How far has someone gone when reading zero range?

[lol-lol]

How far has someone gone when reading zero range?

Curious- is it a few miles or tens maybe?

What noises and symptoms a part from obvious slowing happens when fuel pump struggles to find fuel and is the system self re-priming, petrol or diesel both?

Clarkson etc had done 50 miles or more in some cars I remember in one program. Permanent daamage a possibility ie cavitated pump etc?

[devonutopia]

I've done between 25 and 30 in a fabia. Must be similar in an octy. My engine was still running fine though when I got to a petrol station.

[dan yeates]

I've never run it down to zero, but I heard you could easily get another 30 miles.

Wouldn't want to try it on a diesel though!

[eccleshill]

I am a total wimp when it comes to the low fuel light lottery :(

As soon as the light comes on I start panicking! Only once summoned up the courage to take it down to zero but only did another 2 or 3 miles.

Not as bad a swmbo though! Once got a phone call - low fuel light has come on and computer said zero miles left and was flashing saying "Urgent refuel now". She took some convincing that she would make it quite easily to the filling station a couple of miles away

[Simon TDI Sport]

I managed 30 miles past 0 before I filled up in my octy. I managed 45 in my works van though.

[luke_a]

I find the "miles left" thing is really inaccurate, makes me wonder if the average MPG is accurate either.

If I fill up the tank, it thinks it has 700 miles range on it... even though I can only get 500-600 out of a tank.

Then after 300 miles it goes down to 500 miles on it...

Then during the next 300 miles, the figure absolutely plummets.

I get a low fuel light when I have 70 miles left, and as my drive home is 30 miles, it always annoys the hell out of me that is quite happy to go down to 0 miles. Last time it did that, it went down to 0 miles, for about 15 miles, then went back up to 5 miles.

Talks utter *******s.

I carry a fuel can in the boot because I don't trust the ****er.

Edited 15 January, 2011 by luke_a

[jbconno]

I managed to get another 40 miles out of mine once it reached zero. Didnt notice anything strange though.

[pist0nbr0ke]

The miles left function goes by your previous average MPG, but I'm not sure whether that's over the last full tank, or set time or distance? Hence the DTG varies a lot.

FWIW I ended up driving over 55 miles showing zero miles left because a petrol station I was relying on in a remote area was closed

I've never driven as economically as in the last 20 of those miles.......

I think the system needs to be bled on the diesels if you do run out? :(

[Wardy]

Always amazed when Jason mentions that distance in threads like this! Nerves of steel...

I try never to be in that situation, but think I did maybe 5 miles on '0' in my last Octy. I was very pleased to finally see a petrol station!

How you do that distance with it saying the car is completely bereft of fuel is beyond me. I wouldn't want to damage anything either, or risk bringing any sludge or similar through the fuel system, fuel filter or no fuel filter

[k.young]

Regularly get 100kms. I love playing the low fuel lottery and don't worry about running out, the system does not need to be bled, it will just crank over for a little bit time before firing up.

[Wardy]

Do you carry spare fuel with you whilst playing 'the lottery' ?

[JohnSTV6]

When I picked my car up yesterday it was low on diesel (octavia 2.0 sport). We had no idea of the area, and the sat nav took us to the closest petrol station but it was closed when we got there.

I ended up doing over 30 miles with 0 on the range computer, it was still driving perfect when I got to the pump.

[k.young]

Do you carry spare fuel with you whilst playing 'the lottery' ?

That wouldn't be taking much of a risk now,would it.

[CEPi]

80km before engine started to cough, did drive another 2km to the petrol station. Of course depends how fast and are you going uphill or downhill to see how much it remains in total.

[GriffoVRS]

If you get to 0 miles and then fill up, see how much you can get in and compare it with the fuel tank capacity. This will give you a good idea of how much fuel is left, and therefore how much further you could drive.

Has anyone done this?

[pist0nbr0ke]

Is there or isn't there some sort of 'reserve' tank though?

To send this way off topic, what's the most fuel anyone has got into their Octy??

[Lou_O]

Is there or isn't there some sort of 'reserve' tank though?

To send this way off topic, what's the most fuel anyone has got into their Octy??

Over 55L recently.

[Wardy]

Is there or isn't there some sort of 'reserve' tank though?

To send this way off topic, what's the most fuel anyone has got into their Octy??

There's an expansion tank that you can fill on a DIESEL, if that's what you meant. Never filled it on the Octy, but doing this I got 52L into a Fabia tank (listed as a 45L capacity!)

On the 'fill from zero' question, again with the Fabia and NOT using the expansion tank I got around 40L in, so would seem that there was around a gallon left with the trip computer on zero.

Steve

[M12MKD]

not pushed it in the octavia but in the fabia one late night travelling back from up north I went 40 after hitting zero, most nerve racking experience! But no issues and got me home and to the petrol station the next day all ok

[FUBAR]

got 30+ regularly in my old fabia vrs but the prise in my car history was my 2002 2.0HDi 110 Peug 406 remapped to 140bhp 125 miles after ZERO on its computer (French Computer was on the ball obviously but light was on a long time before) and same tank 70L (but when run low I got 78 litres in when overfilling with no overflow 1045 miles since its last refill but I was on a Clarkson style mission to see what I could get from a tank took me 6 weeks too so a lot of short 10 mile cold start runs 250-300 of the miles were motorway only don't think my new octy will ever do anything like that MPG the 406 was a freak machine and I never ran out once but when i got my current run around 406 2.0HDi 90Bhp estate light came on did 30 miles and ran out for first time ever GUTTED it is such a low spec I thought a letter had fallen off but its a 406 L no trip computer ......

Edited 18 January, 2011 by FUBAR

[alexandjen]

I towed our caravan home about 20 miles with it on zero last year, forgot to fill up and thought it would be fine, surprising how fast the range drops when you are towing. A bit scary to say the least but she didn't even cough and got me home ok