Remaining Fuel when your vehicle shows “E”
- Thread starter The Critic
- Start date
For anyone who has a Ram with the 32 gallon tank option, the sending unit is the same as the one on the standard 26 gallon tank. The computer doesn't know the difference and the low fuel light comes on with 6 or more gallons still in the tank. It's a bit frustrating as the dealer can not flash the PCM to correct it on certain years and the remote start will not work. What's even dumber is the remote start will crank the engine and then shut it off after it starts in this condition.
I think both my Cruzes and F150’s had 2-3 gallons once the range hits 0.
Most of the late model pumps I’ve been around have the pump in a cup that holds fuel around the pump, and the pump weeps fuel into the cup. As long as the pump is pumping, the pump will be externally cooled.
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This was posted on Club Lexus, there is a TSB for it.
https://static.oemdtc.com/NHTSA-PDFs/MC-11032485-0001.pdf
What additive/conditioner do you use?
Compounding one popular myth with another myth.
Yep - it just came out. Coincidentally, 4 days after I started this thread.
As others have said, Toyota tends to be very conservative, as far as claimed miles-to-empty and gauge indication vs. actual.
The claimed capacity of my Prius fuel tank is 11.9 gallons, which I assume is to the level at which a pump clicks off. (At least two more gallons can be coaxed in, but I stop at 1.5 gallons.) The last remaining segment of the low-resolution fuel gauge bar graph beeps once and begins to blink when about 9.3 gallons is needed to fill the tank to first click-off. Therefore, that theoretically leaves 2.6 gallons (normally >150 miles) of reserve. There's no low fuel warning light, or any other further warning.
At the other extreme, when my old Chevrolet's fuel gauge reached E, the tank was indeed empty. That happened a few times.
One never really knows accurately how much is left without having tested by running out. I actually did that on my Mazda, not by getting stranded on the roadside, but in a safe parking spot, by letting it pump itself dry through the fuel return line, measuring the fuel thus captured, filling up, and doing the math.
The claimed capacity of my Prius fuel tank is 11.9 gallons, which I assume is to the level at which a pump clicks off. (At least two more gallons can be coaxed in, but I stop at 1.5 gallons.) The last remaining segment of the low-resolution fuel gauge bar graph beeps once and begins to blink when about 9.3 gallons is needed to fill the tank to first click-off. Therefore, that theoretically leaves 2.6 gallons (normally >150 miles) of reserve. There's no low fuel warning light, or any other further warning.
At the other extreme, when my old Chevrolet's fuel gauge reached E, the tank was indeed empty. That happened a few times.
One never really knows accurately how much is left without having tested by running out. I actually did that on my Mazda, not by getting stranded on the roadside, but in a safe parking spot, by letting it pump itself dry through the fuel return line, measuring the fuel thus captured, filling up, and doing the math.
I was towing a SxS from Long Beach CA to Mohave Valley AZ with my 2016 Tacoma V6/6spd and had an opportunity to test the accuracy of the gauge and warning system.
Usually I can make this trip with about 3/8 of a tank remaining....towing my low profile 19' boat (the only thing sticking above the tailgate is the outboard)....about 1/4 tank remaining.....so I didn't really think about fuel until I passed the last gas station on the 40 before Needles....then I looked down, saw the gauge on "E" and it said I had 50 miles remaining. As luck would have it lol, it's about 40 miles to Needles from there. Then I hit the last climb on I40 and the "miles remaining" started to drop rather significantly. The SxS was full of fuel and I had some boxes of boat crap in the truck with a bunch of fuel line and a pump ball....so it wasn't so much a concern as it was a mission now. I dropped to about 50mph going up the hill and sucked in about 10 feet behind a truck, then kicked it into neutral for the coast down the hill....grabbing a gear when I needed a bit of engine braking. When I pulled into the first gas station in Needles the display said I had 3 miles remaining. Now, gas in Needles is about $2/gallon higher than the rest of CA, and gas across the bridge in AZ is less than 1/2 the price of gas in Needles, so I grabbed a gallon at $7.29 and drove across the bridge where I added another 19.8 gallons at $3.59. The tank should hold 21.1 gallons....so I had somewhere in the neighborhood of a quart of fuel left when I got off the freeway. If the bridge had 2 lanes in each direction I'd have tried my luck....but I didn't want to run out of fuel and block one direction on the bridge...which is where it would undoubtedly happen.
