konradsa

Hi,

Just got the car, 2013 RX350, 5,000 miles on it.

Today, the low fuel light came on. It showed 20 miles cruising range left, which would roughly equal 1 gallon. I pulled into the gas station, and they filled up 15.55 gallon to fill it up.

Now 15.55 + 1 = 16.55 gallons. The car has 19.2 gallon tank, that means there must be over 2.5 gallons in there the car doesn't know about!

Is this inaccuracy normal for the RX350 or is there something wrong with m car?

RX330inFL

Normal behavior, konradsa. The light comes on early. If you had to you could drive your RX until your cruising range value was down to zero and you could still keep on driving for awhile. However, why would you want to do this? The fuel pump in your gas tank is cooled somewhat by the fuel it is pumping through it. Once it cannot pick up any fuel from your tank and your vehicle is getting by with only what is left in the gas lines the pump is still running. You run the risk of damaging the pump over time in the process.

FWIW, I have never put in 16 gallons in my RX in all my travels. Almost, but not quite. Have run the cruising range down to single digits -- as low as 3 in a test of the system.

Consider this the nature of the beast and in the best interests of your vehicle, yourself and your family.

dctex99

Normal; they don't want luxury car people to run out....I once drove my Lincoln 50 miles with the dash flashing that I was "OUT OF GAS",,,,,very normal.....adjust to it!!

BertL

Congrats on your new-to-you RX!

You're OK. Do a few searches if you want more detail. While some may debate the specific number of gallons left, there are "a couple" left when that red light comes on by design. Most mfgrs keep a little in reserve for the people that wait for the warning light to come on, so they don't get stranded on the side of the road somewhere. My suggestion is, when you get to 1/4 left, drop by a station that has a good price and top it off. It's what I've done for years, and I never see the "idiot light" as my dad used to call it.

Enjoy your RX!

RXSF

you'll be thanking that "inaccuracy" if you ever have to drive on an interstate where it says next gas is 30+ miles away

konradsa

Ok, got it, thanks. My BMW is a lot more precise when it comes to that, very little reserve 2.5 gallons still seems a little excessive to me, but it will keep my wife from running it dry!

Evitzee

The fuel pump is in a mini-tank in the main tank so even if you run the main tank dry it still is submerged in fuel so you aren't likely to burn it out.

When the fuel range reads '0' you have between 2 and 2 1/2 gallons left in the tank....all systems are built that way for safety purposes.

tfischer

As noted, this is common. Over time, note how many gallons you use to fill the tank when the needle shows one-quarter, one-half, etc., and soon you can estimate how many gallons it will take. From the needle position, I can almost always accurately guess to within a gallon or two. When the needle is at the "E" mark, generally you have about 3 gallons left. Of course, now that you know this, the reason for setting it up this way is no longer operative.

m1964

in most of the newer vehicles ECU will shut off the fuel pump when fuel level drops below minimum required to cool off the fuel pump to prevent irreversible pump damage. So the Lexus "tells" you to fill up in advance; I had a LR, and Volvo XC90, both had accurate gage but you'd have to be very careful not to drop below 2 gal. level because you had a chance to get stuck -once after my wife parked on our inclined driveway, XC90 would not start again (the gage was at min., light was ON) - I added some gas (I kept for our lawn mower), and XC90 started fine. I think that on the incline all the gas collected in the front of the tank, leaving the pump and the level sensor "dry", and ECU shut off the pump.

tfischer

Although dctex observes that ". . . they don't want luxury car people to run out.. . ." I don't think that "they" (whoever that is) wants anybody to run out [of gas]. Every gauge has to be calibrated, and it costs no more to have the gauge read low than high, or even spot on (as they say across the pond). I don't have one at the moment, but my guess is that the gas gauge on the rock bottom bare bones Scion points to "E" long before the gas is gone.