The only time I get to drive my wife's car is when the fuel light is on, and I have to go fill it up. Still on the original pump after hundreds of fill-ups with the light on. On the other hand, the car is almost 100lbs lighter near empty and gets better mileage, and acceleration.
Driving With The The Low Fuel Light On......
- Thread starter albertson
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As long as the pickup is submerged and fuel is going through the fuel pump, it is being cooled. The pump body does not need to be immersed in fuel for proper cooling of the pump. The only real problem here is actually running out of gas which sends air through the fuel pump (potential overheat of the pump motor) and potentially damages the fuel injectors because they are designed to inject fuel, not air.
When the gas light comes on in my Tacoma, it has approx 3.5 gallons left in the 21-gallon tank. In the 12+ years I've owned this truck, maybe 3-4 times I have driven it an additional 40-50 miles after the light came on, the needle was way below the E mark, still ran perfectly fine. Last time when I finally did fill the tank, it took 19.8 gallons which means there was approx 1.2 gallons left in the tank. Now 175,000+ ODO miles and no problems. I won't make a habit of doing this, but once in a while will not break anything. I have also noticed the lighter vehicle weight when driving with a near-empty tank... better handling and better performance all-around.
When the gas light comes on in my Tacoma, it has approx 3.5 gallons left in the 21-gallon tank. In the 12+ years I've owned this truck, maybe 3-4 times I have driven it an additional 40-50 miles after the light came on, the needle was way below the E mark, still ran perfectly fine. Last time when I finally did fill the tank, it took 19.8 gallons which means there was approx 1.2 gallons left in the tank. Now 175,000+ ODO miles and no problems. I won't make a habit of doing this, but once in a while will not break anything. I have also noticed the lighter vehicle weight when driving with a near-empty tank... better handling and better performance all-around.
I think the answer is that whatever you are doing is right, and anyone else who does something different is wrong. Well, at least that's how this thread reads to me.
I have no problem driving until the low fuel light comes on (and even remember my first car that had no such light...). Scenarios that play into that or behaving differently include topping off in a rising price environment, knowing fuel is cheaper in the location I'm in now versus the one I'm driving to (Like when I go to Canada to fish..), cold or other inclement weather, or knowing I'm entering an area where gas stations are sparse.
On top of that, there is some acknowledgment of what I am driving. At a 1/4 of a tank, my truck still has 9 gallons in the tank, good for 150+ more miles. That's nearly 1/2 the range of a full tank on my other vehicle...
Do what works for you. Worry less about everyone else...
I have no problem driving until the low fuel light comes on (and even remember my first car that had no such light...). Scenarios that play into that or behaving differently include topping off in a rising price environment, knowing fuel is cheaper in the location I'm in now versus the one I'm driving to (Like when I go to Canada to fish..), cold or other inclement weather, or knowing I'm entering an area where gas stations are sparse.
On top of that, there is some acknowledgment of what I am driving. At a 1/4 of a tank, my truck still has 9 gallons in the tank, good for 150+ more miles. That's nearly 1/2 the range of a full tank on my other vehicle...
Do what works for you. Worry less about everyone else...
It isn't the light itself that causes failure, it's what comes afterward: The car sputters and dies and the driver keeps trying to get it to run long enough to make it to the gas station. Do that enough times and the pump will die prematurely.
Well I’m a bit absent minded in that regard, I’ve done it probably three times in the ECHO and once in my old Sienna. Fortunately it only actually ran out once.
I don't even think about refueling until the "get gas" light comes on. Long term habit. Never replaced a fuel pump.
Only time I let my vehicles run below 1/4 is when running a fuel system cleaner and then I run it till fuel light illuminates. Wife on the other hand --- not so much soo.
The fuel is always “picked up” from the same location in the tank…FULL or near empty. If sediment is there? It’s going to be picked up regardless of fuel level.
Sounds right, to me.
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An electric fuel pump is cooled internally by the fuel. So as long as it doesnt pick up air due to very low fuel in the tank it doent care.
remember the same fuel pump can be run in the tank can also be run outside the tank with the appropriate plumbing. Bosch used to do this on several German cars. Same pump, different wireing connections.
remember the same fuel pump can be run in the tank can also be run outside the tank with the appropriate plumbing. Bosch used to do this on several German cars. Same pump, different wireing connections.
I’ve waited until the fuel light comes on to full up tons of times, did it yesterday in fact, and even flat ran out of fuel a time or two… Never lost a fuel pump or ruined a fuel filter.
Not to say it could happen but it has never happened to me. Probably not the best of practices but also probably not the end of world either.
Not to say it could happen but it has never happened to me. Probably not the best of practices but also probably not the end of world either.
I would rather wait till fuel light turns on too. That way the float gets to move to its full range of motion and not wear unevenly.
Half a tank, always. Assuming a 400 mile range, at worst I’ll have ~200 miles in case of an emergency.
I fill up around indicated 1/2 tank as well. Usually it's closer to 3/5 or 2/3 by the volume that's added. Only once have I had to get on the road & go to my destination asap (daughter's birth) though.
The burning pumps out thing is likely way over-feared. Some designs carry the fuel through them. Others have them inside a can kept full of fuel by a bournoulli effect jet, keeping the pump bathed. The ones I’ve had apart have been brushed DC motors, which aren’t very sensitive to heat. They all failed from the brushes wearing down. Newer ones might be digital motors without brushes? I know Volvo uses a pwm fuel pump controller to vary its output, which could very well mean they are brushless, with fewer moving parts?
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