During a nice road trip the other day, my E light came on and I filled up with like 11.2-11.5gals, I don't remember exactly which one.

 

There are a few older postings here about the Gen5 Low Fuel Warning 'crying wolf' early.

You are doing the right thing, noting how much fuel is remaining when you fill up.

As long as you don't repeatedly run out of fuel, your fuel pump will be fine (it is cooled by the fuel in the tank).

 

There are a few older postings here about the Gen5 Low Fuel Warning 'crying wolf' early.

You are doing the right thing, noting how much fuel is remaining when you fill up.

As long as you don't repeatedly run out of fuel, your fuel pump will be fine (it is cooled by the fuel in the tank).

I'm one of the those people who get antsy when the fuel gauge gets close to 1/4 left. We'll be taking this vehicle on a long distance trip early next year and I wanted to have some idea of the "reserve" left when the warning light comes on. Our 2015 Highlander is also conservative when warning about low fuel, so I just needed an idea. Now I know, just in case.

 

so if you are on the Low light and say you get 30mpg. and you think you got 3 gal left, that means you will get 90 mi before you fill. Good luck. Be smart. you should never let gas go low, like you go to a gas station and fill up on their empty tanks...

 

The trip odometer display shows miles remaining until empty. Personally, I have driven 30 additional miles after the range showed zero.

It is an old wife's tale that the fuel pump can overheat or be damaged by running low on fuel.

 

Wrong!
This subject amazes me. Are you so short on time refueling isn't feasible?

 

A few times now, I have driven my 2019 until the remaining miles left reached zero (after the low fuel light came on). Each of those times, I've never been able to get more than 11.5 gallons into the tank. I too wonder exactly how much of that remaining 2.5 gallons is actually usable.

 

I too wonder exactly how much of that remaining 2.5 gallons is actually usable.

You are hereby challenged to run your V out of fuel. (Carry a 2 gallon gas can to get you to a gas station after you run out.) Post back with results.🏆

 

LOL. 2 gallons would get you 40 - 50 miles until you have to call the AAA.

 

Is it not really bad for a fuel injected engine to run completely out of gas?

 

Not if it is someone else's. 😁

More Seriously,

I think this was mentioned earlier...once or twice will not cause issues. You just don't want to do it on a regular basis! One person said it was an Old Wives Tale.

 

I'll step up to the plate. I need to get rid of my lawnmower gas somehow.
I'm currently at less than half-tank, and should run out towards the end of the week.

I may have to opt out if it looks like I will run out of gas on the freeway or other unsafe area.

Seriously, if you disassemble a modern fuel pump (or find a good Youtube video), you will see why the pump can't be damaged.

• The pump is ALWAYS drawing fuel from the very bottom of the tank, regardless if it is empty or full.
• The pump lives inside a "cup" that contains around a quart of fuel. This is to prevent the vehicle from dying when going up long hills or corners when the gas tank is low and the pump isn't getting fuel. This also means the fuel pump is submerged in fuel until the instant the vehicle runs out of gas.
• the pump itself is comically small, with tiny unicorn hair wires for power.
• The pump is inside a Class 1/Div 1 explosive environment. Because of this, there is probably less than 2 watts of electrical power for the pump. The pump simply cannot overheat, and is designed for this. Otherwise there would be a boom and/or vehicle fire.

 

Our opinions differ. Simple.

 

I just can not wait for the hard bump in the road and the fuel pump shuts off.

 

The OP said there was 3.1 gal. of fuel remaining when the low light came on. How do you know that? If the tank is 14.0 gal, how do you know that you filled it to the very top? I would suggest that there is expansion space at the top after you fuel up. So if, for argument sake, there is a 2.0 head space, your 3.1 gal reserve is a myth. I don't even know if it is possible to fill the tank to the top, does anyone? There is a reserve built into the system to make sure you don't get stuck in the wrong place.

 

I was on the NJ Turnpike at night. Drove around 35 miles with tank on empty. Paid the toll with ez-pass.
Filled it up. Didn't bother to look how much i paid. Just handed over my credit card with a relieved face.

 

I was on the NJ Turnpike at night. Drove around 35 miles with tank on empty. Paid the toll with ez-pass.
Filled it up. Didn't bother to look how much i paid. Just handed over my credit card with a relieved face.

