diesel9119

you can drive on "E" with the gas light on... hehehehe... I know that the average max has an 18- 18.5 gallon tank (dependant upon gen.) ... my light comes on occasionally when i let it get that low.. (not very often, just a curiosity issue) and when i go to fill the tank it usually only takes 15ish gallons... does anyone know if the warning light come on that early?? Experiences are welcome!

-Randy

mzmtg

iTrader: (11)

I live and die by that light. On the freeway I'll usually go up to 20- miles with it on. Around town, not more than 10 or so. I have no idea how much gas is actually left though.

diesel9119

i know it's an easily solved question, but i guess that i've always been curious about how long you can go... regardless, that little light scares the **** out of me when it first comes on, then shuts off, then comes back.. etc.... i'm sure everyone knows what i mean... i can just picture myself walking to the nearest gas station with my MAX sitting helplessly on the egde of the road... bad news... hope it never happens...

mzmtg

iTrader: (11)

I usually head in for fuel when it first starts flashing, but if I'm in a hurry or broke, I'll push it.

Bad things can happen though. My fiance didnt even know she had a light on her 95 Nissan Pickup. I showed her that she did and since then she has used it as her reference as well. This last Sunday night, her light didnt come on and she ran out of gas on I-75 north in Atlanta. Luckily she was able to chug over to the shoulder and get to a gas station and get a gas can and call for a ride. Her father and I both asked her the same question as soon as we heard "Did you have your gun on you?" She didnt, but now she will carry it all the time. She stopped carrying it because she didnt want get pulled over and have a gun without a permit. Both her dad and me promised her that if she ever got arrested for having her gun on her, we'd bail her out ASAP.

diesel9119

it's crazy now days that you have to worry about people stopping to help you, let alone my girl being alone in that kind of a situation. wow... I guess it's one reason I gave my girlfriend a cell phone to carry in her car. Better safe than sorry, although keeping the gas tank full is good too! but tendencies, tendencies, tendencies... although i find myself doing it too I guess I'm fortunate that I've never had anything bad happen when I've had a flat tire / car trouble. "knock on wood"

Sonic

A container of Rescue, that non-flammable 'gas like' substance that can be bought at AutoZone or PepBoys, actually works well. I would highly recommend it to anyone going on a trip.

diesel9119

hey medicsonic..... ever used the "rescue gas"? or anyone else?? just curious... i do a lot of driving, and have had lots of close calls with fuel... my fault of course! oops...

Sonic

Yes, I had to once in my mother minivan. The stupid trip computer told me I had 0 Miles to Empty about 70 miles before I actually ran out of gas. Of couse I ignored the computer and ran out of gas. She had the Rescue in the car, and it actually got me another ~10 miles to the gas station. Of course, I didn't push the engine, but I didn't discern any noticable differnce in the engines character. NOTE: The engine MUST be warm for this 'inflammable gasoline' to work. It WILL NOT work if you run out of gas when the engine is cold.

diesel9119

cool.. sounds like a good preventative measure to stick in my trunk... hey, you never know... thanks for the info Medicsonic..

-Randy

Sonic

While there, please pick up flares. Those things are invaluable, and just might save your life one day.

gtr_rider

iTrader: (50)

this reminds me of that one seinfield epidisode where kramer and the salesmen take a test drive in a saab and drive it till it runs out of gas, LOL

GTR.

jman965765

iTrader: (1)

On my 96, I never saw the light on. The guage on my 00 will show a 1/4 tank left, then a few miles later the light will start blinking on and off, then come on to stay. I've probably gone twenty miles or so with the light completely on, but I don't think I've ever put more than 16 1/2 gallons in the tank at any one time. So it would seem that there is plenty of room for error, but I wouldn't risk it because I'm a big puss.

CandiMan

iTrader: (1)

Is it my or does it seems that the light will stay on longer while cruising on the hwy, but as soon as you get off it goes back to the on/off flashes. Is the warning light tied into the vehicle speed sensor some how? When you're on the hwy it doesn't know when you might be getting off, so the light stays on longer to get your attention. But on city streets, it assumes there might be a gas station within city limits so it will alternate the on/off light. Just my uneducated $0.02

GTNUKE

I have a '96 SE. If I fill up as soon as the light comes on, I can only put about 16 gallons of gas in. Once when I drove for two days with the light on (not many miles, but several starts), and when I finally did fill up I put 18.1 gallons in the tank. The '96 SE has an 18.5 gallon tank.
So for my car when the light first comes on I have about 2-2.5 gallons left. Depending on city or highway driving, this could be anywhere from 38 miles (2gal @ 19 mi/gal) to 72 miles (2.5gal @ 29 mi/gal) left before you completely run out of gas.

BTW, if I ever see the light come on, I head to the gas station ASAP, it's not worth risking it. However, if it's not practical to stop at the gas station soon, I feel confident in driving at least 40-50 miles (on the highway) before I really need to stop.

On long trips I love being able to drive 500 miles without stopping for gas, even driving 75 mph.