Is this an urban myth these days, and if not then can running the car with an extremely low (but not empty) tank of fuel dmage it in any way?

 

I ask as I have an atrocious habit of running out.

 

As a side issue, I'm finding that when the car tells me I have 0 km left, I can run on for at least another 10. It seems to clock down in 10km icrements, so how accurate is it, and does anyone know how much is actually left when it registers "0"?

Last time i took mine down to zero (its well known that you can), I could only fill up with 43 litres.

So you have at least another gallon not being read by the trip computer

The risk is the crud at the bottom of the tank is more likely to clog up the fuel pickup... But on a newish car there isn't likely to be much crud so not a huge worry.

 

The computer is very conservative - I've run past 0 on all of my cars and there are always 3-4 litres left in the tank if you believe the fuel pump measurement and listed tank capacity are accurate.

I would have thought that the fuel we buy nowadays would be relatively clean, the days of dirty tanks should be long gone...

Surely when driving anything in the tank is being moved around anyway. Not that there is likely to be anything.

Is this an urban myth these days, and if not then can running the car with an extremely low (but not empty) tank of fuel dmage it in any way?

 

I ask as I have an atrocious habit of running out.

 

As a side issue, I'm finding that when the car tells me I have 0 km left, I can run on for at least another 10. It seems to clock down in 10km icrements, so how accurate is it, and does anyone know how much is actually left when it registers "0"?

 

I don't understand how people run out of fuel. It's not like we're in the Rockies with few fuel stations. For the benefit of other road users, why not try to keep some fuel? I've lost count of the time I've spent sitting in traffic only to get to the front of the queue to see some considerate person filling up from a can or walking back with one. Believe me, they're not popular people.

You don't get much crud building up these days as a lot of modern cars have plastic fuel tanks.

The gauge reads empty when there is still a few litres left just for people like you who run them low.

And whatever you do, don't run a diesel engine until it is 'dry'. Admittedly they're a million times better than they used to be, but it can still be a hassle to get them going again.

I have gone about 40 miles past the 0 Range on mine, and was still a few litres short of 50 litres when refilling.

I don't understand how people run out of fuel. It's not like we're in the Rockies with few fuel stations. For the benefit of other road users, why not try to keep some fuel? I've lost count of the time I've spent sitting in traffic only to get to the front of the queue to see some considerate person filling up from a can or walking back with one. Believe me, they're not popular people.

 

If you're driving in the Scottish Highlands I could understand how you could possibly run out. Granted, I think in most other places in the UK lack of supply shouldn't be an issue.

 

I just dislike refuelling so leave it as long as possible. Will try not to let it happen with this new car though - my previous Mondeo developed misfiring problems the day after I ran out once. Long story but apparently a valve was damaged and I ended up getting rid of it (after 18 months running on 3 cylinders mind).

 

Mechanics who looked at it said it couldn't have caused it, but I'm not convinced...

I have gone about 40 miles past the 0 Range on mine, and was still a few litres short of 50 litres when refilling.

Thats brave!

I know its possible, but i still wouldnt be brave enough to do it!

On the MkII it went to about 60 and still had plenty left

If you're driving in the Scottish Highlands I could understand how you could possibly run out. Granted, I think in most other places in the UK lack of supply shouldn't be an issue.

 

I just dislike refuelling so leave it as long as possible.

 

Can see the headlines...

 

Skeleton found at the wheel of Skoda.. should have had breakfast before setting out.

The fuel pump picks up from the bottom of the tank, so any contaminants will go through in normal use. That's what a fuel filter is for.

I have always filled my tank when it gets near the red, norm once a week. Would not risk running so low and heading for the nearest garage to find it's now a Hand Car Wash.

You guys sound far too organised. You want to try running out in the middle of the Forth Bridge....

I think that all the people who play fuel light bingo have never ran out of fuel in a bad/dangerous place before.  If they had I'm sure they wouldn't want to repeat it.

And whatever you do, don't run a diesel engine until it is 'dry'. Admittedly they're a million times better than they used to be, but it can still be a hassle to get them going again.

 

All good manufacturers should now have "Run Dry" protection on their diesel engines to prevent them from running out of fuel as with modern common-rail diesels as, not only will it be difficult to restart, you can damage the fuel pump when running it without fuel even for a short time.

 

Shortly after the distance to empty is 0km the software should activate a simulated mis-fire or torque reduction to make the driver think they are really running out of fuel.

Before the tank & fuel lines are completely empty the engine should be shut-down.

The idea is when you add your extra 5L of fuel which you walked 2 miles for, the engine should start without any problems because the fuel lines were never emptied.

 

I will let someone else test this function though...

I will let someone else test this function though...

 

Me too! Never ran out of fuel and don't plan on doing so in the future, it's not hard to have some forethought and fill your tank up.

does anyone know how much is actually left when it registers "0"?

 

No idea but when I worked for Skoda, my Dealer Principle went from Tunbridge Wells to Chichester and back to Tunbridge Wells in a Fabia vRS TDI - and it still got up to the petrol station without cutting out...

 

Maybe these things just run on air??  :think:

No idea but when I worked for Skoda, my Dealer Principle went from Tunbridge Wells to Chichester and back to Tunbridge Wells in a Fabia vRS TDI - and it still got up to the petrol station without cutting out...

 

Maybe these things just run on air??  :think:

 

That's 124 miles!!!

I know! So there MUST still be a good 2 gallons left on "0"!

You guys sound far too organised. You want to try running out in the middle of the Forth Bridge....

Considering there are plenty of petrol stations either side of the Forth Road Bridge (I assume you mean the Forth Road Bridge, unless you ran out with a train you were driving), its rather embarassing to run out in that particular location.

Sure you can run on fumes, just don't park the car tilted...you may not be able to start it. A friend of mine had still few km left on the drive computer, but next morning had to push the car to more leveled spot before it started

I once had a car that was converted to run on LPG. The only problem was, the petrol fuel pump had to keep running to maintain pressure in the fuel rail so the ECU didn't throw a wobbly.

 

This wasn't a problem until the middle of the summer and I had let the petrol level get to a dangerously low level, enough to start the car on petrol and then immediately switch over to LPG. Did a 250 mile run down to London in the blistering heat with about a gallon of petrol in the tank. 4 hours later, guess what - one knackered fuel pump as it had been pumping a gallon of petrol round the system and back to the tank getting warmer and warmer all the time until the pump burnt out.

 

Turned the engine off and couldn't start it again DOH!

 

Eventually worked out how to force a start on LPG, which worked fine in summer but is a complete failure in winter as the system just ice's up at the expansion thingy under the bonnet.

 

Moral of the story - keep half a tank in a LPG powered car to keep your petrol pump alive!