Fuel low warning

[TonyHSD]

1 hour ago, RickyC said:

The problem is that when they discover that the low fluel alert start when they've still have about 7 litres they will begin to ignore it. 

"Don't panic, you still have 7 liters"....... "Don't panic, you still have 6 liters" ....... "Ok panic,  a long time ago you had 7 liters 😉"

Maybe , I did some miles with low fuel warning ⚠️ and it was  not pleasant  
Once 20 and once I think 30 miles or more and knowing that no petrol station is around at mid of the night was not good feeling at all. 

[MikeSh]

I once had the light come on just as I was going down the slip road onto the M6 at Penrith. Made it to Killington Lake services (26 miles) with clenched buttocks ... where only 2 pumps were working and there was a 40 minute (as it turned out) queue for fuel. No way could I risk trying to get to the next services, so ... 45 minutes to fill up.

That was about 30 years ago and as far as I can remember I've never run a car down to the light since.

[hind]

But you have to admit that situation like this really allows to master the art of low fuel consumption 😄 You can even have fun like these three gentlemen 😛 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0K8AXUEH8E 

 

[TonyHSD]

12 hours ago, MikeSh said:

I once had the light come on just as I was going down the slip road onto the M6 at Penrith. Made it to Killington Lake services (26 miles) with clenched buttocks ... where only 2 pumps were working and there was a 40 minute (as it turned out) queue for fuel. No way could I risk trying to get to the next services, so ... 45 minutes to fill up.

That was about 30 years ago and as far as I can remember I've never run a car down to the light since.

lol, that’s been back then like travelling in the future  and seen the daily life of ev owners in 2024  🤣, 45 min waiting for refuelling ⛽️🪫👌

[Cyker]

20 hours ago, RickyC said:

The problem is that when they discover that the low fluel alert start when they've still have about 7 litres they will begin to ignore it. 

"Don't panic, you still have 7 liters"....... "Don't panic, you still have 6 liters" ....... "Ok panic,  a long time ago you had 7 liters 😉"

Ah, but in that case Toyota are off the hook as they gave plenty of warning!! Their butts will be securely covered!  

 

18 hours ago, TonyHSD said:

Maybe , I did some miles with low fuel warning ⚠️ and it was  not pleasant  
Once 20 and once I think 30 miles or more and knowing that no petrol station is around at mid of the night was not good feeling at all. 

Ahh yes the adrenaline filled situation where the blinky fuel light comes on and you' start freaking out and the fight or flight instincts are trying to kick in to make you go faster but you have to  force yourself to go slow to try and eek out as much range as you can out of the remaining fuel, and then the panic when you see there is traffic on an uphill section and you're praying that there's enough to get you to the petrol pump...

... only to find you still had 10 litres left when you fill up and could probably have done another 50-100 miles  

 

[Rhymes with Paris]

Somewhere off the A30 on my way to st Ives, first trip to Cornwall in 1971.

The 100e was getting a bit low judging by the wildly swinging needle on the fuel gauge.

This was very early morning around 5 am,no 24 hour stations in the sticks back then, so joined a queue of about 6 other old bangers all waiting for the one petrol station to open up at 8, no coffee machines or food in those types of places either, just a bleary eyed chap in a bib and braces emerging eventually and muttering something about "stupid grockles got no sense at all"

Tired, hungry,no petrol in the tank, and a long wait.

Didn't matter though, I was young and fit, and on my first road trip, so still happy.

[Max1960]

Yaris Cross Urban Petrol here. I had the range down to 4 kms to empty today. Fuel light was on, last bar on fuel gauge. 42 lt tank. So you would think it would take 40 lts to fill. No. It took only 32 Lts. How is it possible that I get these empty messages with supposedly 10 Lts of fuel still left in the tank. I am going Back to the dealer because the Hybrids get a 32 lt tank, did they put the wrong tank on my car. Or, is the software in my car configured to a 32 lt hybrid tank… so it thinks when I use 32 lts, it is empty. 

[FROSTYBALLS]

The low fuel light will illuminate when the reserve is reached - not when the tank is empty. If you look in the index of your (full) owners manual at 'warning lights' and 'low fuel light', the manual will give you the reserve.

Your wife's Yaris will operate in a similar way, as do most Toyotas.

If you only have a user guide, you should be able to download the full owners manual from Toyota Australia's website.

[FROSTYBALLS]

11 minutes ago, Max1960 said:

How is it possible that I get these empty messages with supposedly 10 Lts of fuel still left in the tank.

The low fuel light will illuminate when the reserve is reached - not when the tank is empty. If you look in the index of your (full) owners manual at 'warning lights' and 'low fuel light', the manual will give you the reserve.

Your wife's Yaris will operate in a similar way, as do most Toyotas.

If you only have a user guide, you should be able to download the full owners manual from Toyota Australia's website.

[Cyker]

The range meter is just a vague guess anyway, but as mentioned it doesn't take into account the 'reserve' fuel, as manufactures realized a lot of drivers a foaming idiots and will actually run the car down to 0 and then complain that they were left stranded, so they build in some reserve.

Toyota in particular build in a very generous reserve, esp. in their hybrids, as if you actually run out of fuel in a hybrid and the traction Battery also drains, you're stuck deep up a certain creek without a certain propulsion implement.

Don't worry about it. Fuel up when it gets low (I always fuel up when I hit 1/4 tank - Reserve be damned!), and instead marvel at how far you've travelled on such a tiny amount of fuel!  

[YarisHybrid2016]

There is more that I could add, but not sure it is wise.

I run to the low light without issue. First couple of times I fill up to check what it really illuminates at, and to check consistency.

Now I know that, I know I can for sure drive 30 miles with total disregard for fuel economy and still make it. Of course, driving efficiently more than doubles that distance, but I could get stuck in traffic or something.

[Cyker]

Yeah, knowing you can just go virtually anywhere at the drop of a hat is just very reassuring. It's one of many things EV evangelists don't understand when they keep bleating that current EV range is okay because your normal journey is within its range...

It's like trying to justify the cost of a computer backup system to someone who knows nothing about computers ("Yes it is very expensive and yes it will spend most of its time doing nothing, but when something goes wrong-" "Nope, useless, too expensive, cut it out of the quote!"  8 months later "A power surge has killed the server and we've lost all our records! Where's the backups!?")

 

[Paul john]

Interesting fact…

fuel gauges were not first fitted to some cars until 1925. Before that there was a rotary knob on the dash (if you can call it that) where you could switch between main and reserve tanks (like a motorcycle) Most cars in general production didnt have a gauge fitted until the 1960’s…

so i guess Amber fuel light warnings are a modern range anxiety issue. 

[jthspace]

My MX5 Mk4 tells you when you have 60 miles left and then promptly decreases quicker than mileage driven! That's range anxiety!

[Tomv]

When the range shows 0km there is still enough gas to drive about 30-100km depending on your driving style. Tank in my car is 50L .Once I tanked almost immediately when 0km range showed and was able to fill only 42L so there was still 8L left=gas for more then 100km for me.

[ColinB]

As with my motorcycle I reset the trip whenever I fill up and keep an eye on the mileage as much as the fuel gauge. With my RAV4 I filled up when I got to 1/2 tank (it cost a lot to fill it with its large tank), I've not done enough miles in my new YC to tell how far I can go before I fill up but it will be a lot less painful when I do.