# Check Engine Light when gas tank below 1/4 tank



## chloweeeee (Nov 16, 2012)

The check engine light on my 2012 Cruze has turned on four times now right before I need gas and has stayed on for about two days after I fill up. I only have 14,000 miles and have kept up with the maintenance. Nothing seems to affected and the car drives the same whether the light is on or off. Has this happened to anyone else? Any ideas what it might be?


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## socalcruze (Aug 4, 2012)

Could be a gas tank cap venting problem. Take it to the dealer, there will be an error code stored. (I'll wager the gas cap.)


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## socalcruze (Aug 4, 2012)

BTW, if you have a car under warranty, and the check engine light comes on, what is the motivation for not getting it to a dealer quickly?


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## chloweeeee (Nov 16, 2012)

It's a timing issue for me but I will find a way today. Thanks.


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## wstadnick (Feb 9, 2012)

Depends on your dealership and the hours ya work. 

I would never make it to the dealership through the week, and only have Saturday from 9am until Noon to ever make it there. Alot of people probably just wanna know also if it something that can wait until the next service visit, which is also when i usually get any warranty work done.


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## bryanakron40 (Nov 8, 2012)

wstadnick said:


> Depends on your dealership and the hours ya work.
> 
> I would never make it to the dealership through the week, and only have Saturday from 9am until Noon to ever make it there. Alot of people probably just wanna know also if it something that can wait until the next service visit, which is also when i usually get any warranty work done.


The internet is not a great way to determine whether a problem is minor or major. I know there are those who will say I can, blah blah blah......but without it being in front of you to look at or hear, it is not a great way to decide.
Plus I hear this excuse all the time, but when the dealer or GM doesn't get it fixed when the owner wants, they get butt hurt and complain. Well, it wasn't that big a priority for you to go get it looked at so deal with it. Sorry to come in hard core on this, but humans are their own worst enemies. We put stuff off unless it is something we want to do and then whine about the stuff we put off when it doesn't go our way. I have no sympathy for it and I'm including myself in this.


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## OnlyTaurus (Mar 20, 2012)

bryanakron40 said:


> The internet is not a great way to determine whether a problem is minor or major. I know there are those who will say I can, blah blah blah......but without it being in front of you to look at or hear, it is not a great way to decide.
> Plus I hear this excuse all the time, but when the dealer or GM doesn't get it fixed when the owner wants, they get butt hurt and complain. Well, it wasn't that big a priority for you to go get it looked at so deal with it. Sorry to come in hard core on this, but humans are their own worst enemies. We put stuff off unless it is something we want to do and then whine about the stuff we put off when it doesn't go our way. I have no sympathy for it and I'm including myself in this.


I'm going to side with this statement 100%.

We get plenty of people that work during the day at my dealer. Not all customers are retired owners.. 

It's the reason we have rentals and even a shuttle van. If you're close, we will take you to where ever you need to be, and pick you up when we're done.

No excuse to put a concern off. You could be fatally harming the Cruze, and when the dealer finds out the code set on Monday and you brought it Saturday because you continued to drive it, and something horrible goes wrong during that window of time, guess who they're going to pin it in. You. That's grounds for denying warranty work.. harsh truth, but 100% true.

If your MIL is on, get it to the dealer asap. They should help you without denting your daily routine too much.


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## Patman (May 7, 2011)

OnlyTaurus said:


> I'm going to side with this statement 100%.
> 
> We get plenty of people that work during the day at my dealer. Not all customers are retired owners..
> 
> ...


My dealership is good for providing shuttle transportation to work and I can ride the bus back from work so it is really not an issue. I hate to make this statement but I have not had a reason to take my car back to the dealer for service as my car has been trouble free so far except for when I removed my tire and reshaped my wheel with a fire hydrant. If I did have an issue I would take it in ASAP.


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## bryanakron40 (Nov 8, 2012)

Patman said:


> My dealership is good for providing shuttle transportation to work and I can ride the bus back from work so it is really not an issue. I hate to make this statement but I have not had a reason to take my car back to the dealer for service as my car has been trouble free so far except for when I removed my tire and reshaped my wheel with a fire hydrant. If I did have an issue I would take it in ASAP.


That isn't an issue......that is a major problem!!!! LOL.


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## Dale_K (Jul 16, 2011)

I had a German car a while back and a well known issue with the fuel pump would cause a CEL when the gas tank got low. As the pump got weaker it couldn't keep up enough fuel flow but would still work a little to the point that a higher level in the tank would push it over the threshold to where it turned off the CEL.

Not saying that's what's going on for the OP but offering it as a theory.


