How empty is empty on a digital gauge?

Post by **exeunt** » Wed Nov 21, 2007 4:46 am

So on most cars the gas gauge is analog, and of course the meter being on the line always means you can make it just a little further. Has anyone tested the accuracy of the gas gauge yet?

Right now I'm sitting at one bar, and I'll be heading straight to the gas station after work to see how many litres I have left

Post by **Beagle_Hauler** » Wed Nov 21, 2007 5:14 am

Just the other day I was getting low enough that the gas symbol light came on (it's a yellow front profile of a gas pump), but I don't remember how many, if any, of the little LCD blocks were displayed on the fuel level meter. I pulled into a gas station and the thing only took 13.6 gallons. I believe the Rogue's fuel tank is 16 gallons so that left a decent reserve. Oh, also, the DTE came on automaticaly (Distance To Empty) and told me I had 43 miles left, as I sped up, it would drop and as I cruised at speed, it would go up. And this morning, it was 31 F outside and my little orange computer screen was kind enough to inform it was "ICY" outside! Good show Nissan!

~Mark

Post by **Beagle_Hauler** » Wed Nov 21, 2007 5:18 am

As I was getting low on fuel before the low level warning light came on, I was going around corners, and the momentum was enough to slosh the remaining fuel around such that the little LCD blocks on the digital gauge would go up and down depending on which way I went around a corner. Other "Needle" type guages seem to be very slow to react. Case in point: When you fuel up it would take 10 or 15 seconds for the little needle to slowly rise from E to F... The Rogue's fuel level sender seems to be much quicker to react, almost instantaneously.~Mark

Post by **dward** » Wed Nov 21, 2007 5:37 am

On my first tank fill, I was at 375 miles and the gas indicator light came on at 3 bars. At one bar, I believe, the MPG starts flashing -- -- -- to get your attention that you are running low. When I filled up I put 14.9 gallons into the tank which is suppose to be a 15 gallon tank so I cut it a bit too close for comfort. Being an eningeer, I note there are 16 bars from empty to full. That is pretty close to one bar per gallon so if you get approx 27 miles to the gallon then your fuel gauge should decrease one bar approx every 27 miles travelled.

Post by **jaywhiz21** » Wed Nov 21, 2007 5:42 am

Quick correction: Rogue tank is 15.9 gallons.

Post by **dward** » Wed Nov 21, 2007 6:14 am

Thanks for the correction Jaywhiz. You're right. My typing finger hit the wrong key.

Post by **blaruffa** » Wed Nov 21, 2007 12:45 pm

2 Bars on the fuel gaugue = about 14.9 to 15.1 gallons burned.

Post by **DaleB** » Wed Nov 21, 2007 3:06 pm

I did my first fill-up when the gauge said 1/4 full. I put in 15.3 gallons of gas. With a 15.9 gal. tank, I'd say that my gauge at least, is pretty far from accurate.

DaleSan Antonio, TX

Post by **exeunt** » Wed Nov 21, 2007 5:38 pm

Filled up today with 58.3 litres. That's 15.4 gallons, leaving 0.5 gallons left with 1 bar showing for a few miles to reach the gas station. I think I have the record so far.

How low can you go?

Disclaimer: NICO club does not condone the actions of its moderators

Post by **sckeith** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 7:55 pm

I just picked up a new Rogue on Monday and just show 1/2 tank left. How is the accuracy of the Rogue fuel gauge. Most of my old cars take a while to start dropping but when they do, they go fast. If it is accurate I'm getting about twice the mileage that I got in our Equinox. That would be great to get that kind of mileage

Thanks

Post by **YGBSM F-4G** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 5:41 pm

I noticed my Rogue drops really fast when there is quarter tank left. More so than any car or truck I've owned. No biggie, just have to be aware of it when driving. I still get 25-26 mpg.

Post by **charlesc** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 4:22 pm

I think this is just a Nissan thing, my 94 hardbody truck did the exact thing when it got to a quarter of a tank.

