Running low/out of gas?

[M1Accord]

Is it bad to only fuel up when you hit E, which for some car means there is still 2 gallons left. I recently ended up with only 1/3 gallon left because there was no safe place to pull over to refuel on a long stretch of I-10. The 02 Accord ran fine and no indication of poor performance or stalling. When I refueled, it took 16.4 gallons. The total capacity is 17.2 and I know one can't truly fill up the entire 17.2 on the first click of the pump, so I would think there was about 1/2 gallon left in the tank when I refueled. Normally, I refuel when it hits E because it takes only 14 gallons out of 17.2 when E is reached.

Is the "myth" of fuel pump failure really true or just a urban legend to get people to needlessly driving around with burden weight. I would think a fuel pump would know to shut itself off if it overheat.

 

[Chris142]

Originally Posted By: M1Accord
I would think a fuel pump would know to shut itself off if it overheat.
Why do you think that and how would it know if it's overheating?

 

[SZR48207]

Fuel acts as a lubricant and coolant for fuel tank pumps. I see no point in ever allowing the tank to get below 1/8th if you are in a city with lots of stations nearby.


The fuel pump CAN turn off, but then the car just won't run and you'll be forced to get some gas in a container. Some cars will switch the fuel pump to OFF during an accident to prevent any further danger.

 

[Steve S]

Originally Posted By: Chris142
Originally Posted By: M1Accord
I would think a fuel pump would know to shut itself off if it overheat.
Why do you think that and how would it know if it's overheating?
For what the replacement costs they should know!!!

 

[sciphi]

I've let my tank get down to 2 gallons left on about every tank in my 99 Buick. It hasn't seemed to hurt anything yet. My gas gauge is very pessimistic. It reads E with 5 gallons left. The ScanGauge is far more accurate.

 

[Deltona_Dave]

I try not to get too low on fuel. I come from the old school that if you let the tank get too low, you start picking up sediment and it also allows condensation to build up in the tank. Fortunately, my Titan's idiot light comes on when there is still 8 gallons in the tank.

I don't think it did anything to the fuel pump. It is a submersible pump, and it would be more damaging to run out, and the impellers run dry. The fuel is more of a lubricant than a coolant.

I try not to get too low, as I am chicken and would not like to be stranded.

Just My .02

Dave

 

[ThirdeYe]

Originally Posted By: sciphi
I've let my tank get down to 2 gallons left on about every tank in my 99 Buick. It hasn't seemed to hurt anything yet. My gas gauge is very pessimistic. It reads E with 5 gallons left. The ScanGauge is far more accurate.


I do the same thing, except in my car it has at least 2 gallons left when it hits that point, which gives me plenty of time to find the nearest gas station. I don't do it every time, but I do it quite often. My car has a 13.2 gallon tank, and when it hits the E mark, it takes right around 11 gallons. Still on the original fuel pump from '94.

 

[Trajan]

My "Hey dummy, buy some gas" light comes on whem I have about 70 miles left.

 

[Tree Hugger]

Originally Posted By: Deltona_Dave
I try not to get too low on fuel. I come from the old school that if you let the tank get too low, you start picking up sediment
Dave


Even in the old days, the gas pickup was ALWAYS at the bottom of the tank ALL THE TIME...

 

[Quest]

Originally Posted By: M1Accord
Fuel pump failure really true or just a urban legend to get people to needlessly driving around with burden weight.


Yup! To most uneducated avg joes out there: it's an urban myth until you get stuck with a dead fuel pump, and just wait til the replacement bill comes along.

*smiles*

Where there's a cause that lead to consequence, the latter part is the reality....no matter how you view it.

 

[fdcg27]

As long as fuel is flowing, and there is no hesitation indicating that the pump is sucking some air, I don't think running low is any problem.
Most cars have the low fuel light come on with a little over two gallons left.
Two gallons represent around sixty miles in either Accord or the BMW, and around fifty in the Subaru.
The van lacks a low-fuel light, but holds a generous 22 gallons, so anything up to four hundred miles or so is safe.
Obviously, you should know tank capacity and also typical fuel consumption.
You should also be able to tell the difference between a really good and a really lousy tank, based upon what the needle says versus the miles driven on the tank.
For us, filling up is mainly planned around the trip odo, since we know what to expect based upon the season and any given car's historical fuel consumption.
Haven't run out of fuel yet.