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## Chevy Customer Care (Oct 29, 2011)

chloweeeee said:


> The check engine light on my 2012 Cruze has turned on four times now right before I need gas and has stayed on for about two days after I fill up. I only have 14,000 miles and have kept up with the maintenance. Nothing seems to affected and the car drives the same whether the light is on or off. Has this happened to anyone else? Any ideas what it might be?



chloweeeee,
Have you had a chance to take your Cruze into your dealer to have them look into this for you? I would like you to keep me posted on the outcome of your service appointment. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me anytime.
Thank you,
Stacy Chevrolet Customer Service


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## chloweeeee (Nov 16, 2012)

Hey guys thanks for the unsolicited criticism and the confirmation of why I've never posted in a message board. I took it to the dealership the day I posted that and, just like I thought, it was a non-critical issue that they won't even be able to fix for a couple weeks.


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## chloweeeee (Nov 16, 2012)

Chevy Customer Service said:


> chloweeeee,
> Have you had a chance to take your Cruze into your dealer to have them look into this for you? I would like you to keep me posted on the outcome of your service appointment. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me anytime.
> Thank you,
> Stacy Chevrolet Customer Service


I took it over the weekend and they said it was due to the engine thermostat. The part is back-ordered, but they will calll me as soon as it gets in.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

chloweeeee said:


> I took it over the weekend and they said it was due to the engine thermostat. The part is back-ordered, but they will calll me as soon as it gets in.


That makes absolutely no sense. Can anyone explain how the engine thermostat triggers a CEL based on the amount of fuel left in the tank?


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## coinneach (Apr 10, 2012)

chloweeeee said:


> Hey guys thanks for the unsolicited criticism and the confirmation of why I've never posted in a message board. I took it to the dealership the day I posted that and, just like I thought, it was a non-critical issue that they won't even be able to fix for a couple weeks.


If you posted to WebMD about having shooting pains up your neck and down your arm and asked if this was something serious and can it wait until my next checkup, people there would be up in your business too.


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## bryanakron40 (Nov 8, 2012)

Cloweeeee, Sorry you can't take simple advice or read things into the posts. You asked and we told you what we thought you should do. If these comments hurt your feelings, I hope you never work in the real world. It is not all cotton candy clouds and rainbows out there, either.


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## Chevy Customer Care (Oct 29, 2011)

chloweeeee said:


> I took it over the weekend and they said it was due to the engine thermostat. The part is back-ordered, but they will calll me as soon as it gets in.



chloweeeee,
Thank you for the update. Please continue to keep me posted on the progress with your dealer. If you have any other questions, comments or concerns please feel free to contact me anytime.
Thank you,
Stacy Chevrolet Customer Service


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## Annick83 (Aug 14, 2013)

Hi, i have also the same problem with my Cruze 2012, but the car were at 7000 km.... The dealer told me that the problem maybe was the vacum..... So, i see the dealer next week to repare that. ( excuse-me, my english is very bad, i'm from the Quebec)

Annick


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## Macman (May 4, 2011)

I have the same issue with my 2011 cruze. The CEL goes off right after I fill up. I'm out of warranty though, suggestions?


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

Macman said:


> I have the same issue with my 2011 cruze. The CEL goes off right after I fill up. I'm out of warranty though, suggestions?


Define fillup. By this I mean are you stopping at or very quickly (no more than the next dollar) after the first pump click off or are you filling until the gas is visible in the fill pipe?


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## Macman (May 4, 2011)

Well, I go to the gas station, put the pump in, pump gas until it stops, remove pump, That's it.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

In that case it's not likely to be the evap canister. Not impossible but not likely either. Take a look at your gas cap and the top of fill neck. I'm thinking the issue is very likely to be a bad seal between the cap and the fill nozzle. Do you have a code reader? If not is there any place that will read a code for free. Post the CEL code. This should give a little better clue as to where to look.


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## Macman (May 4, 2011)

I'll take a look in a bit, but I do not have a code reader. I might know someone who does.


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## ChrisWorldPeace (Jun 24, 2013)

Annick83 said:


> Hi, i have also the same problem with my Cruze 2012, but the car were at 7000 km.... The dealer told me that the problem maybe was the vacum..... So, i see the dealer next week to repare that. ( excuse-me, my english is very bad, i'm from the Quebec)
> 
> Annick


Your English is better than some people on here that speak it lol


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## LeatherFace (Dec 30, 2014)

Any resolution to this issue yet, its happening on my wife's car too. I am going to go pick up a gas cap right now. Ill keep you updated if its an easy fix like that.


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## Blasirl (Mar 31, 2015)

I would suggest first reseating the gas cap, and if that does not work, ask the parts counter (like AutoZone) to check for any codes? Ask if they could reset them (a few will, most won't).


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