I don't know why everyone keeps asking how far can you go after the light goes on before I run out of gas. This is bad practice to run any car with low fuel for a number of reasons.
1st you suck up any impurities and crap from the bottom of the tank and ruin your motor.

2nd your fuel pump on most cars (not sure of the 8s) is inside the tank and is cooled by the fuel and could burn itself out and need replaced earlier than necessary.

3rd it cost the same for 8 gallons of gas at half a tank as 8 gallons when your on E

4th you could run out of gas and look like a dumb ass on the side of the road.

Just my 2 cents worth so take it or leave it.

glad to have you, please come again :)

Ummmmm Okay?

If you consistently run it low you will clean out the junk better so it doesn't accumulate to cause trouble. 2nd, the fuel pump may be inside the gas tank, but the electric motor is not and isn't cooled by the fuel. The pump itself should be fine as long as it is pumping . . . which it would not only when you run out of gas. I drive about 30 miles after the light comes on - I've done this pretty much consistently since the car was new and I now have 48.6K miles with no problems. 40-45 miles you'll run out (don't ask me how I know this either). Plus, I always fill up so the "8 gallon" rule is pretty much a wash for me.

i've driven up to 40 miles with the fuel light on and when I went to fill it up it took 14.9 gallons.. so I had exactly 1 gallon left. but anyway... :)

I should have qualified that the 40-45 miles depends a little bit on your driving environment (i.e. city, highway, or mix). Your mileage may vary. I drive a mix, but probably more toward the city driving situation. I usually get at least 14.5 gallon fillups with my 30 mile rule and have seen less in highway driving mode.

If you consistently run it low you will clean out the junk better so it doesn't accumulate to cause trouble. 2nd, the fuel pump may be inside the gas tank, but the electric motor is not and isn't cooled by the fuel. The pump itself should be fine as long as it is pumping . . . which it would not only when you run out of gas. I drive about 30 miles after the light comes on - I've done this pretty much consistently since the car was new and I now have 48.6K miles with no problems. 40-45 miles you'll run out (don't ask me how I know this either). Plus, I always fill up so the "8 gallon" rule is pretty much a wash for me.

what is the "8gallon" rule ?? First time hearing it

Just the OP's 3rd point.

I agree with Mr. floyd (though not with his choice of 'boat' color!)

Silly to go around with the light on, even to check the mileage, for ALL the above reasons.


S

Yep. I always fill up right as the light comes on also. Bothers me when it goes below "E".

There is no 8 gallon rule. I was just saying a gallon of gas cost the same at half a tank or when its empty, so why wait to fill up when your driving on fumes?

i've driven up to 40 miles with the fuel light on and when I went to fill it up it took 14.9 gallons.. so I had exactly 1 gallon left. but anyway... :)Not necessarily. It's hard to fill up the 8 completely. I've managed to get more than a gallon more into the tank even after the pump automatically shuts off, but it's a slow process.

I don't know why everyone keeps asking how far can you go after the light goes on before I run out of gas. This is bad practice to run any car with low fuel for a number of reasons.
1st you suck up any impurities and crap from the bottom of the tank and ruin your motor.

2nd your fuel pump on most cars (not sure of the 8s) is inside the tank and is cooled by the fuel and could burn itself out and need replaced earlier than necessary.

3rd it cost the same for 8 gallons of gas at half a tank as 8 gallons when your on E

4th you could run out of gas and look like a dumb ass on the side of the road.

Just my 2 cents worth so take it or leave it.

not always true...depends on what the price of gas is at half a tank vs Empty :-P

bleh, i drive with the light on to the gas station i know tats a good 4 cent cheaper each gallon.

I don't know why everyone keeps asking how far can you go after the light goes on before I run out of gas. Ooh! Ooh!! I think I know why… the further you go on a tank; the less often you have to stop for gas.

If you consistently run it low you will clean out the junk better so it doesn't accumulate to cause trouble. 2nd, the fuel pump may be inside the gas tank, but the electric motor is not and isn't cooled by the fuel. The pump itself should be fine as long as it is pumping . . . which it would not only when you run out of gas. I drive about 30 miles after the light comes on - I've done this pretty much consistently since the car was new and I now have 48.6K miles with no problems. 40-45 miles you'll run out (don't ask me how I know this either). Plus, I always fill up so the "8 gallon" rule is pretty much a wash for me.

The electric motor is in the tank, and it is cooled by fuel

It takes 15.33 gallons to fill up! This I know from running out of gas just as I turned into the station and coasted to the pump. Filled straight to the top after that and that is what the pump read.

Who the heck has time to fill this car up every 8 gallons? That would have me at the gas station every week.

The electric motor is in the tank, and it is cooled by fuel

I sit corrected, but still wholy unconivinced about the "cooling" problem considering several factors: the motor is sealed from the gas, the tank is never truely dry (and only "low" for a short period), and how hot do you think it is designed to get in a tank of flamable liquid? Certainly we would have heard of this by now if it were an issue.

Not necessarily. It's hard to fill up the 8 completely. I've managed to get more than a gallon more into the tank even after the pump automatically shuts off, but it's a slow process.

I find it spitting gas back at me when I try to fill it up anymore :spank:

Who the heck has time to fill this car up every 8 gallons? That would have me at the gas station every week.

Well aren't you lucky! I for one have found myself frequenting the gas station every week for a FULL tank of gas, sometimes when I go to NJ/CT up to 2 times a week... :rant:

Doesn't change a thing though.. though you'll find the people that complain about gas mileage are the city people who have the 8 as their DD.

Sometimes I like being silly.
Then I drive around with the light on!

Interesting... I get light at about 225 miles, drive another 20 and then fill it up which takes 13.5-14 gallons. The manual says 60 liters or ~15.85 gals so I figured I always have 1.5-2 gals at fillup, and around 3 gals (45-60 miles to go) when the light comes on. I drive about 70-30 hwy/city mix.

