How accurate is the miles to empty?

[NC_Overland]

Not sure if the new ones are the same or not, but I have 5 gallons left when the gas light come on. One time I didn’t plan properly and I drove 100 miles with the gas light on. I still had almost a gallon left. I was hypermiling like a mofo. lol.

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[ShadowsPapa]

I was raised to always refill around a half tank and not to let it get below a quarter full.

You must have been raised in KS where there are no gas stations for half a day. (or so it seems)

Iowa used to be a place where there were more bars than any other business, now it's gas stations - they are everywhere, sometimes 3 at a single intersection.

 

[Hootbro]

Been awhile since I checked but I do not think the DTE ever actually goes to absolute zero before it changes to another warning message.

Owners manual says you should have "approximately" 2 gallons remaining when the low fuel message comes on but I have seen it as high as 4-5 gallons or so when I have refueled.

Been more than a few threads over the years on the subject. Some people get bent out of shape thinking you should be sputtering out of fuel when it reaches near zero.

 

[OldButStillJeeping]

I don't trust the computer with my life. So, for my wife and I, once it hits the 1/4 full mark, we fill the tank.

You don't want to find out what true empty is. No matter what the dash tells you.

Unless you are in a backwoods offroad situation, and can't find gas; Please fill it at 1/4 full if you can.

If money is that tight, and I have been there too, many many years ago; Consider a motorcycle or bicycle.

 

[Supazuk]

I think the estimated until empty is overly conservative. I routinely run mine down to 20 miles to empty and I normally can only put in 17 gallons. Per Jeep, we have 22 gallon tanks.

I have noticed the same I have never had to put more then 18 gals in mine

 

[RJH9701]

Be careful...I trusted "miles left" over gauge pulling a trailer in a headwind. I should have known better but there it is. Ran out of gas just short of gas station target with several "miles left". I broke fill up at quater rule...wont happen again. Computer appartently could not keep up with environmental factors very well.

 

[Deleted member 67086]

I tend to not let mine get below a quarter tank, so I really don’t pay too much attention to the miles to empty. Running your Jeep that close to empty regularly is probably not good for the fuel pump, as when the gas is sloshing around while driving when it’s that low, you’re probably sucking air periodically.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

If money is that tight, and I have been there too, many many years ago; Consider a motorcycle or bicycle.

There is a misconception that keeps popping up and has since forever....it cost NOTHING more or less either way. You still drive the same miles using the same fuel. The only difference is paying smaller amounts 2 or 3 times or a larger amount one time. In that month, your expenditures for gas, in total, are the same.
People claim: but I can't afford to keep it over a quarter tank...
And in this case it's the argument for filling it more often.
Folks - the cost is the same!

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I tend to not let mine get below a quarter tank, so I really don’t pay too much attention to the miles to empty. Running your Jeep that close to empty regularly is probably not good for the fuel pump, as when the gas is sloshing around while driving when it’s that low, you’re probably sucking air periodically.

Baffles. It's not pulling air.
I have never had a pump failure and I regularly get down to a quarter tank.
Too much guessing.
I get some nice price breaks on fuel but it's for 20 gallons at a time. Knowing systems as I do and wanting those discounts, I try to hold off until I need at least 17 gallons to not give them back that discount.
I used to run the left tank on my Ford down to just under a quarter before switching tanks to the right tank. In Iowa, gas is never that far away. I'd keep a bit more in the left tank in states like KS or NE for example.
I'm not advocating for running them down to just 30 miles left, but there's no need for freaking out, either.

 

[JeepDaddyJT]

Your pump will not over heat, will work just fine for many miles. I’m at 98k and push mine to the bottom of the gauge every time. It will typically go to ‘ Low fuel’ for 25-35 miles before I get any sputter. ( I have an extra fuel tank where the spare tire was ) and the most I ever got in the main tank was 21.8 gallons

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Your pump will not over heat, will work just fine for many miles. I’m at 98k and push mine to the bottom of the gauge every time. It will typically go to ‘ Low fuel’ for 25-35 miles before I get any sputter. ( I have an extra fuel tank where the spare tire was ) and the most I ever got in the main tank was 21.8 gallons

There's a lot of fear-mongering and "what people have heard" and so on.
I don't suggest people risk running out of fuel, but to believe the pump will fail or be sucking air and get hot at 1/8 tank or so, naw.

