Miles Travelled From 0

[grin factor]

Just wondering how many miles you've done once the trip tells you 0 miles left?

I've only done 12, as it went from 11 miles to 4 then 1 within about 1 mile.

[mrpj]

I'm not even going to try or let my fuel tank reach that risky level (voluntarily). Why would it be necessary to know anyway? :)

[Cherry Red Pocket Rocket]

I'm inclined to agree with mrpj. You're an idiot if you keep going after your car tells you to fill up and a load of lights flash and blink at you.

[grin factor]

I was curious if anyone had been caught out like I was.

I'm far from being an idiot CRPR, I'm sure you are an upstanding pillar of the community yourself.

[mrpj]

How can you get "caught out"? Theres a permanent fuel level gauge which when you're running low flashes at you plus a selectable "miles to fill up" display.

However did we manage before all these aids like fuel gauges? Plus petrol stations were fewer and didn't stay open late. There's really no excuse these days for running out or running too low on fuel. :o

[Mick G]

In my 2004 1-litre I was on my way to a funeral. Very short of time and a great deal on my mind. Travelling in an area I thought I knew better than I did. Decided not to stop at one mororway services because there was another just aroud the corner. There wasn't. The next junction ended up being over 20 miles (I've just checked on the map). I'd say for about 15 of those the estimate was 0 miles left and the last bar was flashing by then (but not when I'd passed the last garage). If I made it to the next services all would be fine, if I ran out and had to walk to the garage I'd miss the funeral.

All very stressful and you're welcome to call me an idiot if you like but to tell the truth if I had realised that I could go for at least another 15 miles while the range estimate was at 0 I would have saved myself a huge amount of freaking out at a time when freaking out was not what I needed.

So, in answer to your question, I've done 15 miles and imagine I could have done a lot more on that occasion ... BUT ... I no longer display the range estimate, it's bobbins. Maybe the newer ones are more accurate, maybe not.

P.S. yours may not do 15 miles, I'm just saying mine did on that occasion.

Take it easy, and stick to displaying the temprature gauge :) ,

Mick

[grin factor]

Thanks for your reply Mick.

I had been coming back from Scotland and a petrol station which is normally open had closed early due to bad weather & the next one was quite a distance away.

I didn't expect to be judged and slagged off by some of the members tho'

[acetip]

How can you get "caught out"? Theres a permanent fuel level gauge which when you're running low flashes at you plus a selectable "miles to fill up" display.

However did we manage before all these aids like fuel gauges? Plus petrol stations were fewer and didn't stay open late. There's really no excuse these days for running out or running too low on fuel. :o

i dont no where the comment about petrol stations were fewer,every village had a garage with fuel pumps.i would not mind betting there were twice as many places selling motor fuel than these days.most big towns had all night petrol pumps.and 4 galls for pound and and still get change,mind you wages were a lot lower.

[Mick G]

I had been coming back from Scotland ...

Funnily enough my incident was in Scotland too (M74).

I didn't expect to be judged and slagged off by some of the members tho'

No, sorry about that.

Hope Sunderland is surviving. I lived in Hendon for a few years in the early 90's. Had some great times. I didn't drive at the time which is probably just as well as cars tended not to stay outside your house for too long in Hendon in those days :)

Take it easy,

Mick

[mrpj]

"i dont no where the comment about petrol stations were fewer,every village had a garage with fuel pumps.i would not mind betting there were twice as many places selling motor fuel than these days.most big towns had all night petrol pumps.and 4 galls for pound and and still get change,mind you wages were a lot lower."

Yes, those were the days, 4/11 a gallon in proper money and proper fuel with loads of lead added.

From experiences 40 odd years ago and those "village" petrol sellers usually shut up shop after working hours. I obviously lived in a different area than you. :)

I still maintain that there can be no excuse for running out of fuel in 2010. B)

And checking how far to go before running out when the miles to go display is zero is surely very unwise?

[mrpj]

"And checking how far to go before running out when the miles to go display is zero is surely very unwise?

0"

If Mr grin factor thought that the foregoing statement was a personal dig then they are sadly mistaken and obviously very sensitive. Why should members be expected to risk running out of fuel just to prove a figure for one person? That would be very unwise as I stated. Yes I did read the post, the circumstances of which which are irrelevant to the remark I made.

If my comment caused offence then I apologise unreservedly on an open forum and not hiding behind the back door method of private messages.

[grin factor]

mrpj, you are missing the point. I have not asked members to " be expected to risk running out of fuel just to prove a figure for one person?" That would rather silly, don't you think? The post was to see if anyone had been in a similar situation where due to circumstances did actually run low on fuel etc. Mick G had been in that situation.

Sending you a PM is not hiding, if you want to keep it on the forum thats fine by me. If you ever come up to Sunderland we can talk about it face to face.

[alfiejts]

I never use the "miles to zero" counter. It seems to reduce to zero at about the same point as the fuel guage goes down from two blobs to one blob - so it is really pessimistic, and you can't count on it.

I know that I've got about 7 litres left when it drops from two blobs to 1, so that's the point that I know I have a "safe" 40 miles left, but I always try to fill up as soon after its dropped to 1 blob as I can.

The other thing I do (in case its not me driving whn it drops to one blob and I simply jump into the car to find the guage flashing at me with no knowledge of how long its been like that) is to zero one of the trip odometers each time I fill up. I know that I alweays get at least 300 miles per "fill up". Sometimes its a lot more but never less. So I know that I can rely on getting to "300 miles" on the trip regardless of the flashing fuel guage or the "miles to zero" reading...

[mrpj]

Sorry but I'm not "missing" any point. I still maintain it is unwise - not silly or idiotic!- relying on the miles to go display. There's a fuel gauge to give a hopefully better indication how much is left. With most car's I've had, without the gimmickry of a trip computer, I zero the trip mileometer when I fill up. I know roughly how many miles to the gallon I achieve from past checks and make sure I add fuel well before there's any risk of running low.

The display on my Yaris is more or less permanently set to ODO. I calculated my m.p.g. using the reliable method of brimming the tank and when next brimming the tank the miles covered. I couldn't even guess what the miles to go or mpg are indicating.

Too many people seem to be relying on these fancy gadgets then finding out to their cost they're not as reliable or as accurate as good old fashioned numbers. :)

However did drivers manage before the advent of even fuel gauges or bigger fuel tanks? The humble Morris Minor only had a 6.5 gallon tank and not very accurate fuel gauge! I can possibly answer that, they ran out of fuel because it was after 6pm and all those village petrol stations were shut.

I did notice you are a Makam, grin factor.