Running on Empty

[MarkHab]

First off, can anyone tell me how far below the "E" line the EX can go before running out of gas?

With my G35 I was able to get about 30KM reliably once it hit the bottom of the "E" line. I never ran out of gas with it, so I'm not sure how much further I could have gone. As it was, it often felt like that Seinfeld Episode with Kramer and the Car salesman.

What's raising this question is that this vehicle warns me when I have 60KM left of cruising range. However usually within 5km of that warning, it tells me I have zero range left. At this point the gas gauge needle is usually at the top of the "E" line. I find it frustrating that the warning is so obviously at odds with itself within just 5 or 10km of driving. Surely the goal of the software creators for this vehicle was not to piss off the owners?

Anyone know if this issue has been fixed by a software upgrade or something?

[Obsidian EX]

First off, can anyone tell me how far below the "E" line the EX can go before running out of gas?

With my G35 I was able to get about 30KM reliably once it hit the bottom of the "E" line. I never ran out of gas with it, so I'm not sure how much further I could have gone. As it was, it often felt like that Seinfeld Episode with Kramer and the Car salesman.

What's raising this question is that this vehicle warns me when I have 60KM left of cruising range. However usually within 5km of that warning, it tells me I have zero range left. At this point the gas gauge needle is usually at the top of the "E" line. I find it frustrating that the warning is so obviously at odds with itself within just 5 or 10km of driving. Surely the goal of the software creators for this vehicle was not to piss off the owners?

Anyone know if this issue has been fixed by a software upgrade or something?

Personally, I wouldn't go anywhere near "E", as I find it drops very quickly. In previous cars I knew that if the low fuel light came on I was good for about 35km around town, and ~70 on the highway. With the EX, I find it drops like a stone, and, as you state, it is clearly at odds with the cruising range indicator. I nearly ran out of fuel on a highway trip as there was approximately 1/8 of a tank left and the cruising range indicated 90+km. "No problem" I thought, as I passed a gas station, "lots of fuel left". Even with very easy driving, the range indicator was dropping 2 - 3 times faster than my actual distance covered. It also seems that when you are looking for a gas station, no can be found easily!

My lesson from all of this is to fill up once I get to the 1/8 indicator. I simply don't trust the accuracy of the gauge or the cruising range indicator.

Hope this helps. (I also think you will find another thread on this from about a year ago.)

Cheers

[NJ_EX35]

It totally does drop quick once the range meter runs out! I have had several runs to the range meter indicator and gotten gas well within time. One time I was no where near a gas station and had about 12 miles to run when the indicator said 0. When I got to the gas station I filled it up and took 19.75 gallons of gas, given that the tank has capacity of 20 gallons I cut it close! Never again! I would say it has about 3/4 of a gallon once you hit the zero range on the meter based on my experience.

[KJ911TT]

I've pushed it all the way to empty twice.

Both times, roadside assistance brought me 10 litres of free gas.

You can actually go quite a ways before the tank is empty.

The way I do it is that I know I have a 76L tank.

I divide that by my current fuel consumption, say "14.6L/100km"

76 / 14.6 = 5.205 x 100 = 520.5 kms is what I can do. Until I approach that number, I should be ok.

I should point out that the "max capacity" for the tank is supposed to be 76L, but I have filled almost 80L before.

- KJ

[terrycs]

The analog gauge works with a crude float in your gas tank which makes the gauge a "relative" indicator of how much fuel is left in the tank. The readings actually vary from one car to the next. I actually had the fuel level sensor replaced in my car because it would never get full.

On the other hand, the digital Distance to Empty reading only provides an estimate based on CURRENT fuel injector duty cycle. If you've been driving the car hard, the distance to empty will be a lot lower when the reading is taken.

For me, I just use the analog gauge and fill up at 1/8 tank left. I don't even bother with the distance to empty reading because it is not consistent.