ironcondor

I think we can all agree our cars can be considered 'thirsty' for how big (or rather, small) the fuel tank is.

I'm not talking about mileage/economy or anything like that here - but as a new GS owner (as of a week and a half ago) I noticed something when filling up that plagued my prior car, a Civic.

Do you notice that the fuel pump cuts off really early when fueling up? The Civic had approximately a 13 gallon fuel tank. With the low fuel light on, filling up, the pump would stop at the 10-10.5 gallon mark. This was fairly consistent across stations and temperatures.

In the years I had my Civic, I got to know it well. To you nannies, putting aside the "do not top off" pump warning for a second, I always topped off, because I knew I could fit another 1.5-2 gallons in the tank, and probably more but I wanted to leave some room for venting and you could "hear" when the tank was truly starting to fill.

Conversely, in my wife's Flex, if you top off at all after the cutoff, it goes into the overflow drain and that's no bueno - the tank is truly full when the pump stops.

On to the GS: I've found in my two fillups so far, that the pump cuts off seemingly early here as well. Last fillup, I had under 1/4 tank left with ~60 miles left on the range meter. The pump cut out at the 12 gallon mark and I fit another 1.5 gallons in because I know the GS has a ~17 gallon tank and it seemed weird that it was already "full".

Have you guys experienced similar?

bclexus

Yes, I always am able to put an additional 1.5 to 2+ gallons after the cutoff. With my BMW, it's very full at cutoff and I couldn't get another quart of fuel in there even if I tried.

NebulaGrey

Never noticed, but, nonetheless good to know!! Thanks!

mattds

I actually filled up today for the first time. The lightbhas literally just come on. The light went on with 1.3 gallons of fuel in it based on filling it up right to the top with 15.7 gallons. However i would imagine that we can fit more than 17 in there of we fill it to the poiny where we can see it...

ironcondor

I suppose that is another question from this new owner. While I rarely go below 1/4 or even to when the light comes on, when the light does come on, about how much range is there left? Is there a buffer on the estimated range remaining (ie. reserve)?

NebulaGrey

Light came on - I think there was about 20 or so miles left. Got to the gas station with it saying about 13 miles left - filled up and the pump stopped at 15gals. I didn't try to fill up to the rim.

dchar

Light usually comes on around 20 miles range. I've driven it down to 0 miles range and went another 20 miles after. I chickened out and filled up.

AL13NV8D3R

Ive gone 43 miles after the range zero mark. Toyota and Lexus is really conservative to make sure we dont get stranded. So yeah you can pump another 2 gallons in. Ive done it all the time. This will increase your range but will not increase its efficiency. But i usually do this before going on a long trip knowing i will consume fuel immediatly.... i am paranoid that the GS may have a vent to release overflow therefore wasting gas so i just drive right away.

ironcondor

Since I commute 60+ miles daily in mine, I prefer to visit the pump less often and am not concerned about venting as much since I'm already a gallon down shortly after leaving the station.

1fuzzybk

I've had my car to 10 miles to empty and it only took 15 gallons. Didn't try to cram it full but did get another 1/4 gallon in. Looks like the MTE readout is off.

EyeKutr

iTrader: (5)

miles to empty on all toyota and lexus products are similar, they figure they dont want the soccer mom to call the AAA truck weekly. There is always a gallon + reserve in there. I have on occasion driven up to 40 miles once the MTE read 0 (this was on my 06 gs)