Low Fuel Light

[ace rothstein 81]

Hi, my name is Nathan and this is my first post.

Has anyone figured out how much fuel you have left in the tank when your red low fuel light comes on? I have been filling up pretty much as soon as my light comes on, but I usually only have to put around 11.5 to 12 gallons and the Versa is supposed to have a 13.2 capacity. I have been trying to figure out my MPG and I thought that if I knew how much longer I could drive on that tank without running out, I'd get a far more accurate number. Thanks.

[Tacuvito]

In general small cars will have 1 gallon and a half as a reserve in the tank. Don't worry about your milage right now because it take a while before the engine is broken in and you get full advantage of your gas savings. Just enjoy the fact that you have a new car for now. I can't wait to get mine.

[ace rothstein 81]

Any idea as to about when that "broken in" point in time is reached?

[Clipsed]

Drive at low RPMs and low speed until your first oil change, I am barely starting to see my mileage increase and just past 8000 miles.

[Ever Victorious]

While technically the engine is "broken in" (by factory standards) after 1,000 miles, many cars take up to about 10,000 miles to see their best fuel economy numbers.

Others achieve "normal" numbers right off the lot. It just depends.

[KimberKenobi]

Don't forget that the V likes to keep 2-3 gallons in it's tank or the engine light will come on...

Am I the only person on the planet who had 1/3 of my manual read the first night?!?

I am the biggest nerd......ever... and on that note...

"I can go for miles in my airplane, have a lot of smiles in my airplane,I can go up, I can get down,but I can't get to you if you don't want me around in my airplane"

"It's SOPWITH CAMEL time! SOPWITH CAMEL time!"

(The Royal Guardsmen, 'Airplane' and 'It's Sopwith Camel Time') (yeah... who saw that coming??)

*exit*

[kc5f]

I just checked my spreadsheet, and out of 70 fillups so far (23,500 miles), only six were over 12 gallons. No need to empty it to get accurate mileage calcs - just average it over a few tanks to even out not always filling it to the same spot.

Here in the mountains near Asheville I averaged 32.5 mpg from the start through the first few months until it started getting cold and they changed to the winter gas formula. I averaged about 30.5 mpg over the winter, but for the last two months it's been back up, with the last month averaging 33 mpg. In Raleigh you ought to able to do even better if you're easy on it, since it's flatter and warmer!