When your fuel light comes on, you put xx.x gallons in

Post by **matthew1** » 02 Nov 2013, 13:15

15.6 just now. Fuel light had been on perhaps 3 miles.

Post by **j-dawg** » 02 Nov 2013, 13:27

really?

i usually fill mine up before the light comes on, and it can be 16+ gallons.

mine is a wagon - perhaps the wagon's tank is larger?

Post by **matthew1** » 02 Nov 2013, 13:43

I shut off at the first pump handle click. One and done. No squeezing more in.

It's always been high 15's or 16's when I get the light.

futureboycolin · Post by **futureboycolin** » 02 Nov 2013, 13:46

Isn't the light set to come on just under 3 gallons? Which would make sense, since isn't the take 18.5?

mfagus · Post by **mfagus** » 02 Nov 2013, 17:08

According to Edmunds.com the tank on my 95 850 turbo wagon is 19.3 gallons which is also what the owners manual says.

Mark

Post by **rspi** » 02 Nov 2013, 20:29

When I fill up after the light comes on, which is rare, usually only when traveling, I get about the same, between 15 and 16 gallons. Once It said I only had 20 miles left and I was only about to pump 16.8 gallons. So I still had 2.5 gallons left.

It is NOT good to pump past the first click. You can force fuel into vacuum lines and destroy all kinds of sensors. Especially true when pumping with the car running (who does that?).

Rumor has it that the car will run out of gas with 1 gallon still in the tank.

Marcobrick · Post by **Marcobrick** » 03 Nov 2013, 01:39

Same here, 60 litres (about 15.7 US gal).

instarx · Post by **instarx** » 03 Nov 2013, 04:21

The manual says there is approximately 1.8 gallons left when the warning light comes on. My last warning light fill-up was 17.3 gallons even though the manual says my tank is only 17.4 gallons. My largest fill ever was 18.50 gallons which is a good trick with a 17.4 gallon tank. I almost never wait for the light to come on and I frequently have 17+ fill ups. The point? Don't take your manual's data as gospel on tank volume.

Plus, I've always assumed the tank volume given by manufacturers did not include the filler neck volume.

Post by **rspi** » 03 Nov 2013, 14:27

LOL, I hope not (filler neck). It's not good forcing more fuel in it than the first shut off.

Most filler necks are lower than that top of the tank.

instarx · Post by **instarx** » 03 Nov 2013, 18:18

rspi wrote:Most filler necks are lower than that top of the tank.

I don't believe that's physically possible. Because gas flows down the neck to the tank using gravity, the filler neck HAS to be higher than the tank. This seems so obvious, I must not be understanding what you are saying.

Do you mean that the filler neck isn't connected to the tank at the exact top? That's probably true, but manufacturers would take that into consideration when listing tank volumes. Maybe my point wasn't clear - I'm not saying I can stuff 18.5 gallons into a 17.4 gallon tank - I'm saying my tank volume is probably listed incorrectly.

As for gas in the filler neck, gas is required to be near the top of the filler neck in order for the nozzle's auto shut-off to work. Again, I guess I just don't understand what it is you're hoping not to be the case.