How many miles in tank after final bar gone?

[NORCAL SS]

Just in case I ever get stuck but how many miles can you make after last bar is gone on gas gauge. 20 miles?

 

[Swordsmith]

I would love to give you a nice solid answer. If I did, it would be 88 miles. On average there are 2.2 gallons remaining when the last bar disappears, and you nominally get 40mpg, so math.

BUT there are several problems with this.

First, the bars are not very accurate or consistent. There could be anywhere from 3 gallons to 1.5 gallons remaining at the moment when the last bar goes. I have even seen my display go from zero bars up to two bars.

Second, it's doubtful you catch the actual moment the last bar disappears. As often as not, I notice there's one bar left, and later that there are no bars left. How long I've been driving with no bars is anybody's guess.

Third, your mpg also varies depending on driving conditions, including terrain, the weather, your driving style, traffic, and even blend of fuel.

That means you're multiplying an unknown amount of fuel by an unknown rate of miles per gallon.

IF you've been paying attention and are pretty sure you haven't gone far at all since the last bar vanished, then the answer is "don't sweat it, the next gas station will be fine." If you want a number attached to that, I'll say "40 miles" but don't quote me on that, and if you pass a gas station and then run out of gas, I"m only going to say "I told you it's too difficult to predict."

 

[LTZ ICE]

Good question..
Usually I never let it run that low, however the couple times I have, my Ultra Gauge has read that I have about 1.25 gallons, but it all depends on the mpg's you are getting for that tank.
With that being said, I learned that no gauge is perfect when my Ultra gauge read that I still had .44 gallons left, and I ran out of gas 3 miles before the next gas station. Thank goodness for Onstar.
When I put two and two together, the only thing that I could connect the Ultra Gauge error to was that my car was parked on an incline at work that day, causing the Ultra Gauge to give me a false reading when I started the car after work. Be careful out there.

 

[wbjones]

I would love to give you a nice solid answer. If I did, it would be 88 miles. On average there are 2.2 gallons remaining when the last bar disappears, and you nominally get 40mpg, so math.

BUT there are several problems with this.

First, the bars are not very accurate or consistent. There could be anywhere from 3 gallons to 1.5 gallons remaining at the moment when the last bar goes. I have even seen my display go from zero bars up to two bars.

Second, it's doubtful you catch the actual moment the last bar disappears. As often as not, I notice there's one bar left, and later that there are no bars left. How long I've been driving with no bars is anybody's guess.

Third, your mpg also varies depending on driving conditions, including terrain, the weather, your driving style, traffic, and even blend of fuel.

That means you're multiplying an unknown amount of fuel by an unknown rate of miles per gallon.

IF you've been paying attention and are pretty sure you haven't gone far at all since the last bar vanished, then the answer is "don't sweat it, the next gas station will be fine." If you want a number attached to that, I'll say "40 miles" but don't quote me on that, and if you pass a gas station and then run out of gas, I"m only going to say "I told you it's too difficult to predict."

I seldom have let mine get that low ... that said, how accurate is the "miles left to empty" that I can click on ?

 

[lousypirate]

I've filled up several times with no bars left and I've never got more than 10.25 gallons in, and I fill it to the brim most times

 

[4g63gst20]

Ihave gone over 70 miles after the bar is gone, i work 60 miles round trip.

This was on my 15 cruze tho.

 

[NORCAL SS]

Ok city driving 27 miles after bar went and stopped to put few gallons in. So I'm just going to say 25 miles after last bar is gone your still safe city driving

 

[The Champ]

If you like replacing fuel pumps, keep driving with your tank that low.

Fuel is actually used to help cool the pump to help prevent premature heat related failure.

Having said that, if you should be driving after the last bar disappears, don't try to stretch it very far. I would only "assume" that I have 1 gallon left and based how far on what I typically average for fuel mileage.

 

[Sailurman]

If you like replacing fuel pumps, keep driving with your tank that low.

