My computer readout says I have a range of 1 mile left, but the needle is right at the last bar on "E", or just slightly above it. I have had many cars before, I always take it well below the "E". So, in this case, do I truly have 1 mile left, or is it 1 mile before the reserves will kick in?

My favorite gas station is 16 miles away, do you guys think I have enough to get there?

Thanks,
Kevin

 

please see my study

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=373438

in short: you'll be fine

 

Hey Kev,

Thanks very much for the link, and research. I did a search for this, but didn't get a hit with my key words.

The result is definitely what I expected. No car will run dry when the needle is on "E".

Kevin

 

Just yesterday I drove my GS350 for another 20 miles after it said I had 0 miles left. Even then, I was only able to put 16 gallons in my tank, and I believe it holds 18.5, so there was still plenty of reserve gas left.

 

no problem Kevin, but just remember, it's always bad to be this low in fuel we shouldn't push our luck too much

 

The main reason I do it is I don't like to make stops, but the other is to save fuel. If you watch Motorweek on PBS, they say you should drive with an empty trunk, and < full tank of gas.

 

and every online guides says otherwise due to gas vapors taking up part of the tank when you fuel it from empty

 

Also, your fuel pump use the gas in your tank for cooling. If you run close to empty all the time, your Fuel pump may overheat.

 

Are we talking about two different things? I was saying that an empty tank = less weight, so your car would be more efficient.

 

keep in mind there are fuels in the lines and other places, so theoretically you can't get a totally empty tank before you add gas.

also, yeah theoretically with an close to empty tank you have less weight and thus more efficient, but imho that theory is dump like saying throw out the rear seat if you don't need them or avoid eating food before driving

it's a bad idea to have a close to empty tank. especially when you go up and down hill. if the system suddenly run out of gas and the fuel pump tries hard, it overheats easily, and at the same time you can damage other stuff.

just before you say it won't happen, i had first hand experience on my gs400. tank empty and i killed the fuel pump. it's not cheap to repair

 

sorry I misunderstood you as i was reading it too fast on my phone.

what we are all saying is that it's simply just bad for the car to be that low on fuel all the time.

all the potential issues you might/will have outweighs any efficiency you might get from a slightly lighter car. We are not talking about the airplane when flying 5 mins slower can save over 100 million gallons of fuel a year, this is a 18.8 gal tank, there are way too many other ways to save gas than this method.

just a thought

 

so how does everyone define "filling up"? stop when it clicks the first time, or continue until gas is practically coming out of the hole?

 

stop when it clicks the first time

 

a single spark can ignite the gas from topping off, please just stop when it clicks

 

as soon as it clicks. it's never recommended to fill up till it spills