my fuel gauge is broken? (post accident)....

hey guys my gas gauge is out of whack,

here are the most recent variables possibly factoring into my current problem:

1. I hit a pretty big rock in the road (about the size of half a cinder block) just small enough to fit under the car, but i definitely heard it bashing the underside of my car and saw it flying in pieces out the back. checked underneath the next day, no visible damage outside of scratches.

2. just had 18" wheels/tires installed on the car. same overall circumference as stock. mpg is down about 5mpg, but that shouldn't cause my problem below.

3. when i fill up, i wait til the pump stops. wait 20 seconds, and give it one more squeeze. i never get more than a half a second of top-off, and i only do it once.


now, my fuel gauge is on average 2 pips too low, even after a full fill up, the highest pip is at the bottom of the "F" on the gauge. I considered that the display may be busted, except, there are a few minutes after the fill up, where the gauge reads properly full, then i'll turn off the car, and its back to wrong the next day.

the gauge consistently reflects usage though. the pips disappear correctly and consistant with how far ive driven, but when the last pip blinks, i just know i have more in the tank than it says.


help?