Now, b-Eight says it took him 15.33 gals from bone dry to Full, so we gotta figure a 0.5 gals variance. Then, when one gets a light it's about 2.5 gals left or 35-50 miles, depending on driving style and environment.

That confirms Demon's obervation of 40-45 miles max. I guess we should err on the side of caution and never run on faith... these are good hard numbers to know.

regarding the impurities off the bottom of the tank... doesn't the pump always draw from the bottom even when full? I find it kinda hard to believe the inlet that draws the fuel in somehow floats happily off the bottom until the tank gets low, although please correct me if i'm wrong

Who the heck has time to fill this car up every 8 gallons? That would have me at the gas station every week.

lucky you. i fill up twice a week with 12-13 gallons.

Interesting... I get light at about 225 miles, drive another 20 and then fill it up which takes 13.5-14 gallons. The manual says 60 liters or ~15.85 gals so I figured I always have 1.5-2 gals at fillup, and around 3 gals (45-60 miles to go) when the light comes on. I drive about 70-30 hwy/city mix.

Now, b-Eight says it took him 15.33 gals from bone dry to Full, so we gotta figure a 0.5 gals variance. Then, when one gets a light it's about 2.5 gals left or 35-50 miles, depending on driving style and environment.

That confirms Demon's obervation of 40-45 miles max. I guess we should err on the side of caution and never run on faith... these are good hard numbers to know.You're assuming that when you or others fill up that the tank is completely full but it almost never is. Pumps wil shut off long before a tank is really full, depending upon how fast they're pumping, how much of an angle there is to the fill tube, and how sensitive the shut-off sensor is set. Even after it starts spitting back at you, the tank is probably still not completely full. This is why single tank mpg estimates are so unreliable. Ever watch a hyper miler freak fill up their tank? Freaken hillarious.

I don't know why everyone keeps asking how far can you go after the light goes on before I run out of gas. This is bad practice to run any car with low fuel for a number of reasons.
1st you suck up any impurities and crap from the bottom of the tank and ruin your motor.

2nd your fuel pump on most cars (not sure of the 8s) is inside the tank and is cooled by the fuel and could burn itself out and need replaced earlier than necessary.

3rd it cost the same for 8 gallons of gas at half a tank as 8 gallons when your on E

4th you could run out of gas and look like a dumb ass on the side of the road.

Just my 2 cents worth so take it or leave it.

leave it

Uh, the fuel pickup is at the bottom of the tank, so whatever might be at the bottom is the first to head towards the engine. Also, there's a very nice fuel filter between the fuel supply and the engine to catch the debris.

1.3L



1st you suck up any impurities and crap from the bottom of the tank and ruin your motor.

regarding the impurities off the bottom of the tank... doesn't the pump always draw from the bottom even when full? I find it kinda hard to believe the inlet that draws the fuel in somehow floats happily off the bottom until the tank gets low, although please correct me if i'm wrong

The crap in the tank floats and stays away from the pick up until the fuel gets low.

What ever, drive around on friggin fumes for all I care. But I still dont know why you would.

How much crap are you people putting into your gas tank that you would worry about this so much?! The car has not been sitting around for 20 yrs, so I'd wager that you'd be surprised how little "crap" is in there. And the more you cycle through your fuel, the cleaner it's going to stay.

I'm not advocating for anyone to follow what I do, I'm just sharing what works for me - which is that I know there's roughly 3 gallons in the tank (which is at least a 45 mile range for me) when the fuel light comes on, I know I'm rarely more than a few miles from a gas station, and I know what kind of mileage I'm getting. The times I did run out (it happend twice - once when I had only had the car for a short while, and both times I just completely forgot about the low fuel) it was around 45 miles after the light came on from my calculations, although probably a few miles more.

What I do advocate is for people to gather information and make an informed decision on their own.

EDIT: When I say "you" I'm not pointing to anyone in particular, but "you" in general.

more quick answer.

when the light goes on you have very close to 2.5 us gallons in the tank.

how far you can go depends on the mpg of that tank you are getting and how you are driving at the time..

i can state this as almost fact as i have logged mpg for almost 90k miles.. and i have pushed it and run out of gas twice. or was it three times.. :) every time it was within 300 yards of a gas station.

beers :beer:

1. not all debris floats.
2. I doubt much debris gets into the gas tank in the first place.
3. fuel pickup tubes in gas tanks typically have a screen that prevents larger
debris from going through the fuel pump.
4. finally, regardless of whether the debris sinks or floats, the fuel filter will trap
the debris.

1.3L


The crap in the tank floats and stays away from the pick up until the fuel gets low.

The less fuel you are driving around with, the better milage you are getting because you are carrying around less weight.

i ignore the light on mine and don't stop for gas until it's 1/2 through the E and about to break off or I hit 300 miles on the tripmeter, whichever comes first.

04 75K miles and doing fine...

The less fuel you are driving around with, the better milage you are getting because you are carrying around less weight.

i've thought about that. about how much do you think you can save by doing this?

i've thought about that. about how much do you think you can save by doing this?

I actually fill up as soon as the light comes on, but I did see something on the news the other day talking about this. They recomended only filling a half tank at each fill up to save on gas, but I don't think that the results would be noticable. Besides, I feel like I'm at the gas station enough, don't want to double it. I fill'er all the way up.

get in the habit of filling up when you are around 1/4 tank. you never know when you may have to get in the car and drive with no time to stop at a gas station.

The 8 is one of those cars if u see the fuel light go to the gas station asap.

This is how far you can go after the light comes on.


YOU CAN GO TO THE GAS STATION!!!!

^ ha. that about sums it up.