Ran out of fuel completely and here's what happens

[RollaMo]

Originally Posted by hiddenangels89

It does tell you, but once you get to >2 gallons or so, the 'low fuel level' takes over the ranging remaining in miles so instead of displaying '6 miles' it just says 'low fuel level'.

Which means stop and buy gas.
How much warning do you need?

There really isn't a way to "accurately" calculate down to the last drop how many mile you can go.
That "miles to empty" reading is a constantly moving target the way it is.
It depends on your driving style, hilly or flat roads, etc.

The low fuel warning light is your last line of defense that you need to buy gas.

If you want to keep pushing the limits, then you deserve to walk.

[kevinw]

i dont understand as my car shows how many miles are left on the gas i have in the car. once it gets very low, you put gas in it. my car has more than the fuel lite, maybe the older camaros do not show how many miles are left.

[hiddenangels89]

Originally Posted by RollaMo

Some people just deserve to walk.

I have ran out of gas one time in my life, back when I was 16.
Learned my lesson after one time.

It costs the same to run around on a full tank as it does an empty tank.

Originally Posted by RollaMo

Which means stop and buy gas.
How much warning do you need?

There really isn't a way to "accurately" calculate down to the last drop how many mile you can go.
That "miles to empty" reading is a constantly moving target the way it is.
It depends on your driving style, hilly or flat roads, etc.

The low fuel warning light is your last line of defense that you need to buy gas.

If you want to keep pushing the limits, then you deserve to walk.

Don't make fun of me just because i don't get gas the same way as you do. That's just stupid.

I never once said that i 'need' the light or don't know what the warning means, it would just be nice to have it go to single digit miles instead of just saying 'low fuel level'. Saying there isn't an accurate way to calculate is very incorrect, other cars out on the market do this just fine down to the 0 miles. Not that they're 100% correct, but it does give you that one less limitation.

I don't care about the cost of gas, i drive a Supercharged SS Camaro 30 miles 1 way to work daily. I just like to keep my log as accurate as possible, and to do that it needs to be as close to empty as possible.

[PalmerGA]

Originally Posted by hiddenangels89

no, not really. It happens. It's not like i'm careless or anything, just something that is going to happen from time to time.

I've ran out of gas in my Aveo a few times also, not gonna beat myself up over it...

I haven't run out of gas since the 70s. And that was only once. Call me anal but, I've always ranked having enough fuel in the tank pretty high on my checklist. Possibly even at the top.

[hiddenangels89]

Originally Posted by PalmerGA

I haven't run out of gas since the 70s. And that was only once. Call me anal but, I've always ranked having enough fuel in the tank pretty high on my checklist. Possibly even at the top.

I don't run out of gas often, just when I do, i don't really mind.

I keep a log of every gas fill up at every gas station that tracks mileage, for that to be accurate, i like to run my cars as low fueled as possible, fuel up full then do it again.

I don't just not want to get gas, I care less. I care less what the gas station's gas price is even, when i'm out, i just go to the nearest gas station, i don't drive around looking for a 3 cent cheaper one or anything. The way I drive and fill up is so i can log it all and compare it to prior fill ups each day, each month, each season, each year, each car.

[DennisW1284]

I've never ran out of gas once. Mainly out of laziness because the last thing i want is to have to push or walk to a gas station.

When I see the low fuel warning, my next stop is a gas station. There is no reason to wait. It is not going to be any more convenient the next time I'm in the car. Might as well knock it out.

[Manbearpig]

Let's try this, what's a valid reason to run the tank to empty? Aside from a race day?

Is it money? You're not saving any.

Is it time? Again, same amount of time to fill up whether it's one trip or 3 at empty to 1/4.

Shit happens? Yes that's why we plan ahead and fill the tank. I should not be sweating in traffic or (worse) in an emergency about running out of gas. Hell most GPSs will say how many miles it is to your destination. If you're commuting you know how long it takes to get from X to Y.

I feel like the fuel pump is a long term issue that shouldn't be the deciding factor of not walking to get gas. Maybe I'm wrong.

Can someone elaborate?

[Bad@ssCamaro]

I don't know about others, but when I buy a new car, I use the miles-to-empty page for at least the first month and go back and forth to the avg. mpg page. That way I can gage my avg. mpg and the miles I've gone (commuting) and figure an approximate amount of gas left in the tank. E.g., if I average 21 mpg and can get 310 miles per tankful, that means I'm using up 14.76 gallons per tankful. My low fuel light comes on at about 33 miles.

