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Post by Zee on Nov 26, 2017 20:06:52 GMT
I was told to estimate that you have one gallon left when it's on E, so you can make it about as many miles as you get per gallon. I try to fill mine up when it gets under half.
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~Susan~
Pearl Clutcher
You need to check your boobs, mine tried to kill me!!!
Posts: 3,259
Jul 6, 2014 17:25:32 GMT
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Post by ~Susan~ on Nov 26, 2017 21:55:55 GMT
I have no idea. I'm the daughter of a mechanic and the wife of one also and it was drilled into my head to never go below a 1/4 of a tank because of how bad it is for your car. I know from reading the manual a light and a bell should go off when I get to a gallon. Also, what if I ever need to get away from some bad guys or something and I don't have enough gas, lol How did they say it was bad for the car? Most fuel injected cars have a fuel pump located in the bottom of the gas tank and gasoline keeps it cool. It is not a cheap or easy repair. A $500 repair wouldn't be out of the question.
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Post by *leslie* on Nov 26, 2017 23:27:25 GMT
I have a kind of funny almost running out of gas story.
I think this was back in the early 90's and my husband, BIL and I were driving up to Lake Tahoe. It was late at night and for some reason we were driving MIL's Cadillac. The dashboard was digital, which was kind of a new thing for cars. The guys were in the front seat and I was in the back seat half sleeping and half listening to their conversation. At one point my husband says, "Hey, look at the dashboard. There's this really weird backward three." They discuss it for a minute, trying to figure it out. Finally, I look over the front seat to check it out. 'OMG it's an "E" for empty not a "3"! How long has it been like that?" They had no idea. We probably made it to a gas station just in time.
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Post by beanbuddymom on Nov 27, 2017 3:03:48 GMT
My Nissan has a mode that has the countdown how many miles to empty - it comes on at 20 miles I think it is and I typically try to fill it when it gets to there but had an issue last week where it came on but I did autopilot and I forgot to stop at the gas station before I got on the highway but thankfully only had 11 miles to go to the next gas station.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 21, 2024 14:04:47 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Nov 27, 2017 13:30:27 GMT
Running to completely empty could cause fuel pump damage, but running after the low level light comes on won't. It takes a very small amount of fuel to keep the pump lubricated, and modern cars are made to be relatively idiot-proof. Running on less than a 1/4 tank won't hurt anything.
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Post by femalebusiness on Nov 27, 2017 17:19:02 GMT
I have one of those ancient little trucks that people roll their eyes at, pray they don't get behind in traffic and give the side eye glace of pity/derision when they pass. Which sometimes bothers me and sometimes gives me great glee when I realize I paid $100 for and have no car payment. Anyway, in it's ancientness, I have little to no faith in it's ability to accurately communicate the true level of it's gasiness. It is a manual with no tachometer so shifting gears relies solely on the sound of the engine and where the little arm rests on the speedometer. Given that, I figure the little arm that denotes the amount of gas left is not exactly reliable. So I never let it get below half a tank. When it gets close to that, I fill it up. Oh, and as you can imagine, since I have to actually ROLL the windows up and down, there isn't a little light that comes on when the gas gets low. You just have to actually look at the gauge with your little eyeballs. I have three old cars exactly like that and two new modern ones. The old ones even have wind wings. Call me crazy but most of the time I like the old car best. I can park anywhere and leave it wide open. Nobody wants to steal it, in fact no one even wants to park next to it. There is something to be said for driving an old crappy car.
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blue tulip
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,986
Jun 25, 2014 20:53:57 GMT
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Post by blue tulip on Nov 27, 2017 17:22:29 GMT
My Honda has a countdown too. One time it ran all the way down to zero, when I filled up I found that there was still just Over a gallon in the tank when I subtracted the amount I bought from the size of the tank. I know that's bad for the fuel pump but I thought it was interesting the way they built in that even further reserve to that system. I have gotten mine down to 6 miles on the countdown, then I chickened out and put gas in it. LOL I am going to pay attention next time I am using the countdown and put gas in and see how much further it can go. Never thought to look at it before! SaveSaveI have made it to 6 miles AFTER the 0.. and I still didn't run out! But I hadn't meant to push it that far and I don't make a habit of it.
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Post by femalebusiness on Nov 27, 2017 17:29:01 GMT
Years ago we were coming south from Northern California in our old van which had the engine between the two front seats. We were hauling a van full of motorcycles. We got about half way home and the fuel pump went out. It was about midnight and we were in the middle of nowhere. My genius husband took one of the gas tanks off of one of the motorcycles, filled it with gas and hung it by a coat hanger over the engine from the ceiling of the van and did a direct feed to the carburetor. We came a couple hundred miles that way and made it all the way home.
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scorpeao
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,521
Location: NorCal USA
Jun 25, 2014 21:04:54 GMT
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Post by scorpeao on Nov 27, 2017 18:04:37 GMT
Just until I stroke out from the stress. It’s something I haven’t outgrown in 30 years of driving. That little light comes on and I panic. me too! and my car has a little bong sound when it comes on....scares the bejesus out of me.
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Post by stefdesign on Nov 27, 2017 20:41:39 GMT
We don't have a countdown policy, but my DH and I are both gas procrastinators. As soon as the gas light comes on, we trip one of the trip odometers. We try never to go over 50 miles before filling. That gives us plenty of time to find the cheapest gas. I will admit to "forgetting" to trip the odometer a time or two, but in the 9 years we've owned our car, we've never yet run out of gas.
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oh yvonne
Prolific Pea
Posts: 8,003
Jun 26, 2014 0:45:23 GMT
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Post by oh yvonne on Nov 28, 2017 0:20:49 GMT
I drive my Honda Odyssey to fumes regularly because...I have no idea. I just hate getting gas and always push it too far. It has a 17 gallon tank, and we’ve put in more than 17 gallons before after one of my “oh, I can make it” weeks. My husband gets so mad, and also confused as the tank must really hold a bit more than that! Of course since I know that it’s like a license to push it even farther I really have a pathological hatred of gas stations... Never run out of gas in this van in the 12 years we have had it, though. Ran out a few times a year before that in other cars, you’d think I’d learn... This is SO me. I always say I'd rather clean the bathrooms (in my house) than stop for gas. I hate it hate it hate it. I hate pulling in, trying to maneuver my big SUV in. Hate the smell. Hate when the little lever doesn't want to stay down for me, forcing me to stand there and squeeze the handle. Hate that I'm always nervous to use the credit card reader because I am *sure* someone has hacked into it. Hate the money it costs. I get my DH to fill it up as often as I can manage.
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Post by goldenblind221 on Nov 28, 2017 0:26:59 GMT
My countdown on my Kia Forte is pretty accurate.
Source: danced with the devil by driving on empty and broke down moments after it ticked down to zero. Learned my lesson!
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