are you saying that if I do not have any variation with the mileage and the fuel indicator that I may have trash in my tank? I know that I can generally get at least 400 miles from a tank of fuel on the highway (15.5-16. gal tank).

I watch my mileage closely when traveling long distances and this trip was so much of a concern that I made sure that I filled up after every 300 miles or to about 1/3 empty. I have owned the car for 10 years and at times ran it down till the low fuel light came on, but not on the highway across Texas, NM, AZ and NV. On this trip, the mileage and the fuel indicator were right on for miles traveled and fuel used... but somewhere about 1/3 left in the tank, the car would run out of fuel. And it took 4 instances of running out to create a pattern for me to realize that the tank may be the issue.

thanks, ray