I read when the fuel light comes on you have about 1.68 gal left.

when do you guys fill up?

 

First chance I get after 1/4 tank on the gauge. It's a bit more often then nessisary, but means that if life gets crazy, I'll be pretty likely to have a 100 mile range. Or that if I have a crying baby, I can make it home without having to stop.

 

As soon as it gets low enough that I become concerned about it I fill up.

 

I usually put between 7 & 9 gallons in when I fill up. The most I ever put in was 9.76 gal - I went 20 miles with the light on & then decided I better fill up or be stranded.
Malraux is wise to fill up when there is 1/4 tank left.

 

Dealership still owes me a full tank and detail which i plan to get today. Day we drove off it looked like it was going to rain so he said just come back for it. I got little under a half tank free. light came on lastnight as we went out for dinner and i drove aprox 10 miles with it on so hopefully ill make it back.

 

In my last car, the gas gauge was unreliable, so now it's a habit to fill up sooner than nessisary.

 

I had a Ford Escort many years ago--the fuel pump was located in the gas tank. A mechanic told me to never let the tank get almost empty, because it could ruin the fuel pump. Is there any truth to this?
Where is the fuel pump located in the Fit?

 

There is truth to that, and it happens quite often. The reason is because the fuel actually cools the pump when it flows through. However, I don't know if this is the case on the fit.

-Barry-

 

How else do you check to see if the low fuel light is working?

 

Right when it gets right below the empty line then i have about a half gallon left ... time to pull in

 

I fill mine about once per week as I average 300 miles in a week (+/- 25Mi) depending on what we do on the weekend. I know I can't go two weeks commuting without a fill up unless I've taken the Ridgeline at least two days to work over that two week period. (Plus Sundays are gas sale days at the Gulf in town & Monday is gas sale day at the Shell on my way to work.) Saving money and the need to have gas in the car to commute to/from work without having to stop midweek drives my fill-up schedule. I try filling up Monday mornings at the shell but sometimes it doesn't make sense to do so based upon price.

~SB

 

within the last few months I usually filled up half a tank every week with my Camry 4 cyl
around 8-12 gal. I drop the wife off at work and costco is right next door at 630 am no lines otherwise during the week you are waiting in line for a good 10+ minutes idling *wasting gas*

i do the excel spreadsheet thing so i see how much i fill, how much it cost and my avg mpgs. it seems that i was getting 24-26 avg with mixed driving.

hopefully ill be saving $ when i fill up the fit now.

 

If the fuel pump gets cooled from fuel flowing through it, it's not gonna be running long without fuel flowing through it, because when you're out of gas you shut off the car, right?

 

My understanding was that it was the fuel pump being submerged that cooled it, not the fuel flowing through it.

 

Over the years I got in the habit of filling at 1/4 tank. I really hate to be in a hurry and the first thing I have to do is stop for gas.

It usually goes like this, I'm in a hurry and the first station I pull into and get out of the car to pump, there is a notice the Credit card thing is broken and I need to prepay, there are 10 people waiting to prepay, so off I go. I'm in a hurry remember.

The next station is on the other side of the road and with traffic I'll never get across and back.

The fuel delivery truck is at the next station, I've been taught not to fill up when the truck is there.

Now I'm trying to figure out how long I have been driving with the fuel light on and where the next station is.

Oh great there is a station, look at that price, its 10 cents a gal more than the last station and the attendant is heading out to change the price!

Life is so much more peaceful and cheaper when I fill at my convenience at about 1/4 tank.
JIm 0311

 

I usually fill up at 1/3 left. The more air in the tank the more gasoline vapors are lost and more gas is pumped in. The best time to get gas is 1 hour after the tanker dropped the gas and in the Summer I fuel up in the early morning or after sun set.

 

The low fuel light comes on too soon...when it comes on I have about 50 more miles to go...

But I can't stand to have warning lights on in my dash, so I fill up when the light comes on, or just before it does (About 1/8 of a tank), especially if I am near one of the cheaper priced gas stations.

 

for some out west, 50 miles might not be enough. there are stretches of road where 50 miles won't get you to the next gas station. I think Honda uses 15% as it's low light indicator.

~SB

 

They didn't program it for BFE where 100 miles wouldn't be enough...they do have a fuel gauge...if you notice, after you fill-up it starts registering less and less gas in the tank...but that is not annoying like a bright fuel pump light in the dash...

 

This goes along the assumption that people use and understand that moving needle. That might require too much effort for many. I'm waiting for the electric driver's seat shock mechanism as the light might not even be enough for many. heck... there are people driving around with CELs on for miles.

It's a sad thing but the majority of the consumer sales world caters to the least common denominator. It does improve safety and add features but it also has it's cost. Personal responsibility and common sense.

~SB