[GearHead_1]

Talk to me brother. I have those thoughts like, I've got a month before hitting 3,000 and then be out changing my oil 2 days later.

 

[snakebitten]

Is it us just being old and don't see a reason to wait for T I M E to pass?

 

[GearHead_1]

I was the same guy at 20. Don't wait until tomorrow if you can get it done today.

 

[Mitchf150]

Yes you have heard that. It is wrong.

Okay, that's fine... I appreciate that. Of course everything you hear on the internet must be true, right.. ha, ha..

It made me look at my owners manual and here is the quote for it...

RUNNING OUT OF FUEL
Avoid running out of fuel because this situation may have an adverse
effect on powertrain components.
If you have run out of fuel:
• You may need to cycle the ignition from off to on several times after
refueling to allow the fuel system to pump the fuel from the tank to
the engine. On restarting, cranking time will take a few seconds longer
than normal.
• Normally, adding 1 gallon (3.8L) of fuel is enough to restart the
engine. If the vehicle is out of fuel and on a steep grade, more than
1 gallon (3.8L) may be required.
• The service engine soon indicator may come on. For more information
on the service engine soon indicator, refer to the Instrument Cluster
chapter.

Okay, so my fuel pump is not gonna just burn itself up if I run out of fuel.. (good to know!)

I'm an old fart, so change is hard for me when you've grown up in your own ways and the way ol' Dad told you..

I'll just stick with my 1/4 tank rule and ~4k mile oil changes to keep me happy.

Mitch

 

[N4HHE]

Very strange. so, according to the law, all cars are supposed to have at least a 2 gallon reserve once you hit empty empty as a safety feature.

What law? Care to cite chapter and verse? It should be in the Code of Federal Regulations also know as CFRs. Federal Register :: Request Access

I know of no vehicle having a “2 gallon reserve”. Have owned several that I know have the thermistor feature in fuel tank for reliable low fuel warning, none had 2 gallons remaining. Most recent Subaru Outback spec says 17.6 gallon tank. Idiot light illuminates reliably at 16 gallons. DTE is all over the place when the light illuminates.

F-150 has a low fuel idiot light. What is it connected to?

 

[mass-hole]

When this is happened to me with my 36 gallon tank it was a lot tighter than that. At zero i usually have 1-2 gallons

My lexus is more like your truck. 0 miles to empty means you have 100 miles left lol

 

[DNA Dan]

When this is happened to me with my 36 gallon tank it was a lot tighter than that. At zero i usually have 1-2 gallons

My lexus is more like your truck. 0 miles to empty means you have 100 miles left lol

Yea Toyotas are notoriously bad with this. Our Sequoia is the same way. I love getting a "rise" out of the wife by driving another 30-40 miles past zero.

 

[mass-hole]

Yea Toyotas are notoriously bad with this. Our Sequoia is the same way. I love getting a "rise" out of the wife by driving another 30-40 miles past zero.

The 3rd gen tundra guys have been complaining that there is literally like 6 gallons in the tank after they have driven past zero

 

[Arkansas Eco]

Can burn your fuel pump up. They don't like running dry.

Not accurate nowadays.

 

[Upshifter]

So if you have had to “replace enough fuel pumps” but you don’t let the tank go below 1/4 how do you conclude low fuel has anything to do with your fuel pump problems? If the engine is receiving fuel then the pump is fully submerged.

Things I don't know:

• When this industry-wide change to fuel pump timeouts you described took effect
• Exactly why fuel pumps pooped out on me

Things I do know:

• Changing a pump sucks and I hope to never do it again. Especially not in a Qdoba parking lot in winter again.
• It can't hurt to avoid running a tank dry
• It is surprisingly nasty inside a tank, and anything i can try to keep that out of my pump is welcome.

 

[N4HHE]

Things I don't know:

• When this industry-wide change to fuel pump timeouts you described took effect

About 40 years ago when NHTSA figured out the fuel pump continued to run after a serious wreck when the engine quit. The lack of timers didn’t last but a few years.

