Weird Problem with BRAND NEW 2009 Cobalt HELP

[firebirdycamaro]

I just bought a Cobalt at 110 miles and let me tell you what has happened....


At mile 110 - Fuel gauge was not registering the correct amount of fuel
- Gear indicator was defective and replaced

Both were done at the dealership

When I finally got the car after all the work done I drove it around with no problems. Then when my car was about 1/8th tank full my car started to sputter and then shut down. I pulled off to the side of the interstate and started it back up. It ran fine again for about 3 mins then did it again. I figured the gauge was maybe miscalibrated so I finally sputtered to the gas station and filled it up. When the car registered as full the gas pump read "11 gallons". That means that there was still 2 gallons of gas left in my car.

Concerned for my safety I took it back to the dealership where they said,

"There is no problem with it, the car is supposed to do this and you should have filled it up earlier"

At mile 860 the car continues to do the same thing at 1/8 of a tank on the gauge (2 gallons remaining in actuality) What can I do? Is there an actually a Lemon Law Decleration I can declare?

[manicmechanix]

It sound like your fuel guage is registering incorrectly and the dealer didn't fix it. If you put in 11 gals then that's about the refill capacity so it was running out of gas. you can run out of gas even with a galon or two left in reserve. It could be a bad instrument guage or the sending unit. It's up to the dealer to find the problem. I think the lemon law is they get 3 attempts to fix the same problem.

[tomj76]

As has already been stated, take it back for proper repair.

[firebirdycamaro]

Yeah but last time I took it back for "Proper Repair" they said "There is no problem with it, the car is supposed to do this and you should have filled it up earlier" ... As has already been stated. Anyone know what could be causing the problem?

[tomj76]

When the engine comes to a stop due to insufficient fuel in the tank, for all intents and purposes, the tank is empty. If it reads 1/8 tank on the gauge, I consider that an incorrect reading.

The reasons that the guage could be reading "wrong" are:
(1) a malfunction in the sending unit
(2) improperly positioned sending unit
(3) improperly positioned fuel take-up

All three require removal of the tank to resolve.

[firebirdycamaro]

Problem was -------------- Bad Fuel Pump

[tomj76]

I'm glad that you were able to get it resolved.

It sounds like the first mechanic didn't do a proper job, and service desk gave you the run around. Bad customer service is not a good business practice. Did the same dealership resolve it, or did you have to go elsewhere?