I'm just curious as to why the low-fuel light comes on SO late in these great cars. Wouldn't it make more sense for them to come on, maybe at 1/4 tank and beep every 1/16 after that? I mean come on.. my dad's '91 Grand Caravan does that!!

 

It took me a while to get used to it also... the light in my Accord could be on for almost a week of normal use and I wouldn't worry about it. Now when that light blinks I head straight for the gas station... although I have been below the E slash on a few occasions.

 

That beeping for the whole last 1/4 tank must get annoying. I like just fine that it comes on with 2 - 3 gallons left. That gives me 60 or so miles to fill up. Plenty of time.

 

You would ignore it if it came on really early. I like the fact that when it litghts up, I actually NEED gas.

 

The beeping doesn't get annoying, as it only happens 4 times before the tank is empty. It's hard to ignore.

Here's what I don't understand. Supposedly the light comes on when there's 2 gallons left in the tank. Since the tank holds 16 gallons, that would be at about the 1/8 marker, right? But the light comes on when the needle is below Empty (not just on my '95 GXE, on my friend's '94 SE as well). I do not understand how there could possibly be 2 gallons left in the tank. I pay close attention to my gas consumption anyway, but I'm afraid to keep close tabs on the guage in case it tells me when it's too late to get more gas.

 

The tank actually holds 18.5 gallons, not 16. You probably notice the light come on, fill up, and only add 16 gallons. That's because the light comes on with about 2.5 gallons left in the tank (or 16 gallons consumed). Don't pay attention to where the E is on the gauge in relation to the tank being completely empty. The gauge will read E when you still have some gas in the tank. Almost all new (<5 years old) cars are like this, the manufacturer doesn't want you running out of gas. My light comes on with around 2.5 gallons left and the needle is practically on the E mark. My gauge will read "E" with about 2 gallons of gas left in the tank.

 

I believe Dodge made the fuel guage accurate about 3 years ago, and people kept complaining that they were getting 'horrible' gas mileage after that (the needle would come off of F rather quickly), so they went back to the tested and true inaccurate fuel guage. Most are designed to stay at F for about 100 miles.

 

Yeah, medicsonic makes a good point. Usually gas gauges stay of F for several gallons, and show E with a couple of gallons left. I can imagine that people would complain if the gauge was actually accurate. I would actually rather have the accurate gauge, but I just want to know that it was accurate when I purchased the car.

BTW, does anyone have any experience with trip computers on cars? When they tell you how much gas you have left, or how many miles you can go until empty, do they give you info based on real values or "gauge" values? It would be pretty funny to check your trip computer, see that you have 2.5 gallons and 60 miles to go on a tank. And still show your fuel gauge reading empty and the fuel light on.

 

when my fuel light comes on, it means i'm about to get out and push the car. good thing i have a fuel pressure gauge. when i see the needle start to quiver, i know i gotta get gas in the next few min, lol. the light comes on after the needle passes E.

 

Thank you for the education, guys.. I was wondering whether the tank was truly only 16 gallons.

 

I heard it's best to have at least 1/4 tank of gas, because it is also used to cool down the fuel pump.

 

I have had the car for over a year and have gotten very close the the E and no light or sound...i hope mine works..


Erik
tifosiv122@hotmail.com

 

This has been addressed by Daniel B. Martin many times. The simple answer:
Yes, the fuel does cool the fuel pump.
No, you don't need 1/4 of a tank.
No, you won't pick up crap from the fuel tank when the tank is low.
As long as there is "some" fuel in the tank, the fuel pump is cooled.
In other words, it is bad to completely run out of gas but it won't hurt to be low on gas. I'm sure that as long as you have at least 1/2 of a gallon in the tank, you are not hurting anything. Of course if you are that low, you are risking running out of gas, and that can cause problems. Not to mention the pain of walking to a gas station