 

[M1Accord]

My tank holds 17.2 and I usually pump when it gets to E and stay red. It takes 14-15 gallons at that time, which leaves about 2 gallons left. This last time, I waited a little longer to because there was no gas station around that was safe enough to pump along I-10 in Texas so I drove very gently behind a 3 tractor trailers until I found a truck stop with a decent crowd. I didn't worry about about running out of gas because I have a 2 gallon Jerry can in the back. I was more concern about the fuel pump.

As stated, there was no hesitation and the car drove fine before and after the fuel stop. It made me nervous to see a 16.4 gallons fuel-up on the first click. That tells me that if I tried to pump again, I could get a little more to indicate that only 1/2 gallon was left in the tank.

I hope no damage was done but I'll be sure to never let the car go under half empty again. I'll pump when the indicator gets near 1/2 tank, which would leave me with 10 gallons left due to Honda conservative marking. I fueled again this morning before leaving the El Paso when the indicator was 2/5 empty. That took 4 gallons. I definitely need to add a 10-gallon fuel cell and stop carry Jerry can on long trip.

On a side note, lawn mower run out of gas all the time without problem. It is always hard to stop mowing and refuel as the capacity is never that much on push mower.

Last but not least, all gas is pumped from the lowest point of the gas tank; therefore, sediment and junk are there and always there so the theory that running on low lead to fuel filter failure isn't true. Let's hope modern fuel pump is better designed and doesn't need to be cooled by fuel to function. Older fuel pumps are on the outside of the tank.

 

[mechtech2]

My fuel filling is generally to fill her up all the way, and run her down till the warning light comes on.
This leaves a couple of gallons in the tank.
But is is harmful to the pump to keep the fuel level very low for long periods - chronically.
Heat is one, an lack of fuel and sucking air when taking turns is another.
To do this once or twice is no reason for concern.

 

[SteveSRT8]

seems to me that if you're not broke running it down to the 'nub' is kinda silly.

But that's me, the guy with the 400k mile fuel pump!

 

[subiedriver]

Sometimes I'll run the Suby down to the low fuel light, which means I have about 2.5 gallons left. I just like to see what the true fuel range is.

 

[caprice_2nv]

I don't worry about running my 84 Olds down to the empty with its mechanical fuel pump mounted to the engine, but I have my girlfriend trained to keep above 1/4 tank in her 99 Lumina.

I've seen way to many people that run them low frequently, have their expensive fuel pump [censored] out on them. I'm sure not all brands of fuel pumps are susceptible to this, but I'm 100% sure that GM's are. I also know of lots of people that never run them low and they haven't had problems.

 

[fdcg27]

Using the car's available fuel capacity to reduce fuel stops is silly?
Not to mention the hydrocarbons vented to the atmosphere with every fill.
Maybe too frequent or less than fillup gas stops should be banned, for environmenal reasons alone.
I'm not talking about running the thing out of gas, but rather getting down to a realistic two gallons remaining or so.
There is no reason to keep the tank over a quarter or a half full all of the time.
The fuel pumps of my two thirteen year old 170K champs seem to agree.

 

[KrisZ]

Originally Posted By: fdcg27
Using the car's available fuel capacity to reduce fuel stops is silly?
Not to mention the hydrocarbons vented to the atmosphere with every fill.
Maybe too frequent or less than fillup gas stops should be banned, for environmenal reasons alone.
I'm not talking about running the thing out of gas, but rather getting down to a realistic two gallons remaining or so.
There is no reason to keep the tank over a quarter or a half full all of the time.
The fuel pumps of my two thirteen year old 170K champs seem to agree.


Ever heard of fuel evap. system and charcoal canister in your car? It's designed to catch gasoline vapors, and every car must have one functioning to pass emission tests, so let's not get too excited about environment and start banning fuel fillups

But I always fill up when the low light comes on, never had any fuel pump problems in my cars.

 

[Bamaro]

As long as you dont run out, there is nothing wrong with letting your tank run down. less time wasted getting gas and less useless weight to lug around.