That's how it behaves, all right.
I think it has to do with the shape of the tank. The Fuel guage measures the fuel level in the tank, but since the tank is not a perfectly round, graduated cylinder, the level does not correlate directly to the volume of gasoline left in the tank.
IOW, when the level reads 1/4, you'd think there'd be 3 gallons left, but there may only about 1.5 to 2.
The other thing is that the needle will go way below the red before the fuel actually runs out.
So, it's not lying, per se, just not very precise.
