So i drove my max all the way to empty on the gauge and was just pulling into my house and the gas light turned on and then faded away very slowly like it was going out. Is it normal for it to fade and it progressively gets brighter as the tank gets more empty?

I know Its not to healthy for the fuel system to do drive on nearly empty. But i do it as a precaution so no-one can drive my car while im gone for 2 weeks. And there is no point of filling it up and having it evaporate in this crazy heat we have been getting.

And last of all how many miles can i expect if my light is just about to turn on? I just saw a faint amber light that resembeled a gas pump. I never drive my car to this point ususally.

 

The light will fade in and out, when the gas in the tank is sloshing around. I don't think its bad on the fuel system unless you let it run completly out on a regular basis. Not sure how far you can go w/ the light on, I don't have the ***** to try it, but I would think around 25-30mi

 

You can't go far at all once the light turns on, my friend thought he at least had enough to get to work, nope, it died on him.

If my light ever turns on usually I go into panic mode trying to find a gas station ASAP.

 

Be careful when driving on empty, how long you can go depends on your gas mileage. Gas mileage varies from Maxima to Maxima depending on the condition.(Knock sensors, O2 sensors, spark plugs/coil packs, filters, etc.) If all those parts are good it maximizes how far you can go per gallon. In general most should be able to go about 35 miles when the light comes on. My light turns on when I have around 2 gallons of gas left. I wouldn't suggest trying to run it all the way out though just because of the probability of you getting stuck on the side of the road. Embarrassing.

 

^^ yeh thats true, same wit my max. I kno wen my max light comes on it fades away couple of times and comes back but once that light stays on after a couple of miles, Thats wen i start trying to get to a gas station asap.

 

Yes, this is normal

This would be an interesting experiment. 20/20 just did a special program on this, and the guy was able to drive something like 63 miles from the time his low gas light came on!

All: it's only ok to run out of gas once in a while. Don't make a habit out of this, as it's bad for the engine.

Check out these links:

http://www.tankonempty.com/

http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/23014

 

Awesome. Thanks for sharing that.

 

My light will come on and then go back off too. It's just like when I start up the car it's on a line, then I drive for a while and it goes up a little.

 

In theory, it's bad to run on empty because the fuel pump is on the bottom of the tank, and it's suppose to be cooled by the gas; when the gas is almost gone, there's no more cooling for the fuel pump which can lead to it overheating and getting "fried". I don't know about Maximas but for G20s this is a real problem.

I hope this helps!

P.S. Do you remember that Seinfeld episode?

 

since i have a second car iv only filled up maybe 2x since i got the car 4 years ago... anywho.. yea its true, when he needle is on the last black bar you can go like 45 more miles city w/o any problems...


i would not recommend doing i ran out of gas like that a couple of times driving to the gas station...

 

Over the time owning my Maxima I have checked the low fuel light a long with the fuel gauge by filling up at each interval. I actually drove about 50 miles with the light on before I knew how much fuel was actually in there.

Between Full tank and when the gauge reads right on full there is roughly about 2.8-3 gallons of gas.

Between Full and 3/4 unknown

Between Full tank and 1/2 about 10 to 11

Between Full tank and 1/4 there are about 14.5 to 15 gallons in the tank so 3 to 3.5 left

And the low fuel light has varied for me it is about 2.6 to 1.9

Believe it or not just as the gauge can read above full it can read below empty but trust me you don't have long I would guess when your right on E you have about .7 gallons left never tested.

These results vary because gas station pumps don't shut off at full. Every Sonoco I go to I swear it tries to top off my tank so they can sell the most fuel

 

When mine reads empty I have about 2 to 3 gallons left. That's when my fuel light comes on. Really though, it can vary from Maxima to Maxima from what I've read in this thread.

Be careful about asking other Maxima drivers how far you can go. The best way to find out is to do the math and see how many gallons you have left when you fill up, find out your mpg by using this formula- how many miles you drove on the tank/the amount of gas used=MPG. And of course how much gas you used is about what you put into the tank. Take how many gallons you have left and multply it by your MPG and then you have a rough estimate of how far you can go. Of course, everyone here probably knows this but I have found that I have had to spell it out for some people. This is the best way to find out without getting stranded.

