Think Your Tank Is On Empty When On "E"?

[Tee]

No, not at all! I was watching 20/20 this week and saw a special they were doing on myths, and gas tank on "E" with the light on is misleading. Some cars go far as a 100 miles past the out of gas reading shows, the reserves on some cars are really big! For my car i can go 65 miles over before running out of gas, 20/20 talk to a guy who created a website (tankonempty.com) for people to run out of gas on purpose and report their findings for make and model. Click on the link and see how far you car can go before gose dry.

http://tankonempty.com/findcar

[Mannix2106]

I think it a law that when you are "E" you are supposed to have 2 gallons of fuel left inside the car...

[Yesfan70]

I have a 19 gallon tank and have about 4-5 gallons left when the light comes on. I try to refill by then or when I get to a 1/4 of a tank.

I don't like the idea of running it down to the very last gallon. I think when one does that, there's the possiblity of clogging your fuel lines and/or injectors on down the road.

[saea501]

There are no laws governing how much fuel is left in a tank when a low warning is displayed. If nothing else you should try to keep your tank at least above a quarter or so to keep the fuel pump submerged in fuel. This keeps the pump cool and will help extend it's life.

[akula]

In many cars, the "feed me" idiot light goes on with about 3 gallons left. In most cars that translates to at least 50, maybe as many as 100, miles left.

However, as said, it isn't a good idea to run it down to fumes, since the fuel in the tank helps keep the fuel pump cool (thereby extending its life). Replacing fuel pumps costs real money on modern vehicles.

When I get down to a quarter I usually start looking for a gas station. The only time I tend to let it run much below that is if I am on a long trip and am trying to reach a destination (such as across a state line where gas gets MUCH cheaper), but even then I usually prefer to put a few gallons in just to be sure I don't run out.

[kdig]

I have a Ford Fusion, and it has a gauge on the dash that says "x number of miles till empty" i can't tell you how many times i have driven when it has stated 0 miles till empty. lol. it made me nervous the first time i did it, but i have driven as much as 10 miles after that thing hits zero. on a side note as well.. the main gauge states "low fuel" when i get to about 40 miles till empty, which i'm guessing would be similar to a low fuel light. in the end, we are all humans, and the car manufacturers plan on us pushing the vehicles to the limits. case in point, a guy at work was bragging about putting over 2500 lbs of topsoil in the back of his gmc sonoma, and laughing because its limit that it states on the truck itself is like 1700 lbs, or something. they rate it low because they know that some idiot will try to load "just a little more" even though they are aware of the limits. they rate it for 1700, knowing that the break limit is probably double that. if it says 1700, somebody will put 2000...if it says 2000, somebody will put 3000.

[drrosen2l]

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kdig wrote:

. . . case in point, a guy at work was bragging about putting over 2500 lbs of topsoil in the back of his gmc sonoma, and laughing because its limit that it states on the truck itself is like 1700 lbs, or something. they rate it low because they know that some idiot will try to load "just a little more" even though they are aware of the limits. they rate it for 1700, knowing that the break limit is probably double that. if it says 1700, somebody will put 2000...if it says 2000, somebody will put 3000.

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Like this guy:

Or this one:

-Paul

Message Edited by drrosen2l on 07-07-2008 02:33 PM

[GreatDane]

Like kdig my Ford F-350 Super Duty has the fuel meter that shows how many mile until empty. It also estimates mpg which is cool...mine is 11 mpg. I just spent over $120 to fill it up, and I never let it go much below 1/4 tank. It is a 40 gallon tank.

I once had a dual tank F-250 (not fuel injected). On my way back from Richmond, VA. to Chesapeake I decided to let one of the tanks run out as a test. I hit E around Williamsburg (about 40 miles to go). I then drove another 15~20 miles the next day before the engine began to sputter.

[Tee]

Funny but true examples.

The reported aksed the car makers why such huge reserves and the reply was Americans want large fuel reserves (they don't know about) on their cars. The reported was driving a dodge caravan to see how far he could go past the what the stated 0 miles till empty/gas needle was telling him, he went over a 100 miles before the the van stopped. Auto techs did say running the car until empty will cause damage after, if you do it more than one time.