It would have been nice to know just how much fuel, in volume, it took to fill it back up.

 

Usually it turn on between 41 to 39 miles around 1.25 gallon. It depends your average consumer gas the computer has.

 

I'm fairly conservative when it comes to refueling, mainly because I hate to run out of gas. Until yesterday I had not let the fuel gauge get below 1/4 without filling up my 2020 Touring Model with AWD. I knew I had lots of places to pull into on our day trip, so I was curious as to how much fuel was left once the Low Fuel Warning light came on. When it did come on, I drove less than a mile to stop. The gas pump showed it put 10.9 gallons in, which leaves 3.1 gallons. I know that most likely not all that remaining fuel is usable, but i now have a good idea of my margin of safety should the light come on again.
BTW, I averaged 30.5 mpg on that tank of fuel (hand calculation). About a third of that driving was on hilly, curvy roads where speeds don't exceed 55 mph and some of it is 35-40 mph. The vehicle has about 3,900 miles on it.

you are much better off resetting one of the trip meters whenever you fill up. The LF warning isn't as accurate.

 

I'm fairly conservative when it comes to refueling, mainly because I hate to run out of gas. Until yesterday I had not let the fuel gauge get below 1/4 without filling up my 2020 Touring Model with AWD. I knew I had lots of places to pull into on our day trip, so I was curious as to how much fuel was left once the Low Fuel Warning light came on. When it did come on, I drove less than a mile to stop. The gas pump showed it put 10.9 gallons in, which leaves 3.1 gallons. I know that most likely not all that remaining fuel is usable, but i now have a good idea of my margin of safety should the light come on again.
BTW, I averaged 30.5 mpg on that tank of fuel (hand calculation). About a third of that driving was on hilly, curvy roads where speeds don't exceed 55 mph and some of it is 35-40 mph. The vehicle has about 3,900 miles on it.

 

I'm fairly conservative when it comes to refueling, mainly because I hate to run out of gas. Until yesterday I had not let the fuel gauge get below 1/4 without filling up my 2020 Touring Model with AWD. I knew I had lots of places to pull into on our day trip, so I was curious as to how much fuel was left once the Low Fuel Warning light came on. When it did come on, I drove less than a mile to stop. The gas pump showed it put 10.9 gallons in, which leaves 3.1 gallons. I know that most likely not all that remaining fuel is usable, but i now have a good idea of my margin of safety should the light come on again.
BTW, I averaged 30.5 mpg on that tank of fuel (hand calculation). About a third of that driving was on hilly, curvy roads where speeds don't exceed 55 mph and some of it is 35-40 mph. The vehicle has about 3,900 miles on it.

Fuel LiComes on when the fuel reserve is running low (approximately 2.1 U.S. gal/8.0 liter left).


Running out of fuel can cause damage to the catalytic converters and cause a misfire in the engine.

This all comes from the owners manual

 

The last question to ask now is, how much of that 2.1 gallons can actually be pumped out to feed the motor?

 

I'm fairly conservative when it comes to refueling, mainly because I hate to run out of gas. Until yesterday I had not let the fuel gauge get below 1/4 without filling up my 2020 Touring Model with AWD. I knew I had lots of places to pull into on our day trip, so I was curious as to how much fuel was left once the Low Fuel Warning light came on. When it did come on, I drove less than a mile to stop. The gas pump showed it put 10.9 gallons in, which leaves 3.1 gallons. I know that most likely not all that remaining fuel is usable, but i now have a good idea of my margin of safety should the light come on again.
BTW, I averaged 30.5 mpg on that tank of fuel (hand calculation). About a third of that driving was on hilly, curvy roads where speeds don't exceed 55 mph and some of it is 35-40 mph. The vehicle has about 3,900 miles on it.

I totally understand your post, but your hand calculations. My 2018 Touring has a readout on my main dash that shows my mpg (which changes as I drive) and also the number of remaining miles worth of gas in my fuel tank. Doesn’t yours? I like these new computer read outs, I don’t have to think! Of course until they start breaking! Lol

 

I don't trust the "remaining miles to empty" reading one bit. I'd almost be willing to bet my left arm (and I'm a lefty) that it will go quite a ways farther than stated.

