The check engine light came on on my Chevy Tahoe, November 2023. The system started to fail it would say for collision not able service ESC system. I would bring it into the shop. They would hook it up to the computer and they would say oh nothing wrong we just reset it. Then it started to shut down and it would say proceed with caution, low acceleration, no front and collision service ESC and I would have. Luckily I was in a city so I took it to the shop. They gave me a print off. Said there was no technician cleared it. I was able to make it home and I made an appointment. They put it on the computer. they said oh nothing‘s wrong. Everything‘s fine then it did it again and I was going through the mountains. I noticed that my car smelled of gas and that the gas gauge was just sucking fuel and I knew this was a problem.. they finally found out what was going on, but I feel the damage had already been done. The part that got replaced was over $1000. I had to pay out-of-pocket for it. Now my vehicle’s engine is shot.
Chevrolet Tahoe fuel gauge problems
84 of the 10,079 owner complaints about the Chevrolet Tahoe describe wrong fuel gauge reading, most of them for the 2003 model year.
- owner complaints
- 84
- worst model year
- 2003
- typical repair cost reported
- $635
- typical mileage
- 70,000
By model year
Often reported together
Stalling 9Fuel pump 7Fuel smell 4Fuel leak 4Check engine light 4Won't start 3Loss of power 2Jerking 2
What owners say
Started smelling gas fumes. Notices gas dripping from under vehicle leaving puddle under vehicle drivers side. Safety due to gas leak under vehicle. Brought to balise chevrolet springfieled massachusetts. Leak confirmed from top of tank. Removed fuel tank and found that the feeding hose has a hole due to it rubbing on the tank recommended replacing fuel sending unit, ring and hoses due to mileage. Which is only 114088. Fuel pump, module unit ring, 2 hoses replaced. There were no warning lamps, messagesor other symptoms prior to failiure.
Recall #09V154000 should have been performed on my vehicle according to the list of VIN #'s affected, but it never was and I was never notified of the recall. I purchased this vehicle the month before this recall was announced in 2009 and did not start having safety issues until after my new SUV warranty had expired (how convenient). Over the years, I have spent thousands of dollars replacing all kinds of sensors, relays, batteries and various other parts trying to alleviate the unsafe electrical and loss of power issues that this faulty part continues to cause. I have taken this vehicle to my local dealership on countless occasions, complaining that the vehicle intermittently: does not start, the engine suddenly dies while driving on the highway or turning a corner (becoming unsteerable and the brakes won't work), suddenly decelerates, door locks cycle rapidly while driving, the check engine light and other warning lights/alarms come on, headlights and dash lights suddenly shut off, windows or AC stops working, and now the fuel gauge only reads 1/4 tank when I just filled it up. I took the SUV to my local dealer again today, explained the intermittent electrical and loss of power issues and history again and asked why this recall had not been performed or was not scheduled to be performed at any previous time that I had brought the vehicle in for diagnostics or service on these related issues. The service manager admitted that the recall had never been performed, but denied the possibility of the FSCM causing any of these issues, regardless of the recall notice stating they were. He then refused to perform the recall and said I needed to pay $380 to have another diagnostic scan performed. Never scheduling/performing the recall when the SUV was serviced countless times for related safety issues as defined in the recall notice that they never mailed to me and refusing to perform the recall today is a violation of the US NTMV Safety Act and should have consequences!
Vehicle will excelerate fast or shift fast and abnormally after stopping. Also downshifts in a jerking motion when coming to a stop. Idles as if vehicle is ruining out of fuel even when containing suffienant fuel levels and may stall.
Fuel back flows out the gas tank on the ground no matter the fuel level. Fuel will dump onto the ground at varying degrees. Multiple reports by the forums. I will be submitting this link so others can post to prove this is not a one time thing
The dash computer comes and goes intermittently. Unable to view mileage or fuel gauge. It happens when starting the vehicle and remains off for the duration until the car is shut off. The frequency of it completely going black is random.
I drove my vehicle in the morning and then parked it for about 2.5 hours. When I started my vehicle the gas gauge showed my car was empty, even though I had just recently filled up and had only gone about 80 miles on the tank, my airbag readiness light stayed on, and none of my gauges were functioning. Also, the light for the passenger air bag above my review mirror didn't illuminate at all. I drove it for a few seconds and tried turning it off and then back on, but nothing changed. After driving it for a few miles, I parked and turned the vehicle off again. When I turned it back on, everything began working again. I believe this is an electrical issue, but when taken to the dealership, I could not get it to replicate the issue. Besides the obvious danger of not having any gauges while driving, my fear is that the airbags would not work properly in an accident.