The SxS has a solid windshield and sat high on the flatbed so it was like having a piece of plywood strapped upright to the back of the truck for 270 miles....that explains the poor fuel economy lol.....I hadn't considered that when I embarked on my journey.
Usually I can make this trip with about 3/8 of a tank remaining....towing my low profile 19' boat (the only thing sticking above the tailgate is the outboard)....about 1/4 tank remaining.....so I didn't really think about fuel until I passed the last gas station on the 40 before Needles....then I looked down, saw the gauge on "E" and it said I had 50 miles remaining. As luck would have it lol, it's about 40 miles to Needles from there. Then I hit the last climb on I40 and the "miles remaining" started to drop rather significantly. The SxS was full of fuel and I had some boxes of boat crap in the truck with a bunch of fuel line and a pump ball....so it wasn't so much a concern as it was a mission now. I dropped to about 50mph going up the hill and sucked in about 10 feet behind a truck, then kicked it into neutral for the coast down the hill....grabbing a gear when I needed a bit of engine braking. When I pulled into the first gas station in Needles the display said I had 3 miles remaining. Now, gas in Needles is about $2/gallon higher than the rest of CA, and gas across the bridge in AZ is less than 1/2 the price of gas in Needles, so I grabbed a gallon at $7.29 and drove across the bridge where I added another 19.8 gallons at $3.59. The tank should hold 21.1 gallons....so I had somewhere in the neighborhood of a quart of fuel left when I got off the freeway. If the bridge had 2 lanes in each direction I'd have tried my luck....but I didn't want to run out of fuel and block one direction on the bridge...which is where it would undoubtedly happen.
The SxS has a solid windshield and sat high on the flatbed so it was like having a piece of plywood strapped upright to the back of the truck for 270 miles....that explains the poor fuel economy lol.....I hadn't considered that when I embarked on my journey.
The fear of "burning out a fuel pump" due to running a gas tank low is 2nd only to the fear of oil viscosities.
I have heard this fear expressed since I became a driver in 1980...and yet...in all my years as a motorist I have never heard one single incidence of this actually happing.
I am NOT saying its impossible. I am 100% sure someone will quickly jump on and try to blame any fuel pump failure on it, but the pumps will sometime fail regardless just like any other mechanical part.
If it was going to happen, it would have with me. In 40+ years of driving, I have ran my vehicles down to fumes more times than I can count, and...absolutely nothing.
I have heard this fear expressed since I became a driver in 1980...and yet...in all my years as a motorist I have never heard one single incidence of this actually happing.
I am NOT saying its impossible. I am 100% sure someone will quickly jump on and try to blame any fuel pump failure on it, but the pumps will sometime fail regardless just like any other mechanical part.
If it was going to happen, it would have with me. In 40+ years of driving, I have ran my vehicles down to fumes more times than I can count, and...absolutely nothing.
Definitely. A kid I knew in high-school had an identical 1984 Honda Accord that died in the parking lot one day. He drove it low on gas all the time.
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My two cents ( I think that is what my Canadian dollar is currently worth to your American dollar) is that I try to avoid running on fumes.
Also read that on average, vehicle manufacturers have a '' You about to run outta gas, you moron!'' safety factor with a two gallon reserve when that yellow Low fuel light comes on.
Trust me, I've had my low fuel light comes on dozens of times per year as I live in the most expensive city in north America to buy gasoline for your vehicle (Vancouver Canada....do a Gasbuddy search. ...$2.09 to $2.21 per liter now).
But I don't push it , my 2.5L /4cyl. Japanese SUV with Auto in fwd mode I think gets about 20 mpg city/ 26 mpg hwy (when new), my engine is very clean, fresh fluids/filter/transmission fluid clean, no accurate scientific testing on what i'm actually getting, it just does not feel like a gas hog for something the size of a rav4.