Post by **kerrton** » Tue Apr 29, 2008 11:10 am

I think I might have a probem with my fuel gauge. The first half of this tank is lasting forever, I'm at 380 kilometers and I just hit a half a tank, and this is all with city driving and the engine isn't even broken in yet. I'd like to believe the gauge but this is just too good to be true.

Has anyone else noticed the gauge being inaccurate, by moving down very slow for the first half, then going down very quickly after the second half? Or anything else similar to this? Maybe my gauge is just defective and I need to have Service check it out.

Post by **jsellberg** » Tue Apr 29, 2008 11:30 am

my warning light came on when i hit 45 miles on my dte. i went to get gas shortly after, but i've taken it down to 1 bar before and i didnt even notice the warning light on? it always seems like that first bar lasts super long too.

Post by **tellurian** » Tue Apr 29, 2008 12:47 pm

My warning light comes on at 2 bars (but this is only the 2nd fillup). With 2 bars I can put in 54 litres which means that there are ~ 6 litres in the tank (about 1.6 US gallons) ... and I drove for a little while with 2 bars which means that each bar seems to be about 1 gallon (US) (there are 16 bars total I think).

Post by **philipa_240sx** » Tue Apr 29, 2008 1:20 pm

There is another thread regarding accuracy of the fuel gauge and low fuel warning light:

zerothread/324456

Although Nissan publishes 60L or 15.9 US gal, it appears the tank is somewhat larger... possibly as much as 65L or 17 US gal. I have done fillups as much as 58L... I have a hard time believing the I was driving on 2 L (1/2 gallon of gas) and not having drivability issues.

Yes, the lower half of the gauge seems to go faster. My Pathfinder, 240SX, and Altima had the same issue. Maybe it's a Nissan thing?

Post by **tellurian** » Tue Apr 29, 2008 3:30 pm

philipa_240sx wrote:Yes, the lower half of the gauge seems to go faster. My Pathfinder, 240SX, and Altima had the same issue. Maybe it's a Nissan thing?

It isn't just a Nissan thing, my last car (GM, Olds Intrigue) was the same, the last 1/4 tank would virtually evapourate right before my eyes.

Post by **boooey** » Tue Apr 29, 2008 5:07 pm

kerrton wrote:I think I might have a probem with my fuel gauge. The first half of this tank is lasting forever, I'm at 380 kilometers and I just hit a half a tank, and this is all with city driving and the engine isn't even broken in yet. I'd like to believe the gauge but this is just too good to be true.

Has anyone else noticed the gauge being inaccurate, by moving down very slow for the first half, then going down very quickly after the second half? Or anything else similar to this? Maybe my gauge is just defective and I need to have Service check it out.

Mine does a similar thing. when i first fill up, sometimes I can drive 40 miles and the gauge is still reading full, not one bar dropped. Then the next morning it will suddenly drop like 2 bars within the next 10 miles or so..

Post by **tellurian** » Wed Apr 30, 2008 2:43 am

kerrton wrote:Has anyone else noticed the gauge being inaccurate, by moving down very slow for the first half, then going down very quickly after the second half? Or anything else similar to this? Maybe my gauge is just defective and I need to have Service check it out.

I don't think that gas gauges are very accurate anyway (nor probably meant to be maximally precise). I just fill up somewhere around 1/8 tank (2 ticks now with the Rogue). As we all know (I think), they and are effected just by sloshing on hills and curves while you are driving. I have never found them to be 'accurate' on any vehicle I have had, and what you and others note is my common experience with all gas gauges on any car (they are not linear). Then again I have no experience with premium luxury cars.

I would be willing to bet that the mechanical aspect of the gauge (in the tank itself) is the same as it has been for the past few decades the only thing that has changed is that the analog gas dial is now digital. Psychologically I think one expects a digital readout to be more accurate, but that is often just not true. Besides it would not make practical sense to invest $$$$$ on a precision monitoring system to let me know if I have 4.78 l left or 4.79 l. There are other systems on the car where that money is better spent (and probably was).