Fuel is actually used to help cool the pump to help prevent premature heat related failure.

Having said that, if you should be driving after the last bar disappears, don't try to stretch it very far. I would only "assume" that I have 1 gallon left and based how far on what I typically average for fuel mileage.

I've always driven my cars to E and never ever had a pump failure. And I'm talking multiple 100k cars. Old school horror stories lol.

 

[Swordsmith]

At "E" the Sonic still has a couple gallons more or less. That's 16% of the total. Keep driving a while after that last bar is gone, and you probably -still- have a gallon left. Actually driving it dry is nearly impossible to do accidentally. I agree that if your policy was to carry a spare gallon in the back and always run to actually empty (I did hear this suggested back in the 70s as a way to "keep deposits from building up") might in the long term damage your fuel pump. But as long as there's a gallon or two left in there, that's plenty of cooling.

 

[The Champ]

I've always driven my cars to E and never ever had a pump failure. And I'm talking multiple 100k cars. Old school horror stories lol.

I've taken multiple cars over 200,000 miles. But not all of those cars had electric fuel pumps and those that did I don't have anymore. If I had been referring to old cars, I might agree with you.

Actually, the stories are from field reps for companies that make the new fuel pumps. I work for an ACD, MTC, Mopar warehouse distributor and we also sell Airtex and Precise fuel pumps.

Older cars may not have been using fuel to cool the pump, but the new ones do.

Electric fuel pumps are usually mounted inside the fuel tank, though some may be mounted outside the tank. Some vehicles may even have two fuel pumps (a transfer pump inside the tank, and a main fuel pump outside). The in-tank location helps muffle the buzzing noise produced by the electric pump motor, and immersing the pump in fuel helps lubricate and cool the pump motor. Driving with the fuel tank less than 1/4 full can shorten pump life by causing it to run hot. It also increases the risk of momentarily starving the pump for fuel when cornering sharply, braking or accelerating. Running out of gas can sometimes damage an electric fuel pump by starving it for cooling and lubrication.

This info is from the pump manufacturers.

Do as you please.

 

[Sailurman]

I've taken multiple cars over 200,000 miles. But not all of those cars had electric fuel pumps and those that did I don't have anymore. If I had been referring to old cars, I might agree with you.

Actually, the stories are from field reps for companies that make the new fuel pumps. I work for an ACD, MTC, Mopar warehouse distributor and we also sell Airtex and Precise fuel pumps.

Older cars may not have been using fuel to cool the pump, but the new ones do.



This info is from the pump manufacturers.

Do as you please.

Note it says Can, not Will. And yes, I always do ;-)

 

[The Champ]

I understand that running the tank low CAN cause premature failure.

I apologize if I made it sound like they WILL fail.

Merely passing on constructive thoughts that have been passed to me by folks with intimate knowledge of how these pumps are designed to operate and what they have told me to make them last longer.

There is no good reason for running the tank low, so I don't get the reason to tempt fate.

 

[TRO-512]

There is no good reason for running the tank low, so I don't get the reason to tempt fate.

The tank gets low when the money is gone! You gonna give me some money? Aw com'on- there is no good reason to let the tank get low, right?? You must be pretty well off if you have never run a tank low, so spread the love and give us money LOL

 

[Dingleberry69]

I wouldn’t have a clue how much would be left in the tank. I always treat the 1/4 tank mark as the E line. Never let it drop past that point. I guess I’ve driven too many cars with faulty level senders, so it’s just a habit that stuck with me.

dropping past E is just asking to shorten the life of a fuel pump too. Like said above, not only is the fuel that is making our engines go, it’s also a coolant for the pump. Something to think about too when budgeting things on a tight budget. Not too long ago I was there myself, but kept the tank at 1/2, and just ran 1/4 tanks between fills, because I knew that a $500+ fuel pump replacement would render me unemployed and defaulting on debt. Can’t let that happen either.