“The car needs fuel” she said ......

[BoxerBoy]

...... as is normal when my good lady  comes home with the fuel light on.

 

It’s my job to fill ‘em up.

 

But last night we had a 7pm appointment so we jumped in and set off.

 

WTF!

 

Range = 5 miles.

 

Normally the low level lamp has just come on and the range will be 50 - 40 - 30 miles or some such number that means there’s no rush.

 

So I drop her where we’re headed and then point the car at a nearby supermarket fuel pump.

 

I make it of course.

 

Range = Zero

 

And I squeeze over 47 litres of unleaded into a 50 litre tank.

 

I’d always suspected that most vehicles had something left when the range reads Zero, but it’s not something I ever wanted to test on a dark night.

 

Edited 24 November, 2018 by BoxerBoy

[Gerrycan]

There was one fill at 56 litres a couple of years back and he had run about 50 kilometres or so on zero range. That was with 1.4 tsi.

 

Diesel Octavia users used to complain they were getting the warning light prematurely and then only being able to get around 40 litres or so into the tank.

 

AWD Octavia have a larger 55 litre tank so are probably good for 60 litres or so.

 

No one has ever declared the fill amount after actually running out of fuel that I can remember. 

Edited 24 November, 2018 by Gerrycan

[SuperbTWM]

This is how much fuel is usually in the courtesy car at Hayseldon Skoda in Doncaster.

[J.R.]

I deliberately ran mine dry on the first tank, I had driven 80 miles IIRC since it showed zero miles remaining, in my previous MK1 I would always drive 50 miles after the zero mile limit and never ran out, well I did at other times when the sender was playing up.

 

Anyway after the deliberate run out I put 5 litres in from a jerry can and drove a couple of miles to fill up, during that é miles the display started showing 60 miles remaining which is remarkable accuracy to detect 5 litres at the bottom of the tank but it swiftly dropped to 40, 20, then zero miles within one mile of driving at the garage I got another 50 litres in so the capacity I believe is the stated 55 litres.

 

On the MK1 I could often get 52 litres in whereas the tank was supposed to be 47 litres, I think the 5 litres reserve capacity is added to that whereas on the MK2 its included.

 

When you get down to the last gallon the light will come on and show the correct remaining mileage, say 60 for the example, but the remaining miles will drop far faster than the remaining fuel, that is to say its very conservative as is the mileage showing on a full tank, say my car does 600 miles to a tank it will start out saying I have 700 miles to drive, after 550 the fuel light will come on saying 50 miles left (for the example) within 10 miles it will have dropped to zero and you can safely drive another 40 miles.

[j1mg]

At least Skoda give you good warning, I used to have a Seat Ibiza that gave you about 20 miles from the light coming on to having to phone a friend.

[Gerrycan]

3 hours ago, J.R. said:

Anyway after the deliberate run out I put 5 litres in from a jerry can and drove a couple of miles to fill up, during that é miles the display started showing 60 miles remaining which is remarkable accuracy to detect 5 litres at the bottom of the tank but it swiftly dropped to 40, 20, then zero miles within one mile of driving at the garage I got another 50 litres in so the capacity I believe is the stated 55 litres.

 

On the MK1 I could often get 52 litres in whereas the tank was supposed to be 47 litres, I think the 5 litres reserve capacity is added to that whereas on the MK2 its included.

 

That surprises me a bit because I got 57 litres in on my previous mk2 1.9d on one occasion (not run to empty) so I always presumed the usual 5 litre over nominal 55 litre capacity was available. Again mk2 AWD (inc Scout) models have a larger nominal 60 litre capacity tank.

 

I think fuel gauge behaviour and displayed estimates of available distance on remaining fuel are going to be unique to a an individual vehicle due to a number of  variable factors.

[ChoonDoode]

When I first got my car I ran the tank down to empty as well, just to see how much diesel it could take.

 

After running on 0 miles for a little while, I chickened out and filled up. Put just under 53 litres in. 3 more than what it say's it can hold.

 

The tank range is the car's calculation on what your MPG since filling has been, measured with what's in the tank and crossed with a bit of vehicle voodoo. I've had it in my tranny van when it says 50 miles and it's ground to a half after 25 miles.

 

I try not to run the car low on juice as I don't want to run the risk of damaging the fuel pump.

[steved83]

118.7!!!

 

Where is this mythical garage!

Currently blessed with 134.9, 142.9 for the super stuff.

[Guest]

45 minutes ago, steved83 said:

118.7!!!

 

Where is this mythical garage!

Currently blessed with 134.9, 142.9 for the super stuff.

 

Hardly mythical, I filled up at Sainsbury's in Edinburgh yesterday - 118.9p  I then drove past an Asda selling at 118.7p.  Not sure what Costco's price was but they're generally cheaper than anyone else. (if you have a membership card that is).

Edited 25 November, 2018 by Guest

[themanwithnoaim]

47 minutes ago, steved83 said:

118.7!!!

 

Where is this mythical garage!

Currently blessed with 134.9, 142.9 for the super stuff.

They're tight in sweaty sock land, just won't pay it

 

Being closer to the oil fields may have something to do with it.

[gRoberts]

119.9 at Morrisons in Newcastle, with an eye watering 129.9 for diesel. 

