When is a quarter of a tank not a quarter of a tank?

[marleyfan]

When it's in a Versa that's when. This may have been commented on before but I couldn't see it. On my fuel gage between the 1/4 and 1/2 marks there are 5 intermediate marks. Same between the 1/2 and 3/4. But.....between 3/4 and full there are only 4 marks. And.....between 1/4 and empty there are only 3 marks. WTF?? Shouldn't there be the same number of marks between each of the quarters? I just don't get it. Are they all like this or was somebody having fun with my gage?

[sambot]

Hey don't you know? All the marks on the gas gauge are merely decorative. The quarter is not a quarter, the half, not a half, and empty. Well, I usually try and fill up when the little yellow light comes on, but even that is not always consistent.

[reyes1212]

yeah i remember a few times when my light turned on then i parked for a while at my gf house or wherever and the next day i went driving and the light didnt turn on unti laround 15 miles later then i got to where i was going and um the point is, the light sorta turns on before it actually needs to turn on. so uh yeah.......loli think its because of how dense the gas gets with different temps.

[Woogie]

That and the fact that on most cars these days, the gas tanks tend to be funky shaped so that the manufacturer can fit them in odd places around other parts of the car. Back in the old days of gigantic land yachts they could make the tank pretty much square, now not so much.

[marleyfan]

I'm aware that the gas gauge is more for ballparking the amount of gas. I just find it strange that there aren't consistent marks on the gauge. Why would they put 3 marks then 5 for the next two quarter then 4? Why not have the same number of marks between each quarter? It's not a big deal really it just seems very odd to me.

[sambot]

Of course! What were we all thinking? The marks represent a baroque, algebraic/algorithmic equation about the amount of gas left in the tank, the atmospheric pressure, and the phase of the moon.

Either that or the marks are all meaningless except for "Full" and "Empty". I only pay attention to the yellow light. Either way, paying $1.10/L for gas in oil rich Alberta really stinks.

[COVersaSL]

[Martin Roy]

Who cares about the price of gas, why don't you all do like I do: I just put in 20$ every time ! So the cost never raises.

I know... this is an old joke, but I'm never tired to see the faces of people when they ear that, like "Man, he's stupid ! Is he serious ?"

[srellim234]

I agree that the gas gauge could have been better designed, but I try to never run it down, anyway. That said, as part of our first tank of gas in the Versa I ran the car out to Palm Springs last Saturday. As I got off the freeway near home, the low fuel light came on; I was on flat ground. One mile later I pulled in to the gas station, filled up, and found out there were still three gallons in the tank!

In a way I hope the light comes on at that point on every tank. I'll never be uptight about running out knowing I've got about 90 miles worth of fuel left when the light comes on.

With all the horror stories I've heard about sediment in the bottom of tanks messing up engines I usually treat the "1/4 left in the tank" mark as time to fill up in all of the cars I drive.

[srellim234]

Now I know that my gas gauge is telling me that there is less gas remaining than is really there. It snuck under 1/4 left so I just filled it up. Only took 8.5 gallons.

As for mpg, this tank was 100% city with the a/c on almost the entire time. Averaged only 25.0 mpg with the CVT.