First the fuel gauge stopped working on and off would go to e when on full tank. Then check engine light came on days later. Then vehicle stopped running while driving, and would shut off. Engine would start and drive again, then stop running and shut off while driving. First time I was driving on hwy, then on city streets. Vehicle is in gm shop now, and they said it was the fuel pressure sensor. And they are replacing the part.
When traveling at highway speeds the car totally shut down. Couldn't get off of highway, creating a very dangerous situation. Had car towed to dealer only to find out that the entire fuel sending unit, fuel level sensor, and harness had failed at 37000 miles and needed to be replaced.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 chevrolet tahoe. While driving 30 MPH, the fuel gauge displayed half a tank when the fuel tank had just been filled. The contact noticed fuel leaking underneath the vehicle. An independent mechanic diagnosed that the fuel line was corroded and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 81,285. Updated 11/09/15*lj *cn
Related recalls
Fuel system, diesel: storage: tank assembly
- What is wrong
- General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2021 Cadillac Escalade, 2021, 2023-2024 Chevrolet Tahoe, and 2022 and 2024 GMC Yukon vehicles equipped with a 6-cylinder diesel engine. The original fuel tank may have been replaced with an incorrect fuel tank, which can allow fuel to leak in a rollover crash.
- Risk
- A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source increases the risk of a vehicle fire.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect for the correct fuel tank and replace it, if necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed November 5, 2025. Owners may contact Cadillac customer service at 1‑800‑333‑4223, Chevrolet customer service at 1‑800‑222‑1020, or GMC customer service at 1‑800‑462‑8782. GM's number for this recall is N252512770. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on on September 18, 2025.
Recall number 25V619000 · Recall details
Fuel system, gasoline: delivery: fuel pump: control/drive module
- What is wrong
- General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2021 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles. The fuel pump power control module may cause the fuel pump to fail or operate intermittently, which can interrupt fuel flow to the engine, and cause an unexpected engine stall.
- Risk
- An engine stall increases the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the fuel pump power control module, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on October 14, 2021. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1‑800‑222‑1020; Cadillac customer service at 1‑800‑458‑8006; or GMC customer service at 1‑800‑462‑8782. GM's number for this recall is N212332040.
Recall number 21V739000 · Recall details
Fuel system, gasoline: storage: tank assembly
- What is wrong
- General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2021 Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon vehicles. The fuel tank assemblies may be missing adhesive between two layers of the fuel tank shell which may result in a fuel leak.
- Risk
- A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source increases the risk of a fire.
- Remedy
- GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel tank, free of charge. The recall began March 6, 2021. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1‑800‑222‑1020, and GMC customer service at 1‑800‑462‑8782. GM's number for this recall is N212327720.
Recall number 21V064000 · Recall details
Fuel system, gasoline: delivery: fuel pump
- What is wrong
- General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2020 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Camaro, Silverado 1500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles. The fuel pump may be missing a pressure regulator, allowing for over-pressurization of the fuel system.
- Risk
- Over-pressurization can crack the fuel pump and cause leaks, increasing the risk of a fire in the presence of an ignition source.
- Remedy
- GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel pump, free of charge. The recall began December 18, 2019. Owners may contact Cadillac customer service at 1‑800‑333‑4223, Chevrolet customer service at 1‑800‑222‑1020, or GMC customer service at 1‑888‑988‑7267. GM's number for this recall is N192283991.
Recall number 19V837000 · Recall details
Fuel system, gasoline
- What is wrong
- Gm is recalling 27,188 my 2009 cadillac escalade, escalade hybrid, escalade esv, and escalade ext; chevrolet avalanche, suburban, tahoe, tahoe hybrid, and colorado; and gmc yukon, yukon hybrid, yukon xl, and canyon vehicles. The fuel system control modules may have a condition in which an adhesive separation of the room temperature vulcanizing (rtv) seal between the seal and the housing may allow water to seep into the module.
- Risk
- Water in the module could cause a short or open circuit, illumination of the service engine soon lamp, setting of diagnostic trouble codes or the engine may be hard to start, may not start or may stall increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will install a new fuel system control module free of charge. The recall began on may 18, 2009. Owners may contact cadillac at 1‑866‑982‑2339, chevrolet at 1‑800‑630‑2438 and gmc at 1‑866‑996‑9463 or at www.gmownercenter.com.
Recall number 09V154000 · Recall details
Questions about the Chevrolet Tahoe fuel gauge
Which Chevrolet Tahoe years have wrong fuel gauge reading problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2003 (20 complaints), 2004 (13 complaints) and 2005 (13 complaints).
How much does it cost to fix wrong fuel gauge reading on the Chevrolet Tahoe?
Owners who mentioned a price put the repair at about $635 (median of 8 complaints that include a dollar amount). Costs vary with mileage, warranty and where the work is done.
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