I have an 05 Durango limited 4.7 engine. The manual states the fuel tank holds 27 gallons. The first couple of times I filled up, the fuel gauge showed it was nearly empty and the fuel light came on but I was only able to put in 19 gallons. So the next fill I let the fuel gauge run down to touching the peg and the overhead computer reading zero and was only able to put in 21 gallons. The service dept. check showed everything working properly. I don't understand why there is so much reserve fuel and was wondering if everyones durango does the same thing. Also I am only able to get around 270 miles of in town driving before the "need to fuel up" light comes on, is this also typical of your durango? Thanks

 

If there's a dent (or dents) to the fuel tank, it will reduce the amount of fuel it will hold.

 

I just had the same problem w/ my '05 Durango w/ Hemi. This cause is a bent vent line in the fuel tank filler neck. The first problem I had was gas blow-back during fueling. After the gas tank was replaced, I'd be able to fill the tank 19 gallons without the auto shut-off in the gas nozzle kicking in - the next 5+ gallons of fuel had to be "squeezed in. The tank will hold 27 gallons, it just took all morning to get the fuel in. Hope this helps you out.

 

Today I let the fuel run down until the overhead computer showed 10 miles until empty. I then fueled up and was able to put in 22 gallons when the auto shut off activated. I then sqeezed in 1.7 gallons more for a total of 23.7 gallons. This is the most fuel I have been able to put in when the fuel needle was touching the peg. I might have to top it off like that every fill for now on. The vent line and the fill tube look fine and there are no dents in the tank. I haven't had the blow-back problems either. 1st Dodge are you still having to top it off and if so is there any way fix the problem? Thanks

 

Has anyone received any additional feedback on this? I know in the owners manual and from others I have talked to the manufacturer does some of this on purpose, I think it says that it will read empty when you have 5% of your capacity remaining in the tank, this is to keep you from running out.

Here is my question though, I just bought an 05 Durango, with a 5.7LHemi, on the sticker it has as one of the options an additional 3.2 gallons of gas. Does this mean I should have 30.2 gallon capacity? Today I ran it and when I pulled into the station it said that the distance to empty was 2 miles, pumped in the gas and only put in 23 gallons.

Anyone know for sure it that is what it means?

 

Well, figured it out....I have a 27 gallon gas tank like everyone else....the 3.2 gallons of gas was on the invoice and found out that is the extra gas that they put in at the factory......not extra capacity... Anyway...if you look at the owners manual, it tells you that it will read empty long before it is, I think it said when you have 5% fuel remaining....this is so you won't run out.....

 

DaimlerChrysler is aware of this issue. they are stating that it was a plastic molding issue on the tank. the fuel is there, it is burnable. they are looking into a software change to allow the sending unit to be recalibrated. the tank is actually holding 4.2 to 6.0 gallons when showing dte 0. hope this helps.

 

Funnily enough I got distracted while filling up a few days ago and let the gas run for a while... by the time i checked it was at 89 litres (which is about 23 gallons) and it didnt click . I probabbly could have squeezed a couple more litres in if i had the patience.

I never have driven it too long after i hit E just paranoid I guess. Usually i average about 60-65 litres a fill up if i let it run down to quarter tank. With Gas prices it hurts a bit but I love the V8 so it is a price I am willing to bear. If i wanted to get good fuel economy I would have bought a Yaris... but then i would have to try not to get my **** kicked walking to the parking lot everyday.

 

My dealer has just told me the same thing Kardrob reported, but not until after I was told that it was nornmal operaton, then was told that that resetting the computer at each fueling would make it better (a nice trick, being able to improve normal operation!), then they changed the sending units under warranty. I bought my brand-new '05 in May of '06, and after that much time, I figured this problem had to be known, so I was shocked that Dodge didn't seem to know anything about it yet. I was even told that the field engineer had the same problem with his, but thought nothng about it.

To add to the confusion, everything about the problem points to the tank being able to hold only 20 gallons. In fact, when I had run the tank down to just over 1/8 on the gas gauge, the tech told the service writer tha the gauge must be right, because there were only 3 or 4 gallons left. Surely if there is a 4 to 7 gallon reserve (on top of the 2.5 to 3 gallons left, if calculating a 20-gallon tank), the tech wouldn't have misjudged it by that much. There's a lot of difference between 4 gallons and 10 gallons!

I am told that this is the same tank used in '04 and '06, so the problem has been around for some time without being resolved. If the '04s didn't have a probem, all they have to do is use the same software. If the'04s did have the problem, why has it taken so long to fix? I am a big Chrysler fan, and am very disappointed at the lack of knowledge over what has to be a well-known problem. I need the range that a known quantity of 27 gallons should give, but I am becoming more and more convinced that this is really a 20-gallon tank, which they don't want to have to replace on every unit in the field. If this isn't the case, the problem surely would have been resolved by now.

 

What we need is to run one out of gas and then fill it up to see how much it will take. Any volunteers???

Flea