Mazda 3 Fuel Range Display Not Working – What's the Problem?

If your Mazda 3 fuel range display isn't working, you may have overfilled or empty tank, glitchy ECU, wrong trip monitor displaying on the dash, or you don't know how the fuel range meter works. These are the most common things that lead to fuel range display problems. And after reading forums and blogs, I can say that the wrong use of the fuel range meter is pretty common.

Car software problems highlights

• Howcommon:very common
• Main reasons:glitch, voltage problems, hardware issues, wrong settings
• DIY diagnosis:complicated
• DIYrepair:sometimes possible
• Solutions:resetting, changing settings,re-pairingdevices
• Can you drive?yes
• Price in dealership:$150 - $400

All you need to know about the Mazda 3 fuel range monitor

So, your Mazda 3 is equipped with a good trip computer that can show several important statistics figures about your trips. It shows mileage, trip mileage, average consumption, immediate consumption, distance to empty tank, etc. Exactly distance to empty is also called fuel range display and I will focus on it today.

You can list different monitors of the trip computer by pressing the Info button on the steering wheel. It's important because this is one of the reasons you may be confused with what your fuel range display shows.

So, here's how the fuel range display work:

• it analyzes the amount of fuel that is left in the tank currently using the fuel sensor in the tank;
• after that, it analyzes the driving style that you are using currently (city, highway, speed, acceleration, etc.);
• it uses the statistics of the average and immediate fuel consumption to make a prediction;
• then, it predicts how many miles or kilometers you can drive using the fuel in your tank;
• it shows a certain number of miles but it may change if you change your driving style;
• so, in the city, you can see 140 miles, but then you go on the highway, and it shows you 170 miles or even more.

The fuel range display is not precise because it depends on several important factors that may change at any moment. For example, you may decide to check if the Mazda 3 is a good sports car and you start pressing the gas pedal like crazy. This will lead to immediate changes in the fuel range figures - they will sharply fall within the next few miles.

By the way, this is one of the reasons why people think the fuel range displays in Mazda 3 don't work properly. They are going on the highway and seeing 150 miles on these displays. Then they enter the city traffic and see a sharp drop to 70 miles of range. This is not a problem with the trip computer - this is the problem with the fuel consumption in the city traffic.

Interestingly, this is not the only common problem with Mazda 3 displays. I have also written the article about ghost touch problems with the touchscreen of the Mazda infotainment - you may want to have a look!

Common reasons why your fuel range display isn't working in Mazda 3

So, I've compiled several important reasons why the readings of the Mazda 3 fuel range meter may not change or may sharply change and be misleading for you. It's not that easy to locate the problem but I'm sure you will be able to do that!

Here's the list:

1. Fuel tank is too full or empty

When there are less than 2 gallons or 8 liters of fuel in your fuel tank, the fuel range display may start going crazy or it may just freeze in its current range. This is kind of a bug that Mazda has in its cars and you should just buy more fuel to let the display work again.

Also, this may happen with the full tank. Many drivers say they see 450 miles or 750 kilometers when they fill the full tank for quite a long time. Then, these figures sharply drop. This happens when you overfill the tank and the sensor thinks it's full for quite some time.

2. The fuel level sensor is dead

Your fuel range display relies on the data it gets from the fuel tank sensor. If the ECU doesn't have a clue how much gas there is in your tank, it can't calculate the fuel range however hard it would try.

You may notice that the fuel gauge is also glitching, in this case. It means that you should replace the fuel level sensor in the tank and then the system will reset all the monitors of the trip computer.

3. You pressed the info button unintentionally

A lot of Mazda 3 drivers keep their trip computers exactly on the fuel range display at all times. This is convenient when you know how many miles you can drive using the fuel in your tank. But occasionally, they may press the info button on the steering wheel when turning or honking. This will change the trip monitor to some other meter.

For example, now you can see the trip mileage or the average fuel consumption and still think that this is the fuel range display. Of course, you will immediately think that the display isn't working. But what you should try is pressing the Info button several times and searching for the fuel range display. You will recognize it by the word "RANGE" in the corner.

4. The ECU is glitching

Unfortunately, there have been quite a lot of issues when the fuel range display wasn't working properly in the Mazda 3. It means that the display was just frozen or showed some incorrect readings like zero. If this is the case, you should reset the display and then also reset the ECU. I will tell you later about several ways you can do this.

5. Fuel consumption is counted wrongly

The fuel range display relies not only on the amount of fuel in the tank but also on fuel consumption. If the fuel consumption isn't counted properly, the fuel range monitor just can't work. It will show some crazy numbers going from 50 miles to 400 miles randomly.

Although this doesn't happen very often, this can signal about a serious problem with the ECU like damage by water or heat. Such things shouldn't be ignored as they will certainly cover not only fuel range display but also hundreds of other functions in your vehicle.

How can you try to solve the problem?

Obviously, the first thing to try is to press the Info button on the steering wheel and make sure you are looking at the Range display. Then, you may try turning the car off and then on again. Maybe, the fuel range display will reset and you will be able to use it.

If this doesn't help, you may also fill the full tank and see if the fuel range resets. After you fill the full tank, list through different meters and reset them all - fuel consumption, trip mileage, etc. Try driving and see if this helps you get back the proper fuel range display readings.

If this doesn't help, you may need to reset the ECU using the battery disconnecting method. Here's how it should be done:

• turn off the vehicle and use the parking brake for your safety;
• open the hood and locate the 12V battery;
• use a wrench or any other tool to unscrew the cable from the negative terminal, and take it off;
• then disconnect the positive terminal and take the cable off;
• be careful - the cables shouldn't accidentally touch the terminals when the battery is disconnected;
• wait 5 minutes and you may also honk or turn on the lights to use any stored power in the electrical system;
• after that connect the battery - the positive terminal first, then the negative one;
• turn on the engine and try driving - see if the fuel range display now shows the proper readings.

If this didn't help, there can be a deeper problem with the ECU or with some sensor that is connected to the fuel range computer. If this is the case, you should go to the dealership or to a trusted repair shop and have the vehicle inspected properly. Without this, it will be impossible to locate the problem and eventually solve it.

Final thoughts

This is not a really uncommon thing that people ask about Mazda 3 fuel range display not working. I hope now you have all the answers to your questions and can easily fix this problem on your own without even going to the dealership and paying money for an inspection. You should only have your car checked by a professional mechanic when all these DIY methods don't work with the vehicle.

But, in most cases, the reports about the fuel range display problems are connected to the wrong use of this monitor, so read the manual before you are ready to spend some money on a repair that is not needed.