Post by **paulvanharte** » Wed Apr 30, 2008 4:52 am

My gauge does the same thing. The fuel gauge did the same on all my other vehicles as well. The last half seems to go much faster.I usually use the DTE or tripodometer as a gauge as to how much is left.

Paul

Post by **philipa_240sx** » Fri May 02, 2008 1:47 pm

Ok I think I can settle this debate.

I ran the Rogue right to near empty today. It wasn't intentional and I was genuinely worried I would run out. When I filled up, I had 1 bar showing on the gauge and had driven approx 75km (45mi) with the warning light on.

It took a full 60 litres or 15.9 US gallons to fill the tank!

If the tank actually held the stated amount, I should have been left stranded on the side of the road. Short of running out of gas to check, I would estimate the tank size to be closer to 65 litres or 17 US gallons.

Note to everyone, including myself: Don't ever run the tank empty! Fill up before you ever get that low on gas.

Post by **Roguemonster** » Sun May 04, 2008 2:42 pm

I put 15.959 gallons in today, and was genuinely surprised. I didn't think I was that low.

TC was WAY off on the mileage too...30.1 vs actual 26.1. Maybe I just got a better fill this time...

Post by **Goblin** » Thu May 08, 2008 6:19 am

I had two bars left and the digital read out with all dashes; I managed to put in 16.5 gals given me 22.0 mpg with 1/3 being highway.

Post by **philipa_240sx** » Thu May 08, 2008 7:39 am

Roguemonster wrote:TC was WAY off on the mileage too...30.1 vs actual 26.1. Maybe I just got a better fill this time...

You may have just gotten a better fill. I find I can sqeeze several litres or a gallon or more after the initial auto-fill-stop. It's hard to get similar fill up levels every time unless you use the same pump at the same station and use the same fill procedure/technique.

According to the FSM, the fuel consumption calculation is done approx every 30 seconds and is calculated using the vehicle speed and a fuel consumption signal from the ECU. I imagine it does some sort of averaging as well.

Distance To Empty calculations are done using the fuel gauge... and we know how accurate that is!

Post by **SimLex** » Sat May 24, 2008 1:39 pm

I just filled up yesterday for the first time. My gauge showed two bars and the DTE was reading about 36 miles. But after making a turn, all of a sudden the DTE reading was several dashes (------) that were flashing.

It scared me. I thought I had some cusion until the blinking dashes started appearing. I made it fine, but won't be waiting that long again!

Post by **EddNog** » Sun May 25, 2008 1:00 pm

exeunt wrote:Filled up today with 58.3 litres. That's 15.4 gallons, leaving 0.5 gallons left with 1 bar showing for a few miles to reach the gas station. I think I have the record so far.

How low can you go?

Disclaimer: NICO club does not condone the actions of its moderators

Ditto, I filled with one bar left the other day and it took 15.5 to fill it.

So basically, consider yourself as having under 1 gallon left if you're down to one block. Don't be anything more than 15 miles from a gas station when you hit one block on the bar!

-Ed

Post by **Pescakl1** » Sat May 31, 2008 8:28 am

Please allow me to give you my opinion on this as I love running with the tank almost empty :In fact, I don't like to fill up, that is the real reason.

When the caution light comes on, I will say you have about 8 liters (2 gallons to be conservative) in the tank left.For me, it means that I can still go about 100kms.

From what I learned from the salesperson (at least, he was informative on this part as he owns a Versa), when the last square disappears, run to the nearest gas station (only 10kms left).

As several have seen, and it is the case in every car, no just nissans, the first part of the gauge goes slower than the last part. So when your gauge is at about less than two third, you are in fact at mid tank.But, the last squares are the most important, and from what I have seen, 1 square = about 50 kms on my car.

