I had a strange experience today. I planned to get gas on the way home because my 35 mile fuel warning came on as I returned to work from lunch.

On the way home (a 15 mile ride), the distance to empty went to all dashes "----" after reaching 20 miles.

For the record, I almost never reach the 35 mile warning, but this was a time-crunched week.

So what do you think -- bug or feature?

Anyone have a similar experience?

 

the less gas in the tank, the more inaccurate that reading gets. The difference between 35 miles to empty and ---- could be just gunning the engine hard. so IMO, no there isn't a bug. I never let the gas go below 1/4 tank

 

It depends on the way you drive, how fast/hard you were applying the throttle. If you drive it hard it can jump from double to single digit or even "---". Sometimes it's not very predictable when it goes down to warning level.
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I've had the dashes show up a lot sooner than 35 miles after the light came on. I still drove with the dashes for a few miles, but I drove VERY conservatively. After a couple miles of conservative driving (in no traffic thanks goodness), a few extra miles popped up in place of the dashes!

Needless to say, it's as accurate as you can hold the pedal steady and never brake...

 

THis is normal. the dashes usually come on with less than 15 miles to empty, but it is very conservative. I have refueled many times with the dashes showing and still had 3-4 gallons left in the tank....

 

what he said. on the second fillup, i filled gas when the **** came on and i pumped less than 17gallons. the subsequent fillups have been a few miles after the asterisks and the most gallons ive ever pumped has been 18 gallons.

 

The dash may display --- however if you press status on the center console you will also get a fuel warning/status level. I am pretty sure the dash may display ---- so its not used as an accurate reading for mileage as it may vary greatly.

The center console fuel status(press status on the center console) will show you to the very last mile without display ---- once you get to 20 to go. I actually got it down to 0 miles to go without stalling. I am pretty sure I would stall any second haha.

 

I would absolutely not make it normal practice to drive the car until the warning comes on or displays "----" in miles until empty...it is bad for the car to drive it until it is literally running on fumes. Just fill up at a quarter tank.

 

Thats just it, when the dashes light it is NOT running on fumes. There is always 3-4 gallons left when the car says its empty. Besides, I like to try and get the most range out of my tanks to see how far I can go. The most I've done so far is 424 miles on a single tank (and it still had 2 gallons when I lost my nerve and filled up)....

 

I know the light and dashed light up before the car is out of gas...all I'm saying is it's bad for the car to let the gas get that low. To each his own, just my $0.02

 

Lol, why is it bad to let the gas tank get low, or even run dry? Is there any evidence behind this? I'm pretty sure the last gallon of gas in the tank burns just as well as the first gallon.

 

Yeah there is evidence behind it. You are correct in that the GAS burns the same, but any sediment or foreign material in the gas (which all gas has, it's unavoidable just in the transfer process from refinery->truck->tank->car) settles at the bottom of the tank.

So if you are running your tank low all the time that sediment gets pulled all through your system and WILL build up and over time you will develop all kinds of problems.

Again, do what you will. Just my $0.02

 

Usually the problem ends up I believe in your fuel pump dying sooner then it really needs to. Which will leave you stranded

 

few reasons why riding on a low fuel tank will shorten its life.

The pump is located about mid tank on the verticle axis. That means it is working harder then it would if the tank was full or half full. Another reason all the crap that floats in the gas tank will be sucked into the pump.

 

Overworking the fuel pump (operating liquid pumps without submersing in liquid is a GREAT way to end its life, most pumps are cooled by the liquid they pump)

Potentially clogging the fuel pump and/or filter (if applicable)

leaning out the engine due to lack of fuel/fuel pressure (detonation = potentially new engine)

That, and the way the G's tank is designed, its really hard to actually USE the last 3 gallons...