 

i have a 95 maxima. my low gas indicator light isn't working. is there a fuse i need to replace (if so which one) and also what size are the lights above the front seats?

 

same here... about a year ago my low fuel indicator light just stopped workin altogether. anyone know how this could be fixed?

 

well im too scared to run my gas that low so i dont even know if my light works. i went to 265 and it was right on E but i topped it off and it only took 14.5 gallons so that means i had 4 gallons so who knows...

 

one time it came on and i filled up and had 3 gallons left. the other time it came on i drove about 20 miles and...ran out of gas! 20 miles on 3 gallons?! oh well, live and learn.

 

My low fuel light is ALWAYS on (for about a month now), even on a full tank! WTF

 

I've come to distrust low fuel lights on any car. My Maxima's use to work fairly accurately, but then I filled up one day before it came on and realized I had less than a 1/2 gallon in the tank. Not sure when it's supposed to come on, but I would think with like 2 or 3 gallons left at least.

Best way to avoid this is to track the mileage of each tank. Most of us probably do the same type of driving week in and week out and have a good idea the range of our tanks. When I hit about 350 to 360, I start looking for the next station.

 

Bumping this because I have the same problem as I've quoted.

I had the fuel light come on about a month ago when I had a half tank.
Two days ago, the light came on again at 2/3 tank, went on and off, then finally stayed on. I filled the tank, and the light has been stuck on since.

Is this an indication of an issue? Is it just a switch (possibly on the floater/pump) that could be sticking/damaged/corroded, etc?
I've searched around and haven't been able to get any indication of this issue.

Thanks in advance guys, I'm sure this has been covered.

Matty

 

Interesting thread. I have almost 165K on my 97' and my light will glow on/off as it nears TRUE reservoir. But when it's on SOLID, I have at least 30 miles in the tank. With my mods/driving, I get at least 400mi before the glow light comes on. But tank will sometimes take a bit over the 16.5 gal max the tank is supposed to be....and one time at a F*&%in Sunoco...took 18+ gals!??!

 

anyone able to tell me why the light is stuck on?? I don't want the freaking bulb to burn out, I want it fixed... any help?

 

no one?

 

FWIW the A32 tank has an 18.5 gallon capacity.

 

Im a Broke college student and i can say that i drive with the light on Alll the time... Tormenting me... and personally i have driven almost 90 Miles from the Time the Needle Hit E to the time i hit the gas station, Now! LET ME PUT A LIL DISCLAIMER HERE, Im not sure that this is normal but when my needle gets to E it doesnt turn the gas light on Immediately, and I was driving 50 Mph from the time the Gas Light Actually came on to the time i hit the gas station, which equated to probably 45 miles? So have No fear, unless your Gas light is broken, Ha.

:Edit: Proof hahaha look below!

 

yea when my needle hits right on E, i have about 20-25 miles before the light starts to come on. it usually fades in and out a couple times, then goes solid. but the other day i drove 30 miles with light on and when i got to the gas station it was the brightest ive ever seen it get lol.. so when the light starts to come on (or fade in and out) , i would estimate around 1.5 gallons left... definitely not 3 gallons like someone said in a previous post.

 

The light depends on how you drive, because gas is not a solid, it tends to move around a bit.

The light in my car (and my previous 01 maxima) came on around 2 gallons.

On roadtrips (such as the one I just took), when it came on it STAYED on, and it was at exactly 2 gallons.

While driving around in the city, it flickers on and off or so around 2.5 gallons, and stays on once I'm below 2 gallons.

To keep it short and simple, the light comes on when you have 2 gallons left in the tank.

::Edit::
It is damn near impossible to figure out the corellation between the light and the needle dropping, and it is completely DIFFERENT from F to the first movement of the gauge (that's 3 gallons). I've had times when the light came on within minutes of dropping to E, and I've had other times where i've driven 30 minutes before the light came on....

 

I'm sooo glad it took a full 2 years to reach that conclusion

But thank you aackshun full putting all of that together for us lesser beings!

 

i've noticed that on my 99 the gas light is dim when lit. On my moms 95 max its bright and clear. Anyone with a 99 have the same issue?