Hi Guys..... Anyone know how big/little it is???? How many miles can I go when the light goes on and it is completely out of gas

 

Uh, sorry. You don't have a reserve tank. Passenger cars only come with one gas tank, unless you put a second one in yourself.

What manufacturers do is approximate the guage to tell you when you have about 1 gallon of fuel left. This is not calibrated, it is only a courtesy indicator. My daughters car runs dry in 5 miles, my wife's car goes about 55 miles. My xB? Who knows. I follow the Scion manual and don't let it get below 1/4 tank. If you do I would expect you to be able to go 25 to 30 miles with that fuel warning light on.

If you want to test it go ahead, just carry a gallon of gas with you. But it is harmful to fuel pumps if they pump fumes.

 

Try searching. I recall that you can make it ~50 miles on the light, but like UBOW said, fill it up quick. I have hit the light once. Fill it up at 1/4 tank and all is good, plus its fun to say it takes just 10 gallons to fill it up. Additionally, you don't want whatever has settled into the bottom of the tank to go through the engine.

 

If we think about it, what's at the bottom of the tank in the way of sediment is just as likely to get sucked up when the tank is full, as when empty. The fuel pick up is from near the bottom of the tank. There is a screen and also a filter. Relax? Well, don't run dry. I don't suppose it hurts a fuel pump to lose it's prime... unless that lost prime proves hard to regain.

 

Yeah, people who say "dont let the fuel run down" dont know what they are talking about. Gas stations filter thier fuel several times before its pumped into your car.
and your tank is plastic, so no need to worry about sediments!

When I fill up when the light is on, It usually takes 10 gallons, And we have a 11.9 gallon tank- leaving about 2 gallons in reserve-

SO YOU CAN GO ABOUT 65 MILES!!

 

Made it a little over 60 miles after low fuel light came on....Took 11.7 gallons to fill it. This was not done on purpose so I don't recommend cutting it as close as I did. I Would think that it comes on at around 2 gallons of fuel left but thats just a gestimate seeing I made it over 60 miles (atleast 30 miles to the gallon). I have an automatic just fyi.

 

rule of thumb. we get about 31mpg city right? (mine's a MT) but either way. 25miles at most w/the light on.. either way. fill it up as soon as you can.. ~~but i only fit 9.1~9.2 gal when the light comes on... hmmm

 

I went 55 hwy miles and filled up at 11.4... it was all by accident though, didnt know that there was a 50 mile strech of abosolutly nothing. kinda scary, knowing i had no clue where i was at

 

So, you trust some flunky who makes minimum wage to change the filters regularly and on time to protect your car?

Your tank will eventually get deposits in it. The more gas you keep in your tank the greater the dispersion and the easier it will be on your fuel filter. If the dispersion is too low you will see the fuel filter and injectors clog sooner rather than later. Not in the first 50k miles of the car but around 100k and later.

It is true that it depends on where you shop for gas. If they are religious about keeping their filters clean you have no worries. I don't take those kind of chances.

 

No I dont trust those who make minimum wage, but I trust the owner personally!

I alway get Chevron gas, they use techron, and filter thier tanks well.

not to mention that are fuel pumps in our Scions actually have a "fuel filter" Gee, Imagine that!

 

40-50 should be OK

 

What (@#$*()$ is techron? Oh wait, I think I know. . . I heard about it in my chemistry class. . . I think they called a MARKETING PLOY. I'm sure I'll find it on the periodic table next to bolognium and bullpoopsium.

 

Techron is just a cleaner additive. Mobil, Exxon, Shell, etc. all have their own and each are a little different but essentially do the same thing. So yeah, you are right, it is marketing but no different than if Apple marketed OS X by saying no viruses and no anti-virus software, no spyware, no adware needed.

I do use Chevron too. 'Cuz I have the card and the mfr's use it to test their cars for federal mpg testing to maximize their results.

 

My MOPED has a reserve tank of half a gallon. After you run out of gas you throw a lever which will dump the half gallon into the rest of the tank. Cars need to recycle and filter fumes from a gas tank and they want to only install 1 charcol filter. It is much cheaper to add a sensor to detect low fuel level and light up a dashboard idoit light.

 

11.9 gallons... my light comes on with 3 gallons of fuel left.. which means around 90 miles left.

Generally though, I go by the trip meter...
11gx30mpg = 330miles, then accounting for the .9 gallons and variations in gas consumption.. you get roughly 350 miles per tank (safely)...

sooo, don't let it go over 350,
so, 350 - X (current trip meter reading) = the amount of miles you have left.

 

The card deal is definitely a pro for chevron. . . and for that reason, I could definitely understand.