If i'm having a quiet day and not much going on, I might drive locally in my city to my library or grocery store and back with the yellow light on, but eventually I will go put in $15-$20 of fuel in the truck. If I know I have places to go, it will be either half or a full tank.
I have not been on any road trip for at least ten years, but whenever I did, I filled up in the morning before I left and where I was going was 400-500 klms away, I know I could make it on one full tank, regardless i'd pull over if I was at the 1/4 mark, especially because gas was/is always much cheaper further from my city And i'm driving thru the mountains, long stretches of nothingness/ no gas stations between little towns . Lately i've been carrying an empty 5 liter scepter Jerry gas can in my rear cargo hold. I was thinking Incase I did go somewhere further out past the city limits and I really did run outta gas, maybe I could flag another motorist down and get a ride to the nearest gas station. I could fill it, prior to going anywhere, but i'm 99.9% in the city. And I'm trying to avoid the smell of gas fumes in the cabin or risk of fire, etc.
Also read that on average, vehicle manufacturers have a '' You about to run outta gas, you moron!'' safety factor with a two gallon reserve when that yellow Low fuel light comes on.
Trust me, I've had my low fuel light comes on dozens of times per year as I live in the most expensive city in north America to buy gasoline for your vehicle (Vancouver Canada....do a Gasbuddy search. ...$2.09 to $2.21 per liter now).
But I don't push it , my 2.5L /4cyl. Japanese SUV with Auto in fwd mode I think gets about 20 mpg city/ 26 mpg hwy (when new), my engine is very clean, fresh fluids/filter/transmission fluid clean, no accurate scientific testing on what i'm actually getting, it just does not feel like a gas hog for something the size of a rav4.
If i'm having a quiet day and not much going on, I might drive locally in my city to my library or grocery store and back with the yellow light on, but eventually I will go put in $15-$20 of fuel in the truck. If I know I have places to go, it will be either half or a full tank.
I have not been on any road trip for at least ten years, but whenever I did, I filled up in the morning before I left and where I was going was 400-500 klms away, I know I could make it on one full tank, regardless i'd pull over if I was at the 1/4 mark, especially because gas was/is always much cheaper further from my city And i'm driving thru the mountains, long stretches of nothingness/ no gas stations between little towns . Lately i've been carrying an empty 5 liter scepter Jerry gas can in my rear cargo hold. I was thinking Incase I did go somewhere further out past the city limits and I really did run outta gas, maybe I could flag another motorist down and get a ride to the nearest gas station. I could fill it, prior to going anywhere, but i'm 99.9% in the city. And I'm trying to avoid the smell of gas fumes in the cabin or risk of fire, etc.
That's something that domestic service writers made up to justify that the **** product they represent.
Fun fact....I worked at a Toyota dealership for 3 years, and replaced exactly 1 fuel pump in that 3 year period of time....on a Tundra that the Field Service Engineer drove in with but couldn't leave with because the FP died....truck hadn't had 2 tanks of gas through it since new.
Since then, I've changed 4 fuel pumps in my driveway in 2 GM trucks (2 pumps each).
I've 4 times more fuel pumps on a field of 2 vehicles than I did at a dealer that saw 100+ vehicles/day into the service dept for 3 years.
It ain't running the tank low that kills 'em, it's just garbage pumps.
Word.
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The running a tank low killing fuel pumps never made much sense to me either. Maybe my thinking is flawed, but as long as you're actually still pulling fuel through the pump it's being cooled by the fuel it's pumping though it, even if there isn't enough in the tank for the pump to be fully submerged... no?
I could see running a pump completely dry might kill it, but unless your gauge is broken, I don't think many people actually run out of gas to the point where a vehicle actually dies.
I worked at a gas station when I was in HS and the amount of people who came in and only got a gallon or two at a time were way too many to count.
I could see running a pump completely dry might kill it, but unless your gauge is broken, I don't think many people actually run out of gas to the point where a vehicle actually dies.
I worked at a gas station when I was in HS and the amount of people who came in and only got a gallon or two at a time were way too many to count.
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