my 2.5 x type says its used 1/4 tank but only done about 12 miles from half full.no apparent leaks , smells or noises apparent. engine runs smooth as always. unsure whether this could be the fuel level sender .apparently the awd has two

 

rusty, what I want you to do is fill up the fuel tank (this will give me a known fuel level). While sitting at the service station, get back into the car and depress the TRIP button on the end of the turn signal stalk and hold it in. With the TRIP Button still depressed, turn the car on to the RUN position (DO NOT start the engine). Keep holding the TRIP button until you see the message center say "Engineering Test" or something to that effect. At this point, release the TRIP button. If you touch the TRIP button one more time, you should see all the gauges do a full sweep and then return to their "resting" position. Press it again and you should see every dash light come on. You want to press the TRIP Button a total of 18 times. This should leave you seeing the message center saying "TG XXXX" (where XXXX is 4 numbers and since the engine is off, should read 0000). As you get close to 18 presses, slow down and watch for this indication. If you hit 18 presses and you are not seeing it, keep pressing the TRIP Button slowly over and over till you see this.

Once you see "TG XXXX", you will want to press the TRIP Button one more time. This should display "F1 XXX" where XXX is 3 numbers. If you see the XXX in the 000 to 009 range, one of your fuel level sensors is shorted. If you see 010 to 254 this would be you fuel level. Since your fuel tank is full, it should be in the 245 to 254 range. If you see 255, this says that the fuel sender is either failed open or the signal is missing (ie, wiring issue).

If you press the TRIP Button one more time, you should see the display change to "F2 XXX" where XXX is 3 numbers. You can use the scale above to check the other sensor. This will tell you if you have a bad fuel level sensor.

If you have a bad sensor, you will need to drop the fuel tank. From there you can use a multimeter to test each fuel level sensor for smooth operation when checking it on a resistance scale (2K range is sufficient as the level sensor is a 160 ohm variable resistor as I recall, higher resistance at a higher level).

If you need more info, let me know. This should atleast give you a starting point.