I use my Trip B odometer and every time I fill up, I set it to zero. After driving during the week and I notice the low fuel light is on, I check the trip odo, and if it reads something like 290 miles, I know I have at least 20 miles of cushion to find a place to fill up. I basically do this every week, and I've been doing this since 2007 when the car that I bought had those features. And I run it til I'm basically running on fumes, and not once have I run out of gas. No damage to fuel pumps or the fuel system, NADA. And every time I fill up its anywhere from 14.5 gallons to 15.5 gallons. The car I have now has 16.9 gal fuel capacity, so I get about 1.5 to 2 gal. reserve with this system. Works like a charm.

[RollaMo]

Originally Posted by hiddenangels89

Don't make fun of me just because i don't get gas the same way as you do. That's just stupid.

Yeah, but I ain't the one running out of gas.

Originally Posted by hiddenangels89

I just like to keep my log as accurate as possible, and to do that it needs to be as close to empty as possible.

No, it doesn't.
All that is important, is that you track all the fuel that you are pumping into the car.

If you bought gas every day and recorded the gls. used, you would still have the same end result.
It does not have to be empty to track fuel usage.

[hiddenangels89]

Originally Posted by Manbearpig

Let's try this, what's a valid reason to run the tank to empty? Aside from a race day?

Is it money? You're not saving any.

Is it time? Again, same amount of time to fill up whether it's one trip or 3 at empty to 1/4.

Shit happens? Yes that's why we plan ahead and fill the tank. I should not be sweating in traffic or (worse) in an emergency about running out of gas. Hell most GPSs will say how many miles it is to your destination. If you're commuting you know how long it takes to get from X to Y.

I feel like the fuel pump is a long term issue that shouldn't be the deciding factor of not walking to get gas. Maybe I'm wrong.

Can someone elaborate?

Other than in my case, logging, which not very many, if any one else even does; I would agree to the 2 gallon mark more so than i would a 1/4 tank mark.

[PalmerGA]

Originally Posted by RollaMo

Which means stop and buy gas.
How much warning do you need?

There really isn't a way to "accurately" calculate down to the last drop how many mile you can go.
That "miles to empty" reading is a constantly moving target the way it is.
It depends on your driving style, hilly or flat roads, etc.

The low fuel warning light is your last line of defense that you need to buy gas.

If you want to keep pushing the limits, then you deserve to walk.

Exactly. And if it continued to display miles to empty, right down to zero, there would be many more people running out of gas. Especially on road trips in unfamiliar territory - where you don't really know where all the gas stations are.

[PalmerGA]

Originally Posted by hiddenangels89

I don't run out of gas often, just when I do, i don't really mind.

I keep a log of every gas fill up at every gas station that tracks mileage, for that to be accurate, i like to run my cars as low fueled as possible, fuel up full then do it again.

I don't just not want to get gas, I care less. I care less what the gas station's gas price is even, when i'm out, i just go to the nearest gas station, i don't drive around looking for a 3 cent cheaper one or anything. The way I drive and fill up is so i can log it all and compare it to prior fill ups each day, each month, each season, each year, each car.

My dad (RIP) used to log all his gas, too. He did it for work 'cause he got reimbursed for fuel. He ran out of gas 3 or 4 times a year... and removed and cleaned his carburetor fairly often because of it.

Now I know gas is cleaner and filtered more today than back then (50s-60s), and gas tanks don't rust any more, but even so - running out of gas in ANY vehicle is not good and will eventually lead to problems down the road (pun intended).

[Dfault]

I won't ever have this problem, I never let my tank get below 1/4. Even then, it bothers the living crap out of me, but by the time I'm done with work and then the gym I really don't feel like getting gas while I'm sweaty and smelly. I want to respect other peoples noses and not expose them to my manly sweat smell after a long workout!

[patternpilot]

I normally fill up before the tank gets to 1/4. I once let the low fuel light come on because I wanted to see how much fuel it took to fill back up.
We really don't have traffic problems here but can you imagine getting caught in traffic in freezing weather for 12hrs, like happened back east recently and have less than 1/4 tank of fuel. Could get pretty cold.