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3.0D running out of fuel on 1/4 tank of fuel!

Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2020 1:43 pm
by Dabbster
Hi all,

I have just bought a 2003 X5 3.0D which is running out of fuel with around 65mls on the range! Sometimes when it has half a tank it’ll also crank forever and ever before it fires up. I need some advise on what would cause this, I know it would be a sender but which one would it be; left or right? I’ve changed the fuel pump underneath the car and the fuel filter hoping it’d cure the long crank before startup fault with no luck so I thought it maybe a faulty injector until I found that it’s running out of fuel at around 65mls on the range each time and when it runs out it comes up on the dash ‘fuel injection fault’ and it’ll keep this stated on the dash until fuel has been put in and it’s fired back up again. Any advise much appreciated!

Re: 3.0D running out of fuel on 1/4 tank of fuel!

Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2020 2:14 pm
by Greydog
Not a Diesel driver but aren't there 2 fuel pumps one in the tank and a sender/level unit in the tank ??
Try taking a look at www.newtis.info you should find information there for testing/changing the in tank pump and sender

Re: 3.0D running out of fuel on 1/4 tank of fuel!

Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2020 3:13 pm
by X5Sport
Sounds like a sender fault. The error code indicates low fuel pressure to the high pressure pump. As above, look to the tank end. Access is below the back seat base (inside). Could just be suction pumps as mentioned in post below. :thumbsup:

Details are here (from newtis): https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/e53- ... fuel-pump/

Edited - forgot about the suction pumps pulling fuel from side to side :oops:

Re: 3.0D running out of fuel on 1/4 tank of fuel!

Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2020 5:08 pm
by henrym3
When it’s hard to start and near the 65mls to go you need to enter the hidden menu and check if the r/h tank is near empty and l/h tank has the vast majority of fuel left. If so then the suction jet pump has failed. ie it’s not transferring the fuel that’s left to the fuel pump. By all accounts that I’ve read it’s an "O" ring failure that’s easy to fix if your handy as opposed to a new suction jet pump.