ok....check the sceanario..thursday night, coming home my gas light thing comes on....i hit reset to set the tach [it is the tach rite?] to 0...today, friday coming home from school, dropping a friend off i have about 40 miles after the light came on...now, earlier i was pushing it pretty hard for bout 5 mins or less cuz i was sem-racing my friend w/ a audi 2.8...i have pushed about 60 miles after the indicator came on before, so i figured 40 miles is nothing..also, ever since i got my car, ive estimated that the light comes on w/ 3 gallons left in the tank...on the way to dropping my friend off, there is a gradually incling hill, and on the way up i was pushing about 40mph, about 3/4s the way, i see my rpms just completely drop off and i can no longer accelerate, so i push the pedal a couple times and im thinkn oh ****, im outta gas, but then the car starts accelerating again, andthen once again stops for a few seconds and then accelerates....so i get to the top of the inlcine and pull over...turn the car off for a couple seconds, and turn it back on....i pull into the nearest gas station and fill up $2 cuz it was 76unocal.....was this just a gas thing cuz i was on an incline or sumthing else up? help a brother out...thanks
atw

 

sounds right, i do not know where in a 5th gen the fuel line comes out of the gas tank, but it is possible on the incline that you could have gotten some mixture of air and gas into your fuel line and then then fed it to a fuel injector. i do not run my car to far below the 1/4 mark. but thats just me

 

bad fuel pump? doubt it, but just a thought

 

well, i'm no mechanic, but i'm assuming this hasn't ever happened when you've had gas in your tank right? just don't let it get too dry and see if it repeats. if it does, then start looking for answers. this just sounds like you were low on gas.

 

wait...someone once told me that..running on super empty causes air to get sucked in with the fuel from the gas tank...which causes too lean of a mixture..in turn burning your injectors or something....*Shrug* just a thought....

 

You are actually right about NOT wanting to do it to a point where you get air into the line, cause then you are causing Injector failure and false piston movement without gas/air mixture. NOT the greatest amount of damage, but it is still something. Just like not using synthetic, causes damage in the starting when you start the car since there is no lubrication until the oil pump kicks in.

 

Definitely low on gas. I've almost ran out completely out of gas on numerous occasions hehe. I've actually filled up 16.6x gallons before and the tank is supposed to be only 16.5 =) Next time you're low on gas notice how if you're going uphill the gas indicator will come on a lot more often and stay on longer than if you were going downhill or on level ground.

 

hahah u were running on fumes.. i've had a crx run outa gas while getting smoged.

 

man o man...im just about to buy a 2002 Se Max when the 6speed hits the showroom floor..i've been waiting since last year..and i've got a good job..and some cash saved so i can pay the 25 thousand or so....but damn...i'd imagine with us driving nice expensive classy cars..that we can afford gas?!...whats up with that?

 

a maxima fuel's tank is 18.5 Gallons...not 16.5

 

thats happend to me a couple times before. the one specific time I can remember I had been driving on E (gas light on ) for longer than I should have. I had to get on the interstate which the onramp had a pretty good incline.My bright idea was to floor it, while going up the onramp. and my whole car paused just how you described..I rememberd I was almost out of gas and drew the conclusion that it hesitated because the little gas It had was sloshed to the rear of the tank and the engine wasnt getting the nice steady flow of gas it needs. Thats probly one of the reasons the gas light comes on so soon.Im sure you already know, but its bad to let your tank get that low. not to mention the exact same thing has happend to me in other vehicles while on E.