I always use my partial odometer (reset after every fill, A then B then A) to know how far I am and how many kms I can still go because the gas gauge is too imprecise to be sure. Sometimes I gain a square back and then lose two in a row, acting kinda weird some time to time depending of the weather (heat and cold play on the gas being in liquid phase or gaseous which play on the gauge).

As I experimented myself, I filled my car 68 liters once (No typing error here). I did not have any square left and drive about 10kms before filling.

On my previous cars, I had already put more fuel than said in the manual but usually it is no more than 2 to 3 liters (because of the pipes on one hand and because I fill the tank until I can see the gas (about 4 liters after the automatic stop) on the other hand).

So, I believe I have a 65l (17 gallons) tank which is better than a 60l tank for me .

I have just filled up the car yesterday: 66 liters with still a square left.Definitively not a 60l tank on mine!

If you need a cobaye for stupid experimentations on the car, ask me, I am doing that on a regular basis

Post by **DavidNJCPA** » Tue Jun 03, 2008 12:58 pm

I have a Rogue SL AWD. Believe it or not, I cant figure out how to see MPG and miles left in the tank, tire pressure etc. On my Quest I push button saying Disp, and I see all this.

How do I see this information?

David

Post by **philipa_240sx** » Tue Jun 03, 2008 7:41 pm

Read page 2-7 of your owners manual... it's the small stick like knob to the lower right of the odometer/fuel/engine temp gauge. Depress it to cycle through all the various displays.

Post by **DavidNJCPA** » Thu Jun 05, 2008 5:46 am

Philip,

Thanks for your help. I reread the manual.

I still cant get it, every time I dpress that stick, it shifts and resets the trip odometer.

The other stick on the left is for dash lighting.

It's possible I am doing something wrong, but I am usually good with these things.

If you can help, I'd be most appreciative, oterwise I will probably ask the dealer at some point (though dealer helpfulness is questionable as I am at 10K miles already.

Best,

David

How empty is empty on a digital gauge?

How empty is empty on a digital gauge?

Re: How empty is empty on a digital gauge? (exeunt)

Oh and I forgot to mention..

Re: How empty is empty on a digital gauge? (exeunt)

Re: How empty is empty on a digital gauge? (dward)

Re: How empty is empty on a digital gauge? (jaywhiz21)

Re: How empty is empty on a digital gauge? (dward)

Re: How empty is empty on a digital gauge? (exeunt)

Re: How empty is empty on a digital gauge? (DaleB)

Fuel Gauge Accuracy

Re: Fuel Gauge Accuracy (sckeith)

Re: How empty is empty on a digital gauge? (exeunt)

Re: How empty is empty on a digital gauge? (kerrton)

Re: How empty is empty on a digital gauge? (exeunt)

Re: How empty is empty on a digital gauge? (tellurian)

Re: How empty is empty on a digital gauge? (philipa_240sx)

Re: How empty is empty on a digital gauge? (kerrton)

Re: How empty is empty on a digital gauge? (kerrton)

Re: How empty is empty on a digital gauge? (tellurian)

Re: How empty is empty on a digital gauge? (paulvanharte)

Re: How empty is empty on a digital gauge? (philipa_240sx)

Re: How empty is empty on a digital gauge? (Roguemonster)

Re: How empty is empty on a digital gauge? (Roguemonster)

Re: How empty is empty on a digital gauge? (philipa_240sx)

Re: How empty is empty on a digital gauge? (exeunt)

Re: How empty is empty on a digital gauge? (EddNog)

Re: How empty is empty on a digital gauge? (Pescakl1)

Re: How empty is empty on a digital gauge? (DavidNJCPA)

Re: How empty is empty on a digital gauge? (philipa_240sx)

Nissan Forums

Infiniti Forums

Datsun Forums

Technical Forums

Classifieds / Marketplace

Nissan Motorsports

General Forums