Purchased a 2000 Lexus ES300 2 days ago, 125,000 miles. The seller sold me tha car with a "full gas tank". After driving it now for about 30 miles now though the needle did not move. This is what I have done thus far:
1. Removed plastic instrument cluster cover and moved the needle manually to E. After turning on the car the needle slowly returns to beyond the FULL point. Did that twice, same result.
3. While driving today slightly downhill the needle moved to 1/2 full. It hovered around 1/2 full, went up a bit, down a bit, then slowly returned to past the FULL point after a few minutes.
3. Went to the gas station to see if the tank was actually full. The car took $36.00 in gas. Needle never changed.
Any ideas, suggestions? I have of course researched the topic - causes could be bad gauge, stuck float, wire dislocated/torn/disconnected, bad sending unit. I am thinking that perhaps No. 2 here may give some more insight into the problem, have not seen it posted before. I would greatly appreciate any ideas, diagnostic test ideas, etc. before bringing the car I just purchased into the shop for this problem. THANK YOU!