Ran out of gas...check engine light?

[rlp2955]

Literally coasted into the gas station today and it started sputtering right before I shut the engine off. Now my check engine light is on even though it runs fine after filling up. I figured it came on from the misfiring so I tried starting and stopping about 10 times to see if it would go off and its still there. I have never owned a Mazda before so not sure how the CEL works on these. If it was due to the gas running out, should I assume it will go away on it's own? How many drive cycles? I know a lot of the places like Autozone won't clear codes anymore.

Learned my lesson about how much is left in the tank....

 

[oaklandopen]

They might not clear it but they will still read it for you. Try unhooking the negative battery terminal for a few moments and see if that clears it too

 

[HandA]

from my experience with other cars there isn't always a set amount of starts and stops or driving time before a light will reset. As was mentioned above it isn't a bad idea to get the code read even if they won't reset it just to know if it is from the misfire or something else.

 

[IHeartGroceries]

Trouble codes will eventually cycle out after a predetermined amount of engine cycles, assuming the trouble condition isn't met again to trigger the code.
A DI engine isn't the best to run out like that. Extreme fuel pressures and a sensitive can driven fuel pump and especially our fancy injectors don't like to be starved or like to pass the potentially gritty fuel at the bottom of the fuel tank. It is best to keep at least a gallon in the tank at all times.

As for the MIL, like the other poster suggested, you can yank the neg. battery terminal. If it doesn't return, I'd forget about it. If it comes back, pay a visit to your dealer. But don't tell them you ran it dry!

 

[Peskeguy]

Literally coasted into the gas station today

hey rip, out of curiosity do you know how far you'd driven with the gas light on? Last weekend I thought I was pushing it, having gone 60 miles with the light on and 15 miles after "range = 0", but I still only filled up 12.9 gallons and the tank on mine (Sport FWD) supposedly holds 14.8.

When you refilled did you get close to that full tank capacity?

 

[IHeartGroceries]

Good.question. My wife ran it down to damn near E on the dummy gauge and 15 miles or so displayed for miles remaining.
I filled it up to only like 12.5-13.0 gallons...

You must have really been pushing it, OP. Lol

 

[xwedge]

After the gauge reads 0 miles, you should still have 1 gallon left.

 

[STE92VE]

Do we all lead such fast paced lives that we can't stop for gas when the tank is 1/2- 3/4 empty? Unless you're driving where the gas stations are several hundred miles apart, I don't see any reason why people will risk running out of gas at the wrong time/place and possibly incur damage to their engine. Is it done on purpose or are people just not paying attention to one of the simple responsibilities of operating a motor vehicle?

Sorry if this sounds like bashing the OP, but it's not the intent. Just would like to know the reason for getting oneself in the "ran out of gas" situation.

 

[BRIAN_MP5T]

"Ghost Riding The Fuel Tank"

 

[MazdaDriverNJ]

Let me echo that. I agree with every word.
Personally I try to fill up when it's on the 2nd half of the tank but before 1/4 mark -- it doesn't always work out that way but at least I am conscious of the fact that gas is low and I better find the time and place to fill up. I think running out of gas simply terrifies me Never happened before and not planning on it.

Do we all lead such fast paced lives that we can't stop for gas when the tank is 1/2- 3/4 empty? Unless you're driving where the gas stations are several hundred miles apart, I don't see any reason why people will risk running out of gas at the wrong time/place and possibly incur damage to their engine. Is it done on purpose or are people just not paying attention to one of the simple responsibilities of operating a motor vehicle?

Sorry if this sounds like bashing the OP, but it's not the intent. Just would like to know the reason for getting oneself in the "ran out of gas" situation.

 

[CX-SV]

Like OP does this all the time (not that anybody knows that)...wtf

Oh yeah, the CEL is on. Why?

 

[loximoto]

After the gauge reads 0 miles, you should still have 1 gallon left.

Did you read it somewhere or is this a personal experience? I'm going mad with this gas tank capacity issue...

I got my CX-5 only a week ago: when l first refueled there was only a dash on the fuel gauge (9 miles remaining) but I was able to fill only 51 litres (13,5 gallons) of the 58 it should contain.

I feel the gauge is made so that it suggests to refuel with at least 1,5 gallons in the tank in order to avoid major engine damages.
What do you think about it?

 

[BRIAN_MP5T]

Yes, they did it to save you from breaking the car.

direct injected, high compression engines would literally explode if you ran it low and it started to miss fuel.

It is bad on a stock engine, the sky active is so close to detonation all the time that it is critical that you muppets never run out.

 

[MikeM.]

Do we all lead such fast paced lives that we can't stop for gas when the tank is 1/2- 3/4 empty? Unless you're driving where the gas stations are several hundred miles apart, I don't see any reason why people will risk running out of gas at the wrong time/place and possibly incur damage to their engine. Is it done on purpose or are people just not paying attention to one of the simple responsibilities of operating a motor vehicle?

I regularly run my tank low with complete confidence that I will not run out of fuel (and I never have). I can go at least 40 miles on that last gallon+ that is left when the TC says "0" miles left and, in the areas I commonly travel, there are not many places where I don't come across a fueling station in 40 miles. So, as long as I know fuel will be available I don't worry about running the TC down to nearly "0" or even a little beyond. It causes me no grief and the fuel in my tank will always be fresher than that in a tank that is constantly re-filled when it is only half empty.

Look at it this way:

Assumptions;
Vehicle drives 1000 miles a month and averages 30 mpg with a 15 gallon tank which is filled up whenever it is 1/2 empty.

So, it's topped up every 225 miles (or every 6.7 days which is 54 times per year.) If I could manage to fill every time when I have 30 miles left I would be topping up every 420 miles which would only be every 12.8 days or 29 times per year. I buy most of my gas at the cheapest station along my regular route and it's cheap enough that it's a busy place (I almost always have to wait for at least one car in front of me to fill before I can pull to the pump). If I can avoid doing that 20 times a year with no real downside, I will. It's not because my life is so fast paced that I can't stop for gas when the tank is 1/2 empty, it's that I have things to do that I enjoy so much more than taking extra (unnecessary) trips to the gas station.

Fueling less often is not a symptom of a fast paced life, it simply points to good planning and use of one's time.

 

[CX-SV]

Agreed w/MikeM, because I too have better things to do than hang around gas stations more often than necessary. NPF.

 

[KenMO]

I regularly run my tank low with complete confidence that I will not run out of fuel (and I never have). I can go at least 40 miles on that last gallon+ that is left when the TC says "0" miles left and, in the areas I commonly travel, there are not many places where I don't come across a fueling station in 40 miles. So, as long as I know fuel will be available I don't worry about running the TC down to nearly "0" or even a little beyond. It causes me no grief and the fuel in my tank will always be fresher than that in a tank that is constantly re-filled when it is only half empty.

I fill my tank when it gets down to 1/4 full (at least by the gauge). I've read that water and sediments collect in the bottom of the tank and it's harder on the fuel pump. Although, in your case, running the tank to nearly empty probably counter-acts that. I don't claim to know better one way or the other, but filling at 1/4 tank is a compromise I'm willing to live with.