You can easily test it by turning the ignition on without starting the engine, then listening.

 

[14 King]

I ran my pretty low last week and refueled. Based on the miles to empty and how much gas I put in, I had a 3 gallon buffer if I had hit 0.

I believe somewhere in the settings, you can adjust how conservative you want the DTE calculator to be.

 

[Waveslider]

I had a 2004 Duramax that I tested the DTE on a couple times and both times it ran out right as DTE went to zero. I couldn’t believe how accurate it was. Since those two experiences almost 20 years ago I don’t recall ever risking running out again. Luckily those duramax’s had a hand primer under the hood so running out of fuel didn’t cause the problems other diesels had when they ran out. I ran out a powerstroke or two in my day and had to take to a mechanic to get it primed and running again, major hassle. I assume they all have the hand primers nowadays but haven’t owned a diesel for about 15 years..

 

[boatowr98]

Well, I went out and did a 0-60 tonight thinking I had enough gas to go out and do my pull and get back to the gas station before I ran out.

Well, I did my 0-60 and after I did, the truck said 6 miles to empty. I was about 20 miles from the gas station. I started driving there, slowly because of deer.

Truck kept dropping Finally it said 1 mile to empty, and then boom, it said 0 miles to empty… I was still about 8 miles from the gas station. I kept on going, nothing happened. I rolled into the station like no big deal.

I put 21.6 gallons into it. If I have a 26 gallon tank that means I had another 4.4 gallons left. I was in no danger of running out haha.

all ford vehicles i have owned,when low fuel light comes on ,there 6 gallons left in tanks

 

[Bird1]

My dad used to have an '01 F 150 and the light cam eon once when I was using it and my wife who was with me was freaking out, I wasn't, I told her read the owners manual (which kept her occupied) and she read something like when the light comes on there is enough fuel for 20-50 miles.

On my '07 Ranger the light would come on and I had about 50 miles. 17 gallon tank at 18 mpg average. One time it came on and then started running rough but I was right next to a stop and rob so I pulled in and filled up.

On my '14 F 150 I have now the light comes on, I have a 36 gallon fuel tank, and I usually put 31 gallons in. So in 5 years of owning it I seem to always have 5 gallons when the light comes on.

 

[chapellt123]

Well, I went out and did a 0-60 tonight thinking I had enough gas to go out and do my pull and get back to the gas station before I ran out.

Well, I did my 0-60 and after I did, the truck said 6 miles to empty. I was about 20 miles from the gas station. I started driving there, slowly because of deer.

Truck kept dropping Finally it said 1 mile to empty, and then boom, it said 0 miles to empty… I was still about 8 miles from the gas station. I kept on going, nothing happened. I rolled into the station like no big deal.

I put 21.6 gallons into it. If I have a 26 gallon tank that means I had another 4.4 gallons left. I was in no danger of running out haha.

Not good on the fuel pump.

 

[Roushracing1]

I refuel when I get to half a tank or so. I have no idea but I'm going to have to see.

I'll drive until I get down to where the lie-o-meter tells me 2 miles until empty then head over to the 93 octane watering hole then drive around in circles in the Shell station lot until I run out.

Seriously, I am curious. The only vehicle I've owned that got tested was my '99 Explorer. When it said 5, or whatever it was, miles until empty it was very close to that number. Ask me how I know. There was some walking involved.

 

[GearHead_1]

Have any of you folks ever run out of gas? My wife and I were talking about this, we've never had this happen as long as we've been driving. Just curious.

 

[snakebitten]

Not since I was a youngin

 

[Upshifter]

Once only in a Volkswagen in college that literally stalled out as I coasted into the pump. The shear improbability and stupid timing of it all blew my mind, and the other customers just thought I was a nut.

So I don’t know if technically it counts since there was no walking.