Running out of gas..not empty

My wife ran the SC2 (1999) out of gas a couple weeks ago. She did it
again the next week and now today it "ran out" on the freeway. She got
a splash from the highway helper, went to the gas station, and it only
took 5gallons to fill it. (the highway helper didnt dump more than a
half gallon in it)

What's going on? Is the fuel pump failing from running out the first
and second times? Why stall when there is 1/2 a tank?

perplexing..

 

Is the fuel system vent working? If the system that draws air in
from the outside is plugged, you can end up with a vacuum in the
fuel tank and it looks like the vehicle is out of gas although it
really isn't.

It used to be that fuel caps had a simple pinhole. Now I think
it's more of a one-way valve that allows outside air in but does
not allow fuel vapors to escape.

Next time this happens, see if removing the gas cap fixes the
problem. On OBDII cars it'll set a "check engine" code but SFW,
better than being broken down on the side of the highway.

You may end up having to replace the fuel cap.

 

Doesn't that vent get plugged if people repeatedly overfill the tank
instead of stopping when it clicks off?

-DanD

 

Just a side note... DONT RUN THE TANK OUT OF GAS! Gas is ALWAYS cheaper
than fuel pumps and running out or running below a 1/4 of a tank equals
fuel pump damage.