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How Much Gas Left In Tank When Gas Light Comes On?

69K views 19 replies 17 participants last post by  Dagamemnon 
#1 ·
On a '99 taurus?
 
#6 ·
I never drive my car until the light comes on. I always get gas when the gauge reads 1/4. Sometimes if you have too little gas in the tank and the car's on a hill, it might not pick up the gas in the tank.
 
#7 ·
I believe its about 1/16th tank remaining. keep in mind that the gauge is weighted, that is when it reaches the middle mark in the needle's range of travel, you only have about 1/4 left, when you reach the "1/4" mark on the gauge, its about 1/8, the light comes on half way in between the "1/4" mark, and the E mark, that's about 1/16th. doing it this way gives you a much more accurate reading of how fast you are running out of fuel when the tank gets low, but its kind of deceptive, you can go for 200 miles before the needle reaches the half way mark, but then you're tank is try 75-100 miles later.
 
#11 ·
Originally posted by PC_Marine@May 16 2004, 06:58 PM
My 2000 SE has a 16 gallon tank, and the gas light comes on when I have roughly 3 gallons of gas left.
Hey thanks for the info, I haven't run my tank down that low enough yet to even see if the light works!! Now I know. :)
 
#13 ·
NEVER trust someone else's info concerning the gas gauge or warning light. Our cars vary greatly in this aspect, even when comparing the same year and model. There has been an argument among V8SHO.com list members for YEARS about what the actual tank capacity is. In those recurring arguments, some have noted they run out of gas completely within 20 miles of the warning light turning on. Others have gone 50 miles or more. I once ran out of gas before the light even turned on. :blink: :huh: I dumped 2.5 gallons of gas in, and by the time I got to the gas station, the light decided to turn on. <_< The gas gauge is hardly a precision instrument.
 
#14 ·
Originally posted by SixFoFalcon@May 24 2004, 11:20 PM
NEVER trust someone else's info concerning the gas gauge or warning light. Our cars vary greatly in this aspect, even when comparing the same year and model. There has been an argument among V8SHO.com list members for YEARS about what the actual tank capacity is. In those recurring arguments, some have noted they run out of gas completely within 20 miles of the warning light turning on. Others have gone 50 miles or more. I once ran out of gas before the light even turned on. :blink: :huh: I dumped 2.5 gallons of gas in, and by the time I got to the gas station, the light decided to turn on. <_< The gas gauge is hardly a precision instrument.
Hmmmmmmmm....... Good point!!
 
#15 ·
I've got two warnings for low fuel on my SES. I've got the digital readout the esimates how many miles I can drive, and after about 3 or so miles after that hits zero, it will tell me I need fuel. The computer option is great!

I had to run it close, to get back to base for gas. I didn't want to pay almost 7 dollars per gallon. Gotta love living in England!!
 
#16 ·
Seriously, you'll have to learn about the gas gauge yourself, it adjusts to each car. I try to fill up as soon as the light comes on; I can get about 50 miles (or more) when it does come on, but fuel is used as a coolant for the fuel pump, and running dry means (risking) killing the pump.

I don't really even know the capacity of my tank. I normally fill up about 13.7 - 14.5 gallons, but one time I drove an extra long time with the gas light on (looking for a station) and I fit more than 17 gallons in without spillover. I don't know if the pump was messing up or something, but it freaked me out, and it hasn't happened since.
 
#17 ·
Caution to all 2004 and above owners. The LOW FUEL LEVEL warning can be reset, and the DISTANCE TO EMPTY function can be false. Remember, there is no warning light on these cars.

In other words it does not read the tank, it could say that you have 15 miles left and be out of gas.
 
#18 ·
I typically get between 300 and 320 miles per tank, with a 16 gallon tank that is refilled when the light comes on, typically with 14 or so gallons. If it's correct that my tank is 16 gallons, then 16 - 14 = 2.0 gallons, and from prior experience, I know that my car averages 23 mpg, so when the light comes on, I typically have about 40 miles or so, but I've stretched it to 50...I'm sure that 16 really means 16.5, plus whatever sits in your fuel lines...There is probably about 17 or so gallons in a Gen III's entire system when it is completely full...

Again, as other people have said, gas gauges are very inaccurate and differ from vehicle to vehicle.

JR
 
#19 ·
The gas light on my 93 sable never came on before I started running out of gas. I was on the highway and it was running like sh*t, I look at the guage and it's LOW, OH SH*T! I pulled off and got to a gas station immediately and it stalled right when i got to the pump.
 
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