[johy]

• I drive an i20 NLine too and although I have not specifically looked at the exact figures, yes, I believe that I am also experiencing the same thing. Towards the end, the fuel gauge shows much less fuel than there actually is. I think it is probably to alert you to fill up before it goes too low.
  
• I noticed the same thing in my Alto K10 AMT. Both these cars use digital gauges.
  
• On my 2015 Thar, which uses an analog gauge, the reading, I believe, is much more accurate. However, that particular batch of Thars do have another weird issue when sometimes the gauge will show zero, but this is easily addressed by stopping the vehicle, and then restarting the vehicle.

[Potenza]

Originally Posted by ChiragM

5. How do I read the fuel gauge accurately? Even the range is over-optimistic. So now I need to guess how much fuel I have and range left based on how much I have travelled?

I have a i20 DCT Asta (O) and my car’s fuel gauge behaves exactly like yours and so have the fuel gauges of all the cars I’ve used so far (3 different gens of Citys, 3 Ventos, GT TSI, Ritz etc) although to varying degrees. So there’s nothing wrong with your gauge, as mentioned by someone above its got more to do with the design of the fuel gauge float than anything else.

In the i20 I have also noticed that the fuel status shown on the Blue Link app is a bit more accurate than the fuel gauge. For e.g. sometimes the fuel gauge shows full even after 100 km of driving. On such an occasion when I’ve checked the fuel level on Blue Link it has shown me less than full i.e at least one bar less than full. As I type this, my cars fuel gauge shows exactly half a tank but Blue Link shows me slightly less than that. Nowadays i take that as the accurate fuel gauge.

Also, the i20’s DTE reading always shows the max possible range. Hence relying on the DTE is a strict no and take it only as a suggestion. I realised this within a couple of weeks of car ownership after being used to super accurate DTE gauges of all Vw group cars which calculate the figure based on the Fuel efficiency of the last 50 km of driving.

[buntee90]

Off topic!

Originally Posted by arjithin

Rule of thump I follow

I was thinking you mis-spelt thumb ; then I saw 14 and 93 Bullet in your Bio

[Durango Dude]

Hyundai's in general have never been known to be fuel efficient, especially the petrol cars. My son's Grand i10 1.2L automatic returns lesser fuel efficiency than my Honda City 1.5L CVT. Never compare a Hyundai i20N Line Fuel efficiency with that of Maruti Ritz . From what you and others say, Hyundai India has softened the blow with it's "hot hatch" by fudging on the FE figures. How one reads the Fuel gauge is down to driving the car regularly. Example when my Honda City fuel gauge warning light shines on I have roughly 5-6 liters left in the tank. You don't want to "penny pinch" with a "hot hatch": Advice would be "Fill it, Shut it and Forget it" and enjoy the drive... Agreed Bharat Sarcar is making it difficult increasing weekly the fuel prices...

[amitayu]

I earlier had the Ritz with digital fuel display. On cold days, the bar would often show low value and then increase once the engine warmed up.

I now have a Ford Freestyle with analogue fuel gauge. The dial 'sticks' a bit at the top for sure, but does not decrease drastically at the lower end. So, it is more like a delayed start, but the pace remains even over the range.

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by Dr.AD

This is not an anomaly. This is the inherent nature of how fuel gauges work. This is certainly not something that is "designed to give any false sense of better efficiency". This is the limitation of the physical design of fuel gauges.

I was going to type a reply but saw that this post by Dr.AD is bang on and covers every point.

Simple physics down to the tank shape. You will see the tank will have a cut out or scoop for exhaust or some suspension towards the bottom usually causing the float to drop faster at the lower side vs the top side.

This is depending on car and not some intentional deceptive design.

[navrddy]

I am not sure if Gauge representation is intentional or not.
But seems gauge is pretty linear in old maruti cars (BS3 Era). I have wagon R F10D, i generally I, don't fill up tank with auto-cutoff, rather calculate amount of fuel to dispensed based on level of analog needle in cluster before filling up. So Final fuel level (after calculated amount) matches the needle display of fuel gauge.
Of-course mine is purely analog based measurement, so no chance of fuel level gauge being modified. ECU/ECM has no chance of fuel level computation/modification.
Also in Old Wagon R , fuel gauge works irrespective whether key is present or not. Completely analog world.
Sometimes, It is better to forgo all gadgets and stick to old technologies, they are reliable and predictable behavior.

Originally Posted by ChiragM

What I would like to understand is this -
1. Is this a thing in all cars? If yes, how much is the difference between indicated and actual fuel consumed? Why have I not noticed this in my Ritz?
2. Have other i20 users noticed this?
3. Has Hyundai overdone it in the new i20?
4. How does the reserve fuel play into this? Not sure if my fuel gauge reading is inclusive of the reserve fuel.
5. How do I read the fuel gauge accurately? Even the range is over-optimistic. So now I need to guess how much fuel I have and range left based on how much I have travelled?

[deepjaju]

Hey
This happens more rampant in the newer Hyundai cars specifically. I have owned a Ford Ecosport earlier and the Distance to Empty (DTE) indicator is quite accurate. Obviously the DTE value goes down if you drive spiritedly and increases if you go a highway cruise.

I have a Hyundai Venue bought at launch. I have the petrol SX+ DCT. The DTE is calculated at the ARAI rating achieved mileage. So if the ARAI rating is 18.1kmpl then if you top up with 10L of fuel. The DTE indicator increases by 181km, which is totally absurd. And my overall mileage which I get is around 10 to 12 kmpl. So many ay times when you drive say for like 5km or so but the DTE drops by 10km.
This proves that Hyundai can show the actual range of the car with the average fuel consumption but chooses to not show the actual range. Its more of a marketing gimmick which is totally useless after I have purchased the car.
I had complained about this to Hyundai India Office and they directed my query to the dealer. Then when I explained this conundrum to the dealer he asked me to report to Hyundai India.