I'm nearing the end of the first tank of gas in my new 09 Fit Sport. How close to or far away from the Empty line can it go before it's actually empty?

I like to run as close to empty sometimes, especially when gas is dropping 5 cents a gallon from one day to the next.

My 97 Civic Hatchback could get about 1/16th of an inch below the empty line when I was really pushing it.

 

..........

 

No idea because I'd rather not run out of gas than save 50 cents on my weekly fillup. It's a gamble anyway, it could go up too, but you seem like a gambling man, so that's fitting.

BUT the lowest I've gone was with the gas light on and the gauge was around the bottom line of E. I knew I had 10 miles to home after a 10 hour drive, and the gas light means ~30-35 miles minimum and I thought it was annoying to have to stop.

This is probably not useful information to a gambling man like yourself. I understand the allure... I'm proud to say I was there...when Kramer and that other guy went further to the left of the slash then anyone ever dreamed!

Possible incoming fuel pump comments

 

Carry a gas container with some gas in it and run until your tank is empty. Be
advised running your tank too low can cause fuel pump damage. The fuel pump is cooled by gas in the tank.


Clifton

 

I rarely travel farther than across town so I'm rarely farther than 2 miles from a gas station. A tank of gas will last me about 2 weeks. When my gauge gets close to empty I know I still have a couple of days left.

A gambler? Maybe.

 

I'm not sure because I try not to let it get much below 1/4 tank. As was stated earlier, with an in-tank fuel pump, you run the risk of pump damage when running the level really low. To me, it isn't worth it. Of course I pretty much only use the Fit in town, so I'm not doing road trips and trying go as far as possible without stopping to try to reduce travel time.

 

As discussed 6 years ago:

https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/gene...6-gallons.html

10.6 gallons is the max, after Empty on the gauge you have approx 1.7 gallons remaining in the tank.

Seems like you are trying to eek out as much from your tank as you possibly can OP but I personally try to drive no more than 20 miles max after the empty indictor lights up

 

Good luck Kramer! Let us know how it works out.

 

also, a tip, if you're really pushing it, say more than a gallon past when the idiot light turns on, you need to start worrying about inclines/declines.

Your car is running when you shut it off, but guess what you've parked slightly uphill, now your car doesn't start.

If that doesn't give you 5cents worth of stress I don't know.

Hey if you're cheap you don't have to fillup all the way, buy 2gallons then wait so you can capitalize on your 80cents saving 1week from now.

Anyway, yea, i think you need to rethink your financial priorities.
It's part of human nature, you're inundated by the fact that you see gas station prices displayed all the time, so it ends up consuming way too much of your thought then what it should given how little of a difference it makes (compared to all your other spending).

 

Sean, Waiz is correct. Most car guys will tell you that 1.5 gallons still remains in the tank after the light comes on. That is a safe average for all automobiles. Sooooo, if you normally get 30 MPGs in your Fit, you have about 45 miles left until empty. As was stated by the masses here: don't wait too much longer after the light goes on. The remaining fuel needs to be there to properly cool the fuel pump. I believe I have read that there is a trough built in to the bottom of the gas tank to help the pump "sit" in a pool of fuel. As long as you leave some fuel in to occupy that trough, you should not have a problem. I have been running all of my cars down to the low fuel light for decades without ever having a fuel pump problem. I use the light as my "feed me seymour" notice. Don't mess with the talking plant with the big teeth !!

 

Don't play near the bottom of the gas tank unless you have a good gauge and feel confident enough in your driving and the roads and conditions you have ahead of you to know exactly what kind of mpg you're going to be getting.

Also don't do it unless the area is carpeted with gas stations.

 

Not a game I would want to play especially in the winter.

 

I have the UK (right hand drive 1.4 L13Z engine) version and have had on 3 occasions had over 100 miles, maximum being 110 from the light coming on, however...... I did have the reassurance of having a 5 litre can full of petrol in the boot (trunk). Also I did run out once but didn't note the mileage from when the low fuel light came on, it was in the order of 98+ and was going up a very steep hill. I only 'risk' these tests in the car myself and not at rush or potentially dangerous trips. The speed I generally reduced to was in the region of 56MPH (UK MPG) a little under 100KPH with the odd overtaking or two. I think we have the 42l tank in the UK.

 

I agree with these points, if gas was $4.75/gallon I could justify pushing it to eek out all from a tank but at $2.40/gallon it's not worth the risk

One thing I do now is only put 4-5 gallons at a time to take advantage of falling prices

 

When the light comes on, you have 15% fuel left (or approximately 1.6 gallons of gas left) Do the math. As long as your MPG Gauge isn't dropping rapdily during that last 15%, I think you should be very comfortable with knowing your results.

For example, if you are getting 40mpg (have gone 360 miles when the light comes on), you should be good for another 60-65 miles.

360 (miles) / 9 (fuel used from full when the light comes on) = 40mpg
40mpg * 1.6 (gallons left) = 64 Miles.

If you reset your trip meter every fill-up, just multiply your current mpg by 1.5 for your remaining range. (My mpg gauge is usually about 1-2mpg higher than calculated reality - every tank - hence the reason I use 1.5 instead of 1.6 - safety net)

or.

Just fill up when the light goes on. it's $.50 difference for a tank of gas if the price drops by $.05/gallon. I think most everyone on this board can afford the extra $$ (and you'll probably make it up on the other end at some point when gas prices go back up.)

~SB

 

I've gone 45 miles before it pooped out on me. I did this once to know the approx. miles before the light came on. I've read also that the fit does have issues with overheating fuel pumps. Yea, I've changed enough to know I don't want to do that ever again.

 

When my gas light comes on, after another 15 miles or so, it takes 9.5 gallons of gas to fill it up. That's a pretty tight window to work with.

 

Your car doesn't like it. Don't make your car sad

 

My '09 has taken over 11 gallons. Gas gauge read a little below last line at "E".

 

Coming out of a campground early morning August 2013 in Yahk, BC in my 09 5MT my fuel light came on before we got to Creston. The station there looked closed at daybreak so I figured we could gas up at the border at Nelway. Wrong!! No services-go figure - so we drove by the back up for the Shambala music festival to Salmo which involved a mountain pass and lots of coasting and gassed up after 50 miles or so. My little snark never failed us.
I too have filled up and seen close to 11.4 gallons on the pump.
Go figure