 

Reminds me of a Seinfeld episode with Kramer test driving a car until the fuel gauge goes to “E”

 

I'm fairly conservative when it comes to refueling, mainly because I hate to run out of gas. Until yesterday I had not let the fuel gauge get below 1/4 without filling up my 2020 Touring Model with AWD. I knew I had lots of places to pull into on our day trip, so I was curious as to how much fuel was left once the Low Fuel Warning light came on. When it did come on, I drove less than a mile to stop. The gas pump showed it put 10.9 gallons in, which leaves 3.1 gallons. I know that most likely not all that remaining fuel is usable, but i now have a good idea of my margin of safety should the light come on again.
BTW, I averaged 30.5 mpg on that tank of fuel (hand calculation). About a third of that driving was on hilly, curvy roads where speeds don't exceed 55 mph and some of it is 35-40 mph. The vehicle has about 3,900 miles on it.

Most vehicles with "low fuel" indicators from the past to present typically will give you the warning with at least a gallon of fuel left in the tank. Unless you're driving up steep hills or down steep hills (where the fuel will slosh to either the front or rear of the tank) you shouldn't have an issue with getting all of the fuel left in the tank. However, as someone else noted, the gasoline is what cools the pump and it's not only the fuel passing through the pump, but the fuel surrounding the pump as well. Once you get below 1/4 tank, the fuel pump is pretty much not immersed in the gasoline anymore so it's only being cooled by the fuel that it is pumping. I usually refill my tank with no less than 1/4 tank on the gauge. It won't damage the pump to fill at 1/8 of a tank but just don't run out of fuel (steep hill, etc. when it's low) because if the pump runs without fuel going through it, it will damage the pump because the gasoline also acts as a lubricant for the armature and without fuel it will also run at a higher rpm; two bad things happening at the same time.

 

I used to reset "Trip A" every time I filled the tank in my '09 Accord to keep track of the MPG's of each fill-up. My 2019 CR-V EX-L does it for me. Go into Settings>Vehicle>Meter Setup>Trip-A>When Refueled. I never touch Trip-B and have averaged 32.4 mpg since day one (almost 7,000 miles).

 

Be aware that Trip B will reset at 10,000 miles.

 

It is not an old wife's tale that the fuel pump can overheat or be damaged by running low on fuel. The fuel pump is in the gas tank (as it is in most cars), and is accessed from under the seat behind the driver, under the carpeting. It uses the fuel sloshing around it to keep it cool and it can fail if it overheats.

 

It is not an old wife's tale that the fuel pump can overheat or be damaged by running low on fuel. The fuel pump is in the gas tank as it is on most cars), and is accessed from under the seat behind the driver, under the carpeting. It uses the fuel sloshing around it to keep it cool and it can fail if it overheats.

 

I saw this thread yesterday and today, while out driving my 2019 CR-V, the light came on. I looked at the miles it said I could go and it was exactly 30.

 

Hey
bassn386
You're going to just Love fuelly.com...

 

I'm fairly conservative when it comes to refueling, mainly because I hate to run out of gas. Until yesterday I had not let the fuel gauge get below 1/4 without filling up my 2020 Touring Model with AWD. I knew I had lots of places to pull into on our day trip, so I was curious as to how much fuel was left once the Low Fuel Warning light came on. When it did come on, I drove less than a mile to stop. The gas pump showed it put 10.9 gallons in, which leaves 3.1 gallons. I know that most likely not all that remaining fuel is usable, but i now have a good idea of my margin of safety should the light come on again.
BTW, I averaged 30.5 mpg on that tank of fuel (hand calculation). About a third of that driving was on hilly, curvy roads where speeds don't exceed 55 mph and some of it is 35-40 mph. The vehicle has about 3,900 miles on it.

Mine is an old 2003 and I let the warning light come on, then keep driving until the gauge is down in the red for a while, then fill up. Can't recall how many gallons it takes, but my mileage sucks, about 20mpg no matter what.
Edit: Sorry I've posted in the wrong sub forum, you can blame the group owner VerticalScope for sending me trending threads in the wrong sub forum. How long have they owned this site?