How many miles can you go with the empty gas sign on before you're ACTUALLY out of gas?

I usually do about 28 - 32 miles on the empty gas tank sign before i fill up. Just wondering how long you guys hold out...

 

I never bothered finding out.

I do know that the light comes on when the fuel tank has 7.2L to go, or just under 2 US gallons. You can compute your "distance to bone-dry" from there

Where I'm from, running tanks to bone-dry is frowned upon due to the higher possibility of the fuel filter ingesting contaminants that would have settled at the bottom of the tank.

 

I filled up today after driving 10+ miles when the light was on. It required 8.808 gallons to fill up and since our tank capacity is 10.8 gallons, I would say you have about 2 gallons of driving left before it's "dry".

 

Yeah I usually find I have about 1.8 gallons left once my light comes on. Ideally, you should never let your tank get that low. If you always fill up around 1/4 tank left, you'll fuel pump will live a long, happy life.

 

I usually fill up on a 1/4 tank.

 

yep, me too. at 1/4 a tank i just refill. i did however been very low once. the needle was completely empty and drove maybe 5+miles. no issue. but not doing that again. the tank is 10gallons, right? got 9.4gallons in there so you can kinda calculate how many miles you got left. probably 30miles to dry...(?)

 

yep 1.8 gallons left

 

I tested fate once and went extra 45 miles after the empty fuel light came on.


.

 

I think when then light came on I went between 30+ miles(maybe more) but I don't remember the details anymore but I was amazed that the car made it.

 

oh i didn't know you shouldnt run to empty...

is this like an old wives tale? or like actual factual mechanic knowledge?

haha if it is... now i know.

and knowing is half the battle...

 

i got 25 miles on E and got scared, pulled over to the nearest gas station.

 

I've gone 50 miles after the light multiple times. Twice, however, in colder weather, when I was not getting my usual mileage, I ran out right at 50 miles. On the same. Stupid. Hill.

Fortunately, both times, I was able to crest the hill and coast downhill for over a mile to the nearest exit, and into the gas station. The first time, I got in right after they closed, and the lady was nice enough to restart the pump for me. Keeping the c-store door locked, of course.

Don't push 50 miles unless you've made good mileage for the tank. 35 should be easy for most.

 

When my light comes on I usually fill up between 9.1-9.3 gallons of gas. The farthest I'll drive when the light comes on is maybe 30 miles. I once filled up 9.8 gallons but that was the most ever.

 

newbie here... but they say the fuel pumps last longer if the tank isn't run nearly dry. The fuel helps keep the pump cooler when it's surrounded by it. my 2 cents...

 

I read that too. Evap happens faster when there's less in the tank. Either way I don't care. I still want to see how many miles I can get out of the tank, even though it never changes.

 

9 gallons? I always fill up with over 11 gallons. One time, after I had run out, I actually crammed in close to 13 gallons.

 

The gas stations you're going to are ripping you off since our tank capacity is barely under 11 gallons lol

 

Intriguing possibility. Possible because this is a capitalist society, intriguing because I fill up at so many different stations, yet I get the same readings.

 

The GD's fuel tank is good for 42 liters as per official literature.

42 L is 11.09522 US gal.

 

But the Fit has a ridiculously long filler neck as the tank is in the middle of the car and the filler is behind the rear door. The filler neck will hold an additional 1.5 gallons. I know this because I do it all the time (practically every fill up in fact) I usually put 10.5 to 11 gallons in for a full tank. I usually go 65-70 miles with the fuel light on and have never run dry. As far as contaminants in the bottom of the fuel tank, I think that its more old knowledge not keeping up with modern tech. In the 1950s when every car on the road had a steel tank and cars were not in constant, every day use as they are today the threat of condensate/bad gas etc. causing rust to form in the tank was much greater. My car is never sitting for more than eight hours at a stretch, the tank is run from full to empty every four days and the tank is made of plastic. And if, God forbid, a speck of something makes it through the fuel filter (changed every 25K) I seriously doubt mechanized chaos will ensue.