Maxxed out Gastank!

josby said:

Yeah, with every car I've ever owned, I've tried to get a feel for how far past "E" they can go without running out of gas and then pushed them that far on almost every tank, yet I've never had a fuel pump problem. Many driven 100K miles by me that way. Whether the fuel pumps failed in the future after I sold them, who knows

Click to expand...

Same.

I ran my tank down to roughly 2 miles left in the range indicator on Friday morning (I think. I got home Thursday evening with 17 miles left and the gas station I went to before work the next day was 15 miles away.). I probably won't let it get to that point anymore, but it still only took about 10.5 gallons to fill up, and at $2.17/gallon, less than $30, which I sure am not complaining about.

Gas up here in Vancouver, BC is equivalent to $4.93/gal for 87 octane and $5.57/gal for 91.

If I'm completely empty, (0miles), it takes $20 to fill. That gives me 439miles... for $20! Insane! I'm currently getting 35.7mpg but she's still climbing. DO NOT get premium gas! I was getting 28mpg, then I switched to 89 & my mpg's are sky rocketing.

The low fuel light comes on at 10 gallons used, and the zero range is 11 gallons. The tank is 12.3, so there is still around 1.3 gallons left when you see zero miles on the range indicator. I regularly for 40-80 miles past the zero and fill up over 12 gallons.

Honda specs put the tank at 12.39 gallons: http://automobiles.honda.com/2016/civic-sedan/specifications.aspx

When my range meter goes under 100 miles, I start looking for a convenient time/place to fill up.
I grew up in a poor family with a fair amount of car trouble. It's one of the reasons I went with a new 2016 Civic instead of buying used like many financial "gurus" say to do. Along with that, I fill up way before I get to empty, so I don't have to have any stress about running out of gas. I hate car-related stress with a passion. Driving old cars around stresses me out, I worry about what's gonna break next, or if that sound or vibration means something is going out. I know, I've got problems!

inv4zn said:

There's about 2 gallons of reserve fuel left, so you technically weren't driving on fumes...

Also keep in mind that fuel acts as a coolant to the fuel pump, so running your tank dry repeatedly will cause premature failure of fuel pump!

...also I'm very envious of your gas prices...I pay ~$55 for a full tank

Click to expand...

I tell people this all the time!! Very good advice. Also if taking a long turn it might get air. And we all know what happens to pumps when they don't have liquid; they over rev and then overheat because they aren't cooled either. That's why you always see warning stickers on hydraulic pumps to not run dry.
Also in winter you shouldn't let it get below half. It lets moisture into tank from atmosphere you get water into tank. Summertime I would try to keep above 1/4 if you can.

Yeah, and if you do an extensive search, you might find 1 case of a fuel pump failing for running the gas tank a little low.

Move on please.

Anyone here ever run his fuel tank completely dry?