It's amazing the systems the engineers have put into place for fuel system protections anyway. Some even have a small tank within a tank in which a pump sits, others which have a return system have that return go into a reservoir in which the pump sits and so on.

Jeep fuel pump in my car's tank, no baffles at all. 13+ years, same pump.

 

[Supazuk]

I know about how far I can go on a tank of gas. I check the fuel level when I start it, and periodically while traveling. I was raised to always refill around a half tank and not to let it get below a quarter full.

I was raised the same, in fact as a kid If i used the car and didn't bring it home with half a tank or better, I could kiss off using the car for the next week and I owed my parents for a full tank

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I was raised the same, in fact as a kid If i used the car and didn't bring it home with half a tank or better, I could kiss off using the car for the next week and I owed my parents for a full tank

It's especially smart in bad weather or winter to run with over half a tank. You never know. I suspect being stuck out there somewhere due to accident or other events can happen in any weather or any place. You never know when that fuel could be important.
So there are real reasons to not let it get low.
There are times when I've wished I had put fuel in when my wife suddenly says "we have to run to urgent care" or whatever....... crap, low on fuel.
Or I hear "let's take the truck" - well, honey, I sort of don't have enough fuel.
So the risk of an irritated wife is far far greater, worse, than anything else that may happen.
My parents suggested I buy my own car when I was 14 - insurance reasons and so on, and I had jobs making money. So there was never a case or time I used their vehicles. It was all on me from an early age. I never used their cars for anything.

I ran out of gas one time - in college, my first Javelin I found out how accurate that fuel gauge was. When it said empty, it was not joking. I drove from my apartment to a gas station. It sputtered and stopped just before I turned into the gas station. Luckily, it was pretty much down-hill from where it stopped into the area next to the pumps, so I pushed it in. Never did that again! I was lucky. Could have happened in traffic away from a station.

 

[bill61]

It's especially smart in bad weather or winter to run with over half a tank. You never know. I suspect being stuck out there somewhere due to accident or other events can happen in any weather or any place. You never know when that fuel could be important.
So there are real reasons to not let it get low.
There are times when I've wished I had put fuel in when my wife suddenly says "we have to run to urgent care" or whatever....... crap, low on fuel.
Or I hear "let's take the truck" - well, honey, I sort of don't have enough fuel.
So the risk of an irritated wife is far far greater, worse, than anything else that may happen.
My parents suggested I buy my own car when I was 14 - insurance reasons and so on, and I had jobs making money. So there was never a case or time I used their vehicles. It was all on me from an early age. I never used their cars for anything.

I ran out of gas one time - in college, my first Javelin I found out how accurate that fuel gauge was. When it said empty, it was not joking. I drove from my apartment to a gas station. It sputtered and stopped just before I turned into the gas station. Luckily, it was pretty much down-hill from where it stopped into the area next to the pumps, so I pushed it in. Never did that again! I was lucky. Could have happened in traffic away from a station.

I did pretty much the same thing - the only time I ever ran out of gas. Coasted down a freeway off-ramp into a gas station at the end of it. Whew! No pushing or hiking.

 

[OldButStillJeeping]

There is a misconception that keeps popping up and has since forever....it cost NOTHING more or less either way. You still drive the same miles using the same fuel. The only difference is paying smaller amounts 2 or 3 times or a larger amount one time. In that month, your expenditures for gas, in total, are the same.
People claim: but I can't afford to keep it over a quarter tank...
And in this case it's the argument for filling it more often.
Folks - the cost is the same!

I was referring to the price of ownership of a car over the price of ownership of a motorcycle or bicycle. Not the $ you spend on gas if you fill it at 3/4, 1/2, or whatever.
Sorry if I didn't make that clear.

I just consider 1/4 tank as close to empty as I ever need to be. So, for instance, a pet emergency requiring an animal hospital drive isn't a gasoline issue in any of our cars. It's just easier. And the last driver doesn't become the asshat for bringing home a car with an empy tank.

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