I'm a new owner of an IS350, so new in fact that today was the first time I'd driven it until the gas light came on. Now, I've had 2 LS400's before this and on those, when the gas light came on I had about 3-4 gallons left or roughly 80 miles. And on my E55, when the gas light came on it said I had about 60 miles (but still had some left after that).

On my IS though, when the gas light came on the range said 25 miles. That's barely enough to get me home! And it didn't seem to fluctuate with driving style (ie. when I floored it, the number wouldn't drop to 10 miles and when I coasted, it wouldn't go up to 40). It just ticked off the miles down to almost zero.

Here's my question: in your experience, how many miles do you ACTUALLY have left on your IS350 when the gas light comes on? And when the gas light comes on and you fill up, how many gallons are left (considering the tank is 17.1 gal)?

 

Honestly, I wouldn't let the gas get that low. I fill back up at 1/8th tank. What can happen is if any trash/grit/dirt/etc is settled to the bottom of the tank, the likelihood of picking that up is greater when running the gas that low. This could possibly cause fuel pump, fuel filter issues. Just a rule of thumb I use anyway.

Also, NEVER get gas at a station that has the tanker truck filling the holding tanks up. When they do this, they stir up the stuff that has settled to the bottom of the tank, and you could get that in your tank if the pump filters are not up to snuff.

 

i always refill at 1/4 tank to try to avoid the contaminants that are sometimes at the bottom of the tank. i think i seen someone say they went 10 miles after 0... dont quote me on that its been a while.

 

dude, you are driving an IS350, not a 15 year old beater!

put some gas in your car, 91 octane

it's not worth it to cheap out. I never drive with less than 1/3 a tank in winter b/c condensation in the tank can eventually rust your tank from the inside, and I'd never drive til the gas light came on b/c it puts pressure on your fuel pump and for all the other reasons already mentioned above.

 

I wouldn't risk it. the lowest I've gone was about 15 miles. I would hate to be seen stuck on the side of the road with my IS

 

One time I was leaving the drag strip with 1 mile left. It shows 1 mile left but when I was getting gas it only took 15~ gallons. So there is probably 2 more gallons left in the tank..

 

There are exactly 2.5 gallons of gas left in your tank once the "range" indicator hits 0. Exactly.

That said, the car certainly isn't drivable for the entirety of those 2.5 gallons. You obviously need some sort of buffer.

I'm not an expert on cars, so I don't know what a reasonable buffer volume would be. If you're comfortable dipping into that 2.5 gallon buffer after the range indicator hits 0, then go for it.

 

Now, you're probably overdoing it. That's perhaps a reasonable hypothesis, but I'd like to see some data-driven results before I go that far.

If it was such an obvious flaw you'd think manufacturers would have the sense to put in a little blub in their manuals - "Don't let tank fall below 1/3 during winters." I don't think I've ever seen anything like that, but again I haven't looked into it.

 

i was told 2 gallons is the reserve so... not sure if its 2.5 or 2... just for the first time i would let it get down so i can fill it up with my nice gasoline. i dont want it mix with the dealership gas.

 

You were told wrong information. It's 2.5 gallons.

And what do you mean by "dealership gas"? Are you implying that dealerships don't use premium gasoline?

 

ive hit the 0 mile mark before. i get very nervous when driving and i immediate go in search for a gas station. but yes, there should be around 2.5 gallons, more or less, left in the tank.

 

I ran out of gas with a new car many years ago. That's a sick feeling. Hope to never repeat that mistake.

 

I managed an extra 50 miles after 0 one time just to see, as I was aware of the reserve. I would never push it farther than that

 

just repeating something I read in the paper once. I'm sure it's a slow process but I buy my cars for cash, take care of them, and they last me a long time. I tend to pay attention to things that may make a difference. I don't need proof for something like this with all the other reasons there are out there not to run on empty...

did do a quick search though and found some more reasons (like we needed any more) hehe:

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Is_it_bett...r_almost_empty
http://www.helium.com/items/747074-h...-in-fuel-tanks
oh, and in the interests of looking at all sides, I also just found this which seems to debunk the above
http://www.yachtsurvey.com/myth_of_c...fuel_tanks.htm

One thing for sure is that all the articles agree that you should not refuel at a station that is receiving gas. Guess I'd better add that to my list...

anyone know if the IS fuel pump in in the actual tank or not?

 

Just curious for the 350, it goes off when the estimate on the take is at 25 miles? I would think that it would go off at 30 miles / 50 kilometers remaining as it does on my 250.

From what I heard, as I had initially asked this on the forum a few months ago. Someone pushed it to another 20+ miles past 0 on the estimate.

Here is the original thread of mine.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...fuel-tank.html