miles to empty

[Wblv17]

I just go by the method of use 10 gallons, put 10 gallons back in at the 1/4 mark. No need for dummy light,

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[Tim Hilliard]

My mechanic buddy tells me to fill up at 1/4 tank most of the time, his reasoning is you don't know what is in the gas you put in your car or the bottom of your tank. If you run too low any debris that is in your tank may go into your fuel pump and seize it. Of course, I think the 1/4 mile thing is a bit overkill, but I generally fill up with about 2 gallons left in my tank.

How much stuff is going to be in a new car and there are usually very fine filter socks on the pick ups. Nothing is getting into your pump.

 

[MurderPony]

Your pump sucks off the bottom of the tank....

But the reasoning is sound. Get too low and it can stir up stuff and suck up what could be floating.

Exactly! It always feeds off the bottom and a full tank has more mass and volume to dislodge something than an empty tank does. Technically there are a few unique arguments one could make otherwise let it run empty you won't have any problems.

.

 

[Kpod]

My low fuel comes on around 20 mte. Each time I fill up a 0 mte, I put 15 gallons in and it won't take anymore. Leads me to believe 0 mte in my car means 1 gallon on reserve.

 

[EcoBoostang]

I had a weird thing, where I had 92 miles to empty idling. I had a 1/4 of a tank. I went to work (20 miles) and then it when about 2 miles from work, light goes on and says 5 miles and the gauge is about pegged on empty.

Anybody else having a similar experience?

 

[klumpikat]

I learned that once the warning sounds, the MTE is far from accurate...and not in a good way.:headbonk:

 

[GT Pony]

Your pump sucks off the bottom of the tank....

But the reasoning is sound. Get too low and it can stir up stuff and suck up what could be floating.

Exactly! It always feeds off the bottom and a full tank has more mass and volume to dislodge something than an empty tank does. Technically there are a few unique arguments one could make otherwise let it run empty you won't have any problems.

Gas in the tank is always getting stirred around when you drive it over bumps and around corners. Debris just doesn't lay on the bottom of the tank while you drive around aggressively.

 

[GT Pony]

My low fuel comes on around 20 mte. Each time I fill up a 0 mte, I put 15 gallons in and it won't take anymore. Leads me to believe 0 mte in my car means 1 gallon on reserve.

Like I said ... when the Low Fuel warning comes on at 15~20 miles there is typically about 2 gallons left. If you're getting 15~20 MPG and keep driving, then at MTE=0 miles you will have ~1 gallon left.

Low Fuel warning comes on ... start planning to get gas.
MTE = 0 ... really start looking for gas.

 

[GT Pony]

I learned that once the warning sounds, the MTE is far from accurate...and not in a good way.:headbonk:

Humm ... my MTE seems pretty accurate. Knowing the tank holds 16.0 gallons and based on what it took to fill-up, there should only be 1 gallon left when MTE=0.

What's it doing in your case?

 

[klumpikat]

Humm ... my MTE seems pretty accurate. Knowing the tank holds 16.0 gallons and based on what it took to fill-up, there should only be 1 gallon left when MTE=0.

What's it doing in your case?

According to google maps I live ~12.5 miles from work using one particular route. One morning I got the warning when I left my house with supposedly 23 mte. I had 7 mte when I got only halfway there. (Traffic was very light, all highway, and I drove about 7mph over the limit.) Didn't plan on having to get gas on my way to work but I was worried I would not make it to the gas station a few blocks away upon leaving.

Unless my head is broken, I figured I would still have ~10 mte when I got to the office

 

[GT Pony]

^^^ Looking at the data from my last fill-up, I see that my MTE wasn't as accurate this time compared to the last fill-up. MTE showed 13 miles, while via calculations it really should have been showing 5 miles.

On the fill-up before this last one, the MTE showed 15 miles and the calculated value should have been MTE = 12, so it was pretty close last time.

 

[~X~]

Damn, so many different experiences... guess to be on the safe side I'll just fill her up when I reach 30 MTE. Seems to be a YMMV kind of situation.

However, a part of me wants to test the accuracy of my gauge so I may just drive around with an emergency tank of gas in the trunk a few times to test it out...

 

[GT Pony]

Damn, so many different experiences... guess to be on the safe side I'll just fill her up when I reach 30 MTE. Seems to be a YMMV kind of situation.

However, a part of me wants to test the accuracy of my gauge so I may just drive around with an emergency tank of gas in the trunk a few times to test it out...

Just drive around the city close to gas stations when your tank is low and wait for the "Low Fuel" warning to pop-up. Then go fill-up and see how many gallons it takes (assuming you filled completely up last time).

BTW - when my Low Fuel warning came on the gas gauge needle was about 1 needle width above the "E" mark on the gauge.

 

[lwilliams]

The MTE is not accurate and, I don't think, that it can be.

For the last 20 - 30 years, if my gas needle gets to 1/4 tank, I am stopping to fill up as soon as I see a suitable station. If I am driving on a long trip like a vacation or something, I do the same when it gets to 1/2 tank because I don't know when the next opportunity to fill up will come.

So, it's not accurate, but not a big deal as I don't rely on it.

 

[GT Pony]

The MTE is not accurate and, I don't think, that it can be.

True, but the low fuel warning and the MTE gives you warnings that you better be looking for gas. Obviously if you're out in the middle of nowhere plans for gas need to be made regardless of any low fuel warning or what the MTE says.

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