Mine comes on at 12.5 gallons used.
So that means I can drive 52 more miles in the city, or about 66 more miles on the freeway. (Based on my averages.)

 

I've notice that the light is not always consistent, but then again, I don't fill up at the same gas station or the same pump every time. I've noticed that some pumps stop pumping gas sooner than other pumps and that usually varies the amount of gas that I can cram into a "full" tank.

 

The gauge is not equal either. If you look, the last 1/4 marked on the face is a bit smaller than the others to make room for reserve.

I have driven 50-60 miles with the light on... mainly because the station I was going to stop at was shut down... I was a bit nervous by the next stop.

If you run below 1/4, you may feel it cut out on hard corners. I ran into this in autox last summer during a test n tune.

 

^^ thank god for this thread since 1/8 or less for HIN (stupidest rule ever, but eh)

 

No, you could drive ALOT more than 50 miles if you drove conservativley. The tank capacity is listed at 14.5, but it can hold a little more than that.. Manufacturers NEVER measure the capacity to the limit.. they have to be conservative in their measurements. So 14.5 means there's still a little more room left at the top..

The reason for this: gasoline EXPANDS when hot.. that's why the fuel gauge goes down a little over night.. it drops in temperature, so it contracts a little. So to be safe.. car makers have to account for the gas EXPANDING when you fill to the limit.. From a legal standpoint, think of it like this: if you were to drain your gas tank.. and then filled up with exactly 14.5 gallons of COLD gasoline.. if that REALLY was the MAX capacity, then if you let your car sit out in the sun (say, 100 degree weather), the gas will expand, and could potentially spill out of the cap, or worse, cause your fuel cap to pop off... and then you could SUE the car manufacturer for damages (or injury if someone got hurt from this)..

SO, all i'm saying is 14.5 doesn't really mean 14.5.. it's more like 14.7-14.9

I drove for ~80 miles AFTER the fuel light came on.. when i filled up, I was able to get 14.446 gallons into my tank. I never felt the car sputtering or felt like it was losing power when i turned or accelerated/braked... So there was definitely more than 0.06 gallons left in my tank.

--[/b][/i]

 

Yeah, more than 14.5 if you want it filled up into the filler neck and into the vent line system. You should not fill it that far. Fill it till the first click and call it good.

And max capacity has nothing to do with how much is left when the light comes on. The car doesnt measure what you have used subtracted from 14.5, it measures how much is left in the tank, which will be the same regardless of how much the tank can actually hold.

Sure, if you are driving particularly conservative, and the car is running at its best efficiency (the car NEVER gets the same mileage from time to time, or even through one tank) you may squeeze more miles after the light comes on, but you arent very smart to do so, since it is you that is stuck on the side of the road when the tank runs dry.

 

last week i installed an air raid throttle body spacer it cost about 120 dollars and took me 35 minutes to install i just fueled up today and then checked my mpg. i went from 24.3 mpg to 28.6 mpg! im pretty stoked on it. i now get roughly 400 miles to a tank of gas. and thats a mixture of city and highway driving.

 

I have heard that it is bad for the fuel pump when you run it close to empty.

again this is what i have heard, it could be wrong.

the fuel pump is submerged at the bottom of the tank, the gas around it keeps the pump cool. when you are running on fumes, the pump gets warmer because of the lack of gas to cool it off. also, it cuts the pump life when air gets sucked into the pump.

any truth to this? i dont know for sure but it sounds reasonable.

 

Probably a cone shape.

 

I think r means refuel..Diffeence in opinions. ;)

 

hahahah the R stands for reserve.

 

I was wondering.

does the light ever turn from yellow to red when you are really low on gas?

 

I was wondering.

does the light ever turn from yellow to red when you are really low on gas?

 

I don't know tell you the truth.

 

it stays same color, i have run mine to the point it was choppy on hills and turns...

 

The light changes color.

Orange = low fuel
Red = really low fuel
Purple = no fuel
Blue = call a tow truck
Yellow = don't be so stoopid next time

 

i put gas in my car when it sputters when i turn right out of my work... but EVERY car i know does the same thing, when the gauge gets to R and the light comes on u have about 20% of ur fuel left. and it so u dont run it to empty and it really be empty, that would suck for alot of people.