Hey fellas, new Max owner here. I gots me a '96 GXE 5 spd and I cannot get the damned fuel warning ligt to come on! I am a sales rep, and put a shizzz load of miles on my car (most at hwy speeds in fifth), and I have run the car to E on the guage 3 times (450+ miles each time) and I still get no warning light and the tank only takes 15.5 gallons or so. Did Nissan design this car to be impossible to run out of gas? How deep into the 18.5 gallon tank do we have to get to see the light?

 

mine kicks on with about a 1/4 gallon left in the tank. '95 SE.

you could always pull a Kramer and run it till it stops! that was one of the best sienfeld episodes ever!!!!!

 

Check the manual, cause it should tell you how many gallons are left when the idiot light comes on. I do know it's low, cause I've only had it come on 1 or 2 times, but never ran out of gas. I usually run it pretty low, and ride on E quite often.

 

dont worry it works but some gauges are off, it will slowly come on, it gets brighter and brighter the less fuel u have, mine comes on when im below e

 

i have a 99 maxima do i even have a "fuel warning light"
cuz when i turn my car on i dont even see that light

 

its a little dot that is barely noticable when the light is off. it is right underneath/ to the right of the E on the fuel gauge

 

Someone posted not to long ago that their light did not work. He found out the hard way by running out of gas. It just might be faulty.

 

Another IL person Mine turns on when there is like 1.5 gallons left in the tank.

 

If you search, you will find a post not too long ago where some people responded. The common concensus is, when the light comes on, find a gas station quick. Most people said theirs come on with about 1-2 gallons left in the tank.

Here's the thread:

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....ght=fuel+light

 

its IMPOSSIBLE to see it !

 

according to my calculations. when the needle hits E. you have 2.5 gallons LEFT in tank. so prolly u would see the light 35 miles ( in street) after u hit E. these are just MY CALCULATIONS. im NOT responsible if u find ur A$$ out of fuel on freeway !

several members ran out of gas almost immediatly after the light came on. so its VERY dangerous

 

I have a '99 SE. my light comes on with about 1/2 a gallon left. the light does fade esp going over hills, but it is clearly visible below the E on the gas gauge.

 

try going on a uphill, the gasoline shifts around and he light should come on

 

i drove as far as it could, on fumes, 17.8 gallons for the fill. the car was starving for fuel. good thing i was 1 mile from the pumps. The light was on all day and i wanted to press my luck.

 

In general, fuel injected vehicles guage reads empty early and the low gas idiot lights come on a gallon or two before the empty point. I've heard that's because if you run out of gas, and the fuel pump continues to cycle on an empty tank, you have a chance of burning out the fuel pump. The fuel running through the pump acts to cool it down under load. My 98 Max idiot light comes on 1-2 gallons before the tank is bone dry. Owners manual says tank capacity is 18.5 gal. I ran my tank dry once (fuel pump survived though) and only managed to put 17.5 gallons back in.

 

My light comes on every time (bad, I know) . .. so I know it works. Never had to fill up more than 16.5 gallons.

 

It should come on with 2 gallon left in the tank not 1/4 tank. You might have a weak ground somewhere or the line thing is broken and you get no pressure somewhere...

 

my light comes on with 2.5-3 gallons left...

 

I will say that it varies. In my 99 SE-L I sometimes get the light at some 1/10 of tank left. Other times, I don't get the light until it almost clears the E-line completely. Weird...

 

Running your gas tank down low enough to make the idiot light come on is foolish.

There's a reason people call them "IDIOT" lights!

 

My fuel Light works. It will come on if I have 2 gallons or less left. I try not to run my gas down that low. No fun to run out of gas on the highway.

 

Mine never comes on and I always have it on negative E. I'm broke and can't help it.

 

never seen mine go on, but my windshield fluid light vertainly works... btw, what do I do when it's on?

 

my light has never come on.. biggest fill was 380 miles at 16.3 gallons.. that was already below e.. didnt have the ***** to go any more

 

mine never came on...even at below E...got mine used like 2 yrs ago...so wat's up with the light not working on some maximas?

 

It sounds to me by looking at the "my light does not turn on " may be in 1995's they didn't have one
to do a test when you first turn the key on with in 2seconds all the lights that work should turn on I personally think the 95's don't come with one .......
Oh yeah dealers and any mechanic can say DON'T RUN YOUR CAR BELOW 1/4 OF A TANK...don't ask my fuel pump is not working after I run out of fuel !!!!!!!! he he ...

 

There is a variable resistor that is in the tank and it has a floating gizmo that works with the fuel gauge. Generally they are the same for all the cars with small differences. I would not try to find out how low can you go because a few reasons: there may be a bad light bulb and if you go too low,you may get all the garbage from the bottom of the tank plus you may find out how your car acts when the tank is dry. I would say that if you are over 400 miles,you should be looking for the pump.

 

i'm pretty sure that 95's do come with the warning light...there's a dot next to the "E" that i'm assuming is the light. What else is that black dot there for then?

 

I drive my car for 3 days or more with my light on and I never run out....although I have coasted in the gas station on fumes a few times.......usually it takes about a crank or two longer to start when the tank is low.....

 

lol...that's funny~!

 

My 95 has it and it works fine