The fuel tank spec is 10.6 gallons. I've been averaging 37 - 40mpg. The fuel tank light comes on with 2 segments left on the "gauge", and the car's estimated range has about 40 miles left.

That means I should have 1 gallon of gas left - 40 mile range, 40mpg. But so far I haven't had a fill-up that exceeded 8.5 gallons. I realize the angle of the car might affect it, etc. but 8.5 is about right given the total miles driven between fill ups, about 320 to 340 miles.

Is anyone else having this issue? Either the tank only holds 9.5 gallons, or the fuel "gauge" is wrong. Or is there something else?

 

Get a small one gallon gas can to carry with you, drive beyond your "two segments" theory, and see exactly how far you can go on a tank of gas. Then, should you need your extra gas, just add that one gallon to your next fill up total and you will find out exactly what the tank holds, and how far you can let the gas gauge go down.

 

By checking out Fuelly and some of the other owners it seems like most people are filling up at the 7.5 - 8.5 gallon range per tank. I know I usually see the gas light come on at 2 notches - sometimes one notch on the meter... and I have usually been putting in about 8 gallons. I suspect that the system is designed to leave at least 1 gallon in reserve. I suspect it is a 10.6 gallon tank --- but doubt you will ever get to that point... I don't know if anyone has been brave enough to let the tank run dry...

 

My low fuel light comes on at about the 8.5 gallon used mark as well. Keep in mind estimated range is just that ESTIMATED range.

 

8.5gal is about the norm. The reason you can never fill up a gas tank all the way is because of volatile expansion. Gasoline has a very high vapor pressure and requires ambient air space to expand as needed from being a liquid. That's why you can only get fuel tanks to be filled 80-85% full.

 

That makes sense. There must be a gallon's worth of expansion space that can't be filled with liquid gasoline.

 

i filled up with 2 bars remaining, and it took 8.2 gal.

recently i ran the car till no bars left and 0 miles on the range counter. 8.9 gallons.

i really wish the tank was bigger. if i could get 400 out of it (my commute, my driving style), that would be awesome. all well...

 

Interesting that you got to 0 bars but only put in 8.9 gals.

I probably won't risk it, but I wonder if the tank is not really empty at 0 bars.

 

The most I have put in the tank was 8.56 gallons. Not sure what my range was but I had one bar left on the display.

I had read on some other forum one time somebody saying that sometimes they will put the fuel pump inside the tank where the surrounding fuel acts as a coolant. He claimed that in this case, running the tank dry could damage the pump. It sounded plausible enough, but I never investigated and make no claims myself. I don't even know where I read it.

The other idea I heard is that they just make the fuel gauges that way in the US so we don't run out of gas.

 

This is a conspiracy theory topic for the GE8 universe also. It is also a little known fact that they can squeeze one extra gallon after the stop-pump click happens (not sure if this applies to GK5s).

 

My experience is very similar to yours. My fill-ups have been around 8.5 gallons. I think the fuel gauge IS wrong by design. I explain it this way:

1) On this car the range estimate is intentionally conservative to keep you from ever running it dry and becoming stranded.

2) Typically in modern cars the fuel pump that is inside the tank relies on the liquid gasoline to keep it cool and lubricated. It is typical for the "low fuel" light comes on when there's anywhere from 1 to 2 gallons left, which is plenty to keep the pump safe. (paraphrased from my source)

Source: Dispelling two pesky car myths

This has not been my experience. With all the cars I have ever owned and driven I could always fill them with a quantity of gas very close to the rated tank size whenever I ran them almost out of gas...

I don't think so. I think there is an extra gallon for the reasons I stated above. Maybe I am mistaken some how though...

 

Yes, this would be a good way to do it. I will be watching this post... I hope somebody will drive their Fit until it runs out of gas and we will have a definitive answer. I'm too lazy to mess with that myself...

 

I NEVER let my gas get that low. Bad for the fuel pump

 

The manual:
"You should refuel when the reading approaches E. Running out of fuel can cause the engine to misfire, damaging the catalytic converter."

No mention of the fuel pump. I doubt that refueling when there are 1 or two bars damages anything.

 

I actually drove an additional 16 miles after my range said 0. At the fuel up I needed 9.4 gallons. I coasted about 5 of those 16 miles but the engine was still running, everything was running. I was on the i5 going up the mountains towards Bakersfield and there was no gas station for the next 25 miles. Since there was no way to turn back (the opposite traffic was on the other side of the mountain), I had to continue for the 25 mile stretch.

 

The reason that it doesn't mention the fuel pump is because the pump won't be damaged by low fuel. The pump is cooled by the fuel that it pulls from the bottom of the tank, not by the fuel around it. Thus, the pump will have cooling as long as it has fuel to draw in.

Now, run it dry and the pump will "run away" and might damage itself if you leave the key on for an excessive time. Honda's warning about exhaust system damage is probably more likely.

Fuel tanks generally have a bit more capacity than that advertised. Nobody will sue the manufacturer for a tank that holds too much, but they will for a tank that doesn't hold enough.

Back in the fuel crisis I had a Datsun 510 and I added an extra tank for a total capacity of 25 gallons. I loved having a car that went 600 miles between fillups. I'd also love to have that kind of capacity in a Fit!

 

I posted about the same issue here when I first got my new Fit. I'm still annoyed by it, but at least it isn't a problem that is specific to either of our cars.

Here's the thread: https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/3rd-...e-way-off.html