself and to my surprise it actually ran when I was done. Good luck to the rest of you.

[flhtc95]

I had the same trouble with my 2000 Jimmy, dealer said it was the sensor. Cost me $300 and haven't had that trouble again. Just different problems.