Let me start out by saying that before I bought my 2008 Mazda 3, I had never owned a car with a working gas needle so this is all new to me .

Is it normal for a gas light to come on when you still have 4 gallons of gas in a 14 gallon tank? Even driving in the city this is another ~100 miles worth of gas for me. I hit the E mark with about 3 gallons left (~75miles).

This isn't really a big deal, I was just curious.

[Edited on May 19, 2011 at 9:11 PM. Reason : I know how many miles I typically get on a tank but sometimes the gas light makes me anxious. ]

5/19/2011 9:09:35 PM

yes. put a can of gas in your car and drive normally until you run out. you should get some very helpful baselines to go by as far as miles per tank in case the gauge breaks, how many gallons you have left and how many miles you can go once the light comes on, etc.

5/19/2011 9:53:49 PM

Gas gauges are designed to screw with your head. They're all rigged to stay in the full range longer to trick you into thinking your vehicle gets fantastic fuel economy. After all, it's been sitting at full all week...until it drops immediately to empty. The tanks are weird shapes too, which the float mechanism usually doesn't account for. You'll be doing fine one minute then park on a hill and be bone dry. I just fill up at a quarter tank. The fuel pump needs gas to cool itself, running empty will burn them up. No point risking it just to get a few extra miles down the road.

5/19/2011 10:00:40 PM

5/19/2011 10:21:20 PM

When my gas light comes on i usually have over half a tank left. The forums for my car say this is normal and keeps the fuel pump submerged. When I hit E I supposedly can drive about 200 miles before I run out of gas. Ive never had the guts to test this, especially since a full tank would cost around 80 bucks or so.

I too am on my first car with a working gas needle.

5/23/2011 12:50:02 PM

Quote :

"especially since a full tank would cost around 80 bucks or so."

And what's the problem with that? I never understood why some people never fill up all the way when they get gasoline. By not filling up all the way you're just inconveniencing yourself. And if it's an issue of money then someone like taht isn't able to even afford a car.

[Edited on May 23, 2011 at 3:32 PM. Reason : k]

5/23/2011 3:31:59 PM

Quote :

"By not filling up all the way you're just inconveniencing yourself. And if it's an issue of money then someone like taht isn't able to even afford a car."

if you were never too broke to fill your gas tank up all the way then you should probably have mom and dad cut you off long enough to learn what food tastes when it doesn't come off a silver spoon


anyway, to anyone that heavily relies on their gauge panel: your odo/trip meter is way more reliable than your gas gauge. Every time you fill up, reset a trip meter and you will always know about how much mileage you have left on a tank. I own three vehicles and none of them have gas gauges (two dont have them at all and the one in my truck is broken).

[Edited on May 23, 2011 at 4:09 PM. Reason : OP knows]

5/23/2011 4:02:13 PM

Oh stop, that's a lame excuse unless you drive some vehicle with a 20+ gallon tank (assuming current gas prices). And it doesn't change the fact that if you can't afford a full tank you can't afford to properly maintain your vehicle

5/23/2011 4:40:03 PM

I mean I could sit here and argue either side. All I'm sayin is that most of us, I dare assume you included, were a broke-ass college student at some point and had to make the call between dumping your last $30 in your gas tank or putting in $15 to get you to/from work/school for a couple days while still being able to feed yourself. If you didn't, you were likely cashing a regular check from home.

Now, if you don't grow out of it at some point, then yes you've got some issues to work through beyond the operating cost of a car

5/23/2011 5:18:05 PM

Quote :

"If you didn't, you were likely cashing a regular check from home"

5/23/2011 6:00:44 PM

hey look maybe I'm just bitter that I've been on my own and worried about the first of the month since before I could legally buy porn but you tell me that most people are innately responsible spenders and I'll relent

5/23/2011 6:20:04 PM

we're arguing two different things

i just think it's ignorant to make that generalization

[Edited on May 23, 2011 at 6:25 PM. Reason : most people are not responsible spenders]

5/23/2011 6:24:51 PM

ive just met too many people that, even now as "adults", still receive regular assistance from their parents in the form of gas cards, bills paid, checking transfers, etc. when they are fully capable of providing for themselves. So yes, it's a gross generalization and there are always exceptions, but I feel it's far from "ignorant."

5/23/2011 6:30:08 PM

could just be the kind of folks you hang around

5/23/2011 6:36:47 PM

um...I just meant that it would be possible for me to run the tank to empty, burn up the fuel pump, unknowingly fill up, then have to worry about saving 20 gallons of gas somewhere or lose a lot of it while I change the fuel pump.

5/23/2011 11:28:52 PM

^What car do you own. Seems like a design flaw if the fuel pump "burns up" from getting too warm when the fuel level gets low. I run both my cars till they're almost out. In fact both of my cars are borderline empty at the moment

paerabol I wasn't trying to sound snotty but most of my comments aren't in line with broke as college students as the median age on TWW has increased over the years. So yeah, some broke as student would be scraping the bottom from time to time. I was directly my comment to people out of college, which is something I suppose I do not know about poster I replied to.

5/24/2011 4:43:42 PM

Oh I don't even care I just like arguing once in a while The threads I pick are almost entirely arbirtrary. Can't afford to fill it up regularly? Sell that shit and take the bus.

5/24/2011 5:00:20 PM

^^yea...I drive a 99 SHO
I live a mile from work and school so I only drive it if im going home, otherwise Id sell it or part it out or something. The fuel pump and gas tank design is one of the many quirks about this car ive learned to live with since its paid for. The paper work says 16 gallon tank but the people on the SHO message boards swear they've put 21 gallons of gas in it. Ive driven to E before and there is still quite a lot of gas in the tank. Ive always just assumed that Ford really wants that thing to stay submerged in gas. I think a lot of cars these days have the pumps mounted on the top of the tank and those self lubricate so its not as big a deal if those cars are driven closer to empty.

5/24/2011 11:22:49 PM