I got into a tough situation last night where I almost ran out of gas. I was right at 0 miles to empty and then some. I was worried since I was stuck in bumper to bumper traffic for hours. However, I was able to pull into a gas station and fill up a bit over 15 gallons. Whew. If no one ever came that low, here's a cell pic of the dashboard.

 

glad you didn't have to push it to a gas station!

 

If he would have run out, Ford Roadside Assistance would have brought him 2 gallons of gas.

http://www.flmowner.com/servlet/Cont...sideAssistance

 

That "0 Miles to Empty" is pure crap. I mean, it's crap in a good way, but it's still a lie. You had at least 20-30 miles yet when it showed 0.

And yes, Ford would've brought you a couple of gallons. I usually carry a 2 gallon jug in the trunk (of my SHO) for just these purposes. Emergency back-up, if you will...

 

The worst part is that going that low on gas can be hard on the fuel pump.

Going to start filling up as soon as it gets close to the 1/4 tank mark from now on, aren't you???

 

I read that even when it shows empty, there is a gallon of reserve in the tank. No source.

 

This is a long-time trick for Ford. In my '95 SHO, when the light comes on there are still 5 gallons in the tank! Ford, among (most) other companies, use in-tank fuel pumps and use the fuel as a coolant (remember, liquid fuel can't ignite - only the vapors). During the winter, when it's cold out, this isn't as big a concern, as odds are good the fuel's gonna be pretty **** cold, so pump overheating isn't as big a deal.

I wouldn't let the tank run down too many times in the summer, though. It won't kill the pump, but it will reduce its life expectancy.

 

Yes but the OP stated that he put a little over 15 gallons of gas in a 16 gallon tank, that is EMPTY on the virge of dying from lack of fuel getting to the pump.

 

yes after 0 miles to empty it goes to a - and you can drive a bit more.

 

I once ran past "0 miles to empty" about an extra 10 miles. I was quite nervous, but only put 15.1 gallons in to fill it (and the tank is supposed to be 15.7 gallons in my '07). I love how the fuel guage goes red when you get under 10 miles to empty - gotta love the "my color" IP.

 

The same thing happened to me yesterday. It scared the crap out of me because I was no where near a gas station.

 

That's nice to know that Ford Roadside Assistance is there for you, for free. Nice little perk.

 

done the 0 once or twice still the car only takes 14 or so gallons

 

ive been to 4 mpg til empty lol... that had me on the edge of my seat

 

I grew up in Canada so I learned early to never drive below 1/4 tank (1/2 tank in winter). I still do the same in Florida because you never know when you'll get stuck somewhere because of traffic or whatever. So I've never seen the low fuel warning - it's interesting that the gauge changes color. Do the other gauges do that as well?

 

I was going to start a thread to see who has gone past "0 miles to empty" as I was curious if it starts a "negative count" or does it just stay on "0".

Most gas I've ever put in it is 14.798 gallons and this was at "4 miles to E", but don't remember the gauge turning red.

I also read or was told that at "0 miles to E" there is about 1 gallon left which sounds about right based on above.

Doug

 

I remember when I first got my '97 Cobra and was running low on fuel but I thought meh, no low fuel light yet and kept going. It was right after that the car stalled at a stop sign and I realized SVT didn't put low fuel lights in the cars! I managed but that was the only time I nearly ran out of gas.

 

There is a local radio show here about cars and they were talking about this. If I remember correctly, they said Honda was the first to deliberately underestimate how much gas is in the tank. Their thinking was that if you saw a Honda on the side of the road, you wouldn't know it was just out of gas, you might think it had broken down. So to keep more of their cars off the side of the road, they calibrated the gauge to say there was less fuel in the tank than there really was.

 

Got that right, never go below 1/2 tank here when it gets very cold, condensation will build up in the tank and water will get in the gas which is not a good thing at all.

 

Smart business move.