I noticed that my Low Fuel light has never come on even when I know it should. All of the other lights work and I've checked a few fuses to no avail. I haven't checked the actual light or fuel sending unit yet, but before I do I was wondering if the light normally comes on when you start your car as an initial check? Any ideas?

 

Do you mean the little dot by the "E" on the gas gauge? That does not light when I start the car.

How do you know when it should turn on? I've gone 440 miles on a tank of gas (down to 4 gallons remaining) without having the light go on before. I was wondering the same thing though.

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96 Maxima GXE Auto
Ruby Pearl w/Gold Package

 

I normally run about 400 miles on a tank of fuel, my fuel light has come on olnly once, about 5 miles after it came on my car started sputtering and i was lucky to be nearby a gas station. it does not come on when you turn on the car. only when you are VERY low on fuel.

 

I live and die by that light. I've driven with it on until the needle was actually below the E mark. Then I still only put in 17 gallons of gas.

 

First of all I've NEVER seen it on, and that is with my terrible habbit of waiting too long to re-fuel. But, I was driving all over the place one evening and noticed that the guage was the at lowest point I've ever had in my car (definitly below E) and It still was not on. My brother has a '95 max and I've seen his come on with the guage still slightly above E. I know my car could not have gone on much longer without re-fueling which makes me wonder (assuming it is working in my car) if the light is really that helpful if it needs to be almost truely empty.

 

Replace the bulb.

 

mine came on twice and both time my gas guage wouldnt register a full tank afterwards

 

440 miles?! dam, before i used to get like a good 320 miles off of a full tank and the light wasn't on but it looked like it would come on any minute. And my light doesn't come on when i start the car.....

now i'm halfway done with a full tank of gas and i only have 120 miles put in....wtf

 

I had mine come on a couple of times. All it is , is a little yellow indicator light that illuminates ONLY when fuel is relatively low. It fluctuates on and off at times when the needle is below the "E" mark. It's just letting you know to re-fuel soon, or your dead out-of-luck!

 

when mine comes on it means "pull over and turn on the hazard lights - you have 5 seconds." what a coincidence, happened to me just 30 min ago. had to buy a 1 gallon gas tank at a nearby gas station. needless to say, it sucked.

 

120 miles? That's like 13 MPG, assuming you have an 18.5 gallon tank and your gauge is at least somewhat accurate. Try shifting out of first?

I wasn't even below the E mark yet at that point, I should have gone to 500 miles. I had 4 gallons left, so I probably could have made it to 550 miles if I ran it dry. I usually get I usually get between 26MPG and 32 MPG every time I fill up.

I ran it that low because I threw in STP Fuel Injector Cleaner when I filled up, and I wanted to run a steady concentration for as long as possible...anyway, it's good stuff. Try using it, it can't hurt it can only help.

 

Well since I haven't actully run out of gas [*knocks on wood] I really can't say it isn't working then. Thanks for the help.

 

my friend's camry can go about 5 days of everyday driving with the gas light on...

 

i've driven 50-60 miles with my light on... and when i fill up i only put in like 16.5 gallons. guess my lights comes on prematurely?? but d@mn... 500+ miles... i think i saw that once when i first got my car... but i'm lucky to hit 320 city and 410 +/- highway (20-27 mpg). i hit 32mpg once... not sure how though???

 

my car does the same thing! my light does not work either... i decided to teast out my mpg one time, and i refussed to buy gas untill my light came on. well my engine started to die everytime i hit the gas so i thought there was something wrong with my car or something! but it was actually my engine not getting any gas! so i drove veeeery slowly to a gas station, and everything was fine again.

sorry, i just felt the need to tell that story.

 

most i get before light comes on is like 330-340ish. you guys got a reallyyyyy good car if your getting like 400-500+. then i fill up and its only like 15-17 gallons. oh well. still get like 21-22 mpg. thats good for a V6 powered by a heavy foot!

 

Mine comes on when it gets dead on E, and then I stil have about 20miles left. Very useful light when your broke

 

I used to think I have about 2 gallons or so when the light comes on, just slightly below the "E". But yesterday the light came on and a couple miles later I ran up behind a IS300 and downshifted to 4th to see if he wanted to run up a long steep hill. My car started sputtering and choking and I had to idle it up the rest of the way, plus I was scared I wouldn't make it to the next station! Put in 17.5 gallons so maybe it's changed over time. I do think think the incline must have had something to do with the starvation since my fuel filter is only a few months old.