P0461: Fuel Level Sensor A Circuit Range/Performance
What to do
Driveable, but do not trust the gauge — running out of fuel is a real risk. Note at which point on the gauge the reading misbehaves; a fault at one specific level points at a worn sender track rather than wiring.
What this code means
The fuel level signal is electrically plausible but behaving implausibly — not moving as fuel is consumed, or changing faster than a tank could empty. A worn resistor track on the sender is the classic cause, and it produces a distinctive pattern: the gauge reads correctly across most of its range but sticks or jumps at one particular level, because the wiper has worn a flat spot where the float sits most often.
That pattern is worth reporting precisely. A gauge that misbehaves only around a quarter full says something quite different from one that never moves.
Likely causes
Start here
- Worn sender float arm or resistor track · moderate
- Faulty fuel level sensor · moderate
Less common
- Sticking or fouled float · moderate
- Corroded or loose connector · easy
Symptoms
Components involved
Information, not instruction
CarGeek is a reference, not a service manual. Its pages are written from public sources and from what other people have found, never from a manufacturer's own service information, so they can be wrong or incomplete for your particular vehicle. Some of what they describe carries real risk: high voltage, fuel under pressure, stored energy, hot and moving parts.
Have anything you intend to act on checked by a trained person against the manufacturer's own procedure for your vehicle. Nothing here replaces that procedure.
Community experience
Be the first to write this up
Nothing posted about this yet. Whatever you found is worth writing down — even a dead end saves someone the same afternoon.
What makes one worth reading:
- The car — make, model, year and engine. The same fault behaves differently on each.
- What you measured, not only what you replaced.
- What actually fixed it — or that nothing did, which is worth knowing too.
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