Fuel warning light on. How many gallons left??

[drewski1990]

I got my first ever Mazda a week ago and it's a 03.5 MSP Titanium Grey =). Loving it very much!! I am curious of how many gallons remaining after the fuel warning light comes on. Last time the light came on and I filled up around 11.5 gallons. Since the spec saids 14.5 gallons at top off, so I have about 3 gallons remaining. Is this with all MSP's? When the light comes on my civic, I only get about 1.3 gallons. 3 gallons is more than enough to get to any gas station, just wondering if all MSP are set up like that.

 

[callITaDAY]

Mine does the same thing, when the light does come on I can fit about 12 gallons.

 

[drewski1990]

wow, the precaution on this car is overwhelming.

 

[Twinrotor]

I would rather have that than what my SVT Focus does! Low fuel light comes on you better be withing 15 miles of a gas station.

 

[hornsfan10609]

It has a couple gallons as a 'reserve' but once the gauge gets below E Ive had the car cut out while turning. Never completely ran it dry. I had a Chevy truck a while back and you could go an easy 80-100 miles after the light turned on.

 

[BOOSTR]

If you only put in 11.5 gallons after seeing the light come on, you did not fill it up completely nor do you have 3 gallons left in reserve when the light comes on. More like a gallon or less depending on how far you drive it.

 

[mazdaspeed41]

Running the Tank with the Gas lite on, could be risky just for the car being 8 years old and not know what could be floating around in the bottom of the tank, Rust, sludge, dirt,who knows. Just a possibility of clogging the fuel pump OR if by chance the Prefilter on the fuel pump has a hole or has become detached which could cause the containment's to to get into the fuel injectors... Anything is possible? Just my 2cents

 

[njaremka]

Running the Tank with the Gas lite on, could be risky just for the car being 8 years old and not know what could be floating around in the bottom of the tank, Rust, sludge, dirt,who knows. Just a possibility of clogging the fuel pump OR if by chance the Prefilter on the fuel pump has a hole or has become detached which could cause the containment's to to get into the fuel injectors... Anything is possible? Just my 2cents

i laugh a little bit every time i see comments like this. do you know where the fuel pick-up is? at the bottom of the tank, right in the middle of all that sludge and crap. running with a full tank or an almost empty tank, it makes no difference.

the fuel warning light is just that, a warning light. when it comes on, it means you havent been paying attention to the gauge. its best to start considering a fill-up when the gauge gets to about the 1/4 mark, as it means you have enough fuel to get to the station of your choice. once the light comes on, you have about 2 gallons, or 50-60 miles. (depending on how you drive)

 

[drewski1990]

If you only put in 11.5 gallons after seeing the light come on, you did not fill it up completely nor do you have 3 gallons left in reserve when the light comes on. More like a gallon or less depending on how far you drive it.

I am sure I top it off. I couldn't put anymore in. My light just came on today, I will fill it up again tmr. I will also put my avg mpg, so something everyone can compare to. Might as well hehe.

 

[callITaDAY]

i laugh a little bit every time i see comments like this. do you know where the fuel pick-up is? at the bottom of the tank, right in the middle of all that sludge and crap. running with a full tank or an almost empty tank, it makes no difference.

This

 

[destineal]

I've put over 13 gallons in before, but its ususally 11-12ish

 

[Ricktalife]

I don't know why people like to see how far they can go before running out of gas. When I get to 1/4 tank, I find a gas station.

 

[hornsfan10609]

Usually I can fit more than 14 gallons in the tank when it's empty. The pump uses fuel to cool itself so it's not good to run it dry but the pumps in these cars don't typically fail and if mine does then oh well, I need to upgrade to a Walbro anyway.

 

[drewski1990]

I filled up about 13 this time. I think the light was on for awhile, I didn't notice cuz the boost gauge is in the way. I got an avg of 25.6 mpg doing 70% city with AC sometimes and 30% highway. Does it sound about right?

 

[njaremka]

Usually I can fit more than 14 gallons in the tank when it's empty. The pump uses fuel to cool itself so it's not good to run it dry but the pumps in these cars don't typically fail and if mine does then oh well, I need to upgrade to a Walbro anyway.

the pump has fuel going through it. so, the cooling theory is a good one, but still not true. plus, by the time the tank is half empty, the fuel pump is no longer submerged.

 

[hornsfan10609]

That is true, when I had a chevy truck I had to deal with the fuel pump. They are extremely common to go out and usually fail in hot weather when the tank is low on fuel. May not be a problem anymore but it was back then. Look it up if you don't believe me. fullsizechevy.com

 

[SeR_Cyclops]

i laugh a little bit every time i see comments like this. do you know where the fuel pick-up is? at the bottom of the tank, right in the middle of all that sludge and crap. running with a full tank or an almost empty tank, it makes no difference.

the fuel warning light is just that, a warning light. when it comes on, it means you havent been paying attention to the gauge. its best to start considering a fill-up when the gauge gets to about the 1/4 mark, as it means you have enough fuel to get to the station of your choice. once the light comes on, you have about 2 gallons, or 50-60 miles. (depending on how you drive)

Actually he is right. Running the tank really really low is bad. Once I almost ran my MSP out of gas. Like I actually sputtered into the gas station. Filled it up and then the next couple fill ups in a row the car would start to sputter right at 1/4 tank like it was running out of gas. It hasnt done it sense then but im sure I got some drugs (Is what we at the shop call them) on the pickup screen on the fuel filter.

 

[steffenaj14]

i have gotten around 90 miles with the gas light on and it hasnt sputtered or anything.