Anybody know how accurate that readout on the dash is? I'm guessing there's some extra reserve but I don't want to run it dry and have to prime the fuel line to get it restarted. I was driving around town the other day and ran it down to 3 miles to empty before I had to fill it up and hit the highway; didn't have any issues at that point.

 

Not sure, but once it thinks it is empty it will shut the car down to prevent damage. I had a faulty sending unit from the factory when the car was new. It would read full for about the first third of a tank and then read x miles to empty. The first time I though maybe I had some sort of leak and pulled over at the first station, looked the car over, and filled it back up. It only took around $8. The next time the same scenario. The third time I knew it had over half a tank and continued to drive it. It flashed some kind of empty message and the car shut down. I had AAA bring me a gallon of gas and it started right up, so I went to the closest station and took it straight to the dealer. They put a new fuel pump and sending unit in the tank. I haven't had a problem since, but I never push it all the way to empty.

 

My experience is NOT VERY accurate.

 

i always thought the E stood for Enuff ... Enuff gas to get where you`re going ..i think my toyota lies .. i know iv`e driven it 5 miles when it said 1 mile to empty ...

 

I've always been skeptical of the "keep your pump submerged" rule. There's a constant flow of cool gasoline through the inside of the pump, which is where I'd expect heat to build up, so that flow should keep it cool whether or not there's gasoline on the outside of the pump. I routinely ran my last car down to well below 1/4 and it was fine; I drove it over 230,000 miles without any fuel problems ever.

 

I've heard people say that, but I've never known anyone who that has actually happened to. It's always, "I've heard that the pump will burn out." Has anyone here seen it happen?

 

yeah like GravyDog says I'm sure there's a lot that goes into it, probably down to how much idle time (not much flow) and heavy acceleration (heavy load, more heat) you do when your tank is low. But I'm not sure in either case the fuel flow through is going to be enough to cool the pump.

 

I still think everyone should take it down to near empty to know just how far than can stretch it for when you might actually have to. I've done this with every vehicle I've ever owned and have never had to replace a fuel pump before.

 

I don't disagree with that -- I've gone down to fumes more than a few times in my stang and haven't had any problems w/ 90K on the clock. Just wondering how much cooling the fuel inside the pump will actually do


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Oh yeah -- so to get back on topic, I remember reading in the owners manual that the "X miles to empty" is based off your last 500 miles of driving. I usually find that taking the first road trip in a while, the car says its going to be about 80 - 100 mi shorter than it actually is (since my usual routes are usually more around town than highway). Likewise when I get back from the trip, its way off since it expects to be getting 25 mpg vs the 15 I'm actually getting back in town.

 

Mine said 7 mpg left the other day. I went to fill it up and it stopped at a little or 14 gallons that was put in the car. These things are tripping lol. Usually with cars that I've had if it was empty, it was empty ahahha