 

Worryingly, my wife's Dacia light comes on when you have the usual gallon remaining and usually shows between 40-70 miles. But if you keep driving, the display changes to " -- ", making it even more of a lottery.  

[steved83]

33 minutes ago, Scot5 said:

 

Hardly mythical, I filled up at Sainsbury's in Edinburgh yesterday - 118.9p  I then drove past an Asda selling at 118.7p.  Not sure what Costco's price was but they're generally cheaper than anyone else. (if you have a membership card that is).

 

Not sure the round trip from Norfolk would make too much sense, ah well. Costco card yes.......I then moved 90 minutes from nearest one

I'll skip on the audition for wise old man this year.

[SC03OTT]

I’ve lost count of the number of times we’ve decided to use my wife’s car for a trip.  I get in, turn the key and the fuel light is on.  I turn the key back and get right back out again.  She can play fuel light roulette all she wants.  I’m not interested.

[gRoberts]

48 minutes ago, SC03OTT said:

I’ve lost count of the number of times we’ve decided to use my wife’s car for a trip.  I get in, turn the key and the fuel light is on.  I turn the key back and get right back out again.  She can play fuel light roulette all she wants.  I’m not interested.

 

Ironic thing is. Who will be the first person she calls

 

[SC03OTT]

1 minute ago, gRoberts said:

 

Ironic thing is. Who will be the first person she calls

 

 

It had better be Ghost Busters because I’m not going to do anything about it. 

[gRoberts]

4 minutes ago, SC03OTT said:

 

It had better be Ghost Busters because I’m not going to do anything about it. 

 

My wife learnt the hard lesson of running out on an unlit dual carriageway with no signal and no hard shoulder.

[J.R.]

8 hours ago, Gerrycan said:

 

That surprises me a bit because I got 57 litres in on my previous mk2 1.9d on one occasion (not run to empty) so I always presumed the usual 5 litre over nominal 55 litre capacity was available. Again mk2 AWD (inc Scout) models have a larger nominal 60 litre capacity tank.

 

I think fuel gauge behaviour and displayed estimates of available distance on remaining fuel are going to be unique to a an individual vehicle due to a number of  variable factors.

 

You may be right, its possible that I did not fill it slowly and patiently enough because the next tankfull took me 100 miles or more less, I know once used to the car the economy will drop as I drive faster but it was a significant drop and doing the calculation gave me a figure or 50mpg whereas the dash display showed 62mpg, the missing 5l would explain it.

 

Done a couple of tanks since then but forgot to reset the trip on the first one and replaced the ECU with a remapped one during the second tankfull, am on the 3rd now and I think that I brimmed it properly, will run it out of fuel again this time and carefully brim the tank to check again.

[bigjohn]

2 hours ago, steved83 said:

118.7!!!

 

Where is this mythical garage!

Currently blessed with 134.9, 142.9 for the super stuff.

 

I filled up at an Asda in Hull yesterday @118.7 pence pre litre for petrol. I normally put 99ron Tesco Greenenergy but couldn't resist the Asda price. Diesel much more though.

 

 

Edited 25 November, 2018 by bigjohn

[ords]

On 25/11/2018 at 11:36, SC03OTT said:

 

It had better be Ghost Busters because I’m not going to do anything about it. 

Keeps the divorce lawyers rich

[Jaco2k]

My record is 54l in

But glad to see I am not the only one that likes to play gas roulette

[Gti Jazz Blue]

I can remember the days when I was on the road (Service Engineer) and I always had a 5 litre can of unleaded in the boot - don't bother these days and try to avoid the fuel gauge lottery - very rare to let it get low enough for the warning light.

[rum4mo]

On ‎25‎/‎11‎/‎2018 at 09:12, steved83 said:

118.7!!!

 

Where is this mythical garage!

Currently blessed with 134.9, 142.9 for the super stuff.

 

I think that there are quite a few areas the length and breadth of this country where the gentile art of "competitive pricing" - ie a price war is practised, possibly very little logic as to where and why, but yes, Eastern Central Scotland is one of them - drive more than 20 miles out with that area and prices shoot up, normally within that location Shell does not try very hard! Costco, yes, in my case Costco and eventually with its petrol station turned up quite close enough to where I live, nice!

[ScoutCJB]

My local Shell near York just dropped on Friday to 132.9 for Diesel (was 136.9). I haven't seen it cheaper round that area (discounting supermarket fuel).

Realistically i fill up just before the red line as I want to avoid dragging any crap in the bottom of the tank through the system.

[shyVRS245]

Filled the wife's Karoq at Sainsbury's Loughborough one week ago at £1.229 regular unleaded, yet today at Sainsbury's Fosse Park (Leicester) paid just £1.189 per litre after latest reduction. Last fill in my 336bhp Octavia showed 45 mile range left in tank when 44.24 litres of Shell V-Power Nitro after driving 384 miles at an average of 39.46MPG. Doing the maths I could have driven another 50 miles with the 5.76 litres of fuel left in the tank giving me an actual range of 434 miles compared to maxidot range of 429 miles so pretty accurate.

[wyx087]

And people say they don't suffer from range anxiety.

 

When my wife says her red car needs fuel, I just plug it in at my door step