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Low Gas Warning Light

96K views 13 replies 10 participants last post by  Josephhhh 
#1 · (Edited)
Can anybody tell me when (approximately) the low gas warning light on the speedometer cluster comes on? I typically don't let the level get below 1/4 tack before filling up, but I did once just to see when the light would come on, so in case I'm ever caught in a situation and the light comes on I can estimate exactly how much gas (and mileage) is left before I run out.

It went down to below 1/8th of a tank by the gauge and the light never came on. When I filled up and subtracted the amount of gas from the listed capacity (17.96 US GAL), I had less than 2 gals left before filling up. That's less than 40 miles warning, BUT the light still never came on!

Fat lotta good a warning light is if it doesn't give you sufficient warning to remedy the situation. My previous car's warning light would come on at 1/8 of a tank, but even when the needle dropped down to E, I knew I still had 2 gallons left. What is everyone else's experience with this?
 
#3 ·
It wil come on when the fuel dial touches the letter "E" in the gauge.

Or when you're distance to empty reads 60km left.

I should know because I always drive my Sorento and won't gas up till the light comes on. My friend would say to me that this habit of mine will stress the fuel pump and can lead to problems in the future. Almost 2 years of doing this and i'm still good, I guess.

And when the light comes on, you can still drive on. It happened to me once that we're on a cross-province trip and there's no gas station anywhere. My gas light came on and I continued driving for about 30mins doing 100kph. I eventually found a gas station and loaded up. It was pretty scary though.
 
#7 ·
Thanks, but I wasn't the one that mentioned the fuel pump, although I have heard bad voodoo of some sort will befall you if you let the car run too low on gas. Hence my shock at the claims the low fuel warning light doesn't come on until there is only approx. 1 1/2 gallons left in the tank. This is ludicrous in my opinion.

Perhaps you were addressing your comment to greatauror28?

I should know because I always drive my Sorento and won't gas up till the light comes on. My friend would say to me that this habit of mine will stress the fuel pump and can lead to problems in the future. Almost 2 years of doing this and i'm still good, I guess.
 
#9 ·
For me, I got about 50 km when I tested it. This was with mostly highway driving.

You should test it yourself. A good way to test this would be to wait until your light comes on and then completely fill up the tank. Then you can determine how much gas was left in the tank when the light came on.

Don't forget that the distance that can be travelled after the light comes on will be different based on where you're driving and how you're driving.
 
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