Fuel tank capacity and range
#1
Fuel tank capacity and range
Had what I thought was a close call today but would like some confirmation others are seeing the same.
left from Boston area to Killington with not a lot of gas and noticed the car said 19 miles to empty and the low fuel warning came on at 80mph on the interstate. Soon after it read 14 miles and I got off the next exit off I-89 and my buddies found a gas station that was 12 miles away. Car was consuming gas quickly and before we got to the gas station the car then hit 0 miles to empty and said “refuel” in the cluster instead of XX miles. I got to the gas station and it was under construction. Had to turn around and go to another one 2 miles down the road after driving on 0 miles for nearly 5 miles.
pumped gas and the pump stopped at more or less exactly 15 gallons. Lexus advertises the tank is 17.8 gallons. I tried topping it off and the pump stopped again around 15.3 gallons.
Is this consistent with Lexus’ mentality? Does the car have over 2 gallons remaining when the range hits 0 miles? Is this something people have seen before? Last car would alert at 1/8 of a tank which was about 60 miles range at highway speeds. and 1/8 of a tank meant legitimately 1/8 of a tank left...
any help or firsthand experience would be appreciated as this is all new to me. Thanks!
left from Boston area to Killington with not a lot of gas and noticed the car said 19 miles to empty and the low fuel warning came on at 80mph on the interstate. Soon after it read 14 miles and I got off the next exit off I-89 and my buddies found a gas station that was 12 miles away. Car was consuming gas quickly and before we got to the gas station the car then hit 0 miles to empty and said “refuel” in the cluster instead of XX miles. I got to the gas station and it was under construction. Had to turn around and go to another one 2 miles down the road after driving on 0 miles for nearly 5 miles.
pumped gas and the pump stopped at more or less exactly 15 gallons. Lexus advertises the tank is 17.8 gallons. I tried topping it off and the pump stopped again around 15.3 gallons.
Is this consistent with Lexus’ mentality? Does the car have over 2 gallons remaining when the range hits 0 miles? Is this something people have seen before? Last car would alert at 1/8 of a tank which was about 60 miles range at highway speeds. and 1/8 of a tank meant legitimately 1/8 of a tank left...
any help or firsthand experience would be appreciated as this is all new to me. Thanks!
Last edited by mhoran89; 04-15-24 at 07:04 AM.
#3
so that is almost consistent with 15mpg estimate with two gallons left on the "meter" and most likely another two gallons in reserve which is not shown in the distance to empty on the dash. while this is not the end of the world... I think it is valuable information to know.
#4
Lexus/Toyota has been doing this for years. When our LX says refuel (DTE 0) we have around 4 gallons left.
So don’t panic at the DTE. Just plan on looking for fuel when it says refuel.
I’ve played many tricks on friends and family when the DTE reads 1 and I’m not even thinking about a gas station.
Coworker bought his 2011 Tundra brand new. It now has 310k miles. For 310k miles he thought he only had a 20 gallon tank because whenever the fuel light come on (17-20 DTE) he could only refill 19 gallons. His truck has a 26 gallon tank.
So don’t panic at the DTE. Just plan on looking for fuel when it says refuel.
I’ve played many tricks on friends and family when the DTE reads 1 and I’m not even thinking about a gas station.
Coworker bought his 2011 Tundra brand new. It now has 310k miles. For 310k miles he thought he only had a 20 gallon tank because whenever the fuel light come on (17-20 DTE) he could only refill 19 gallons. His truck has a 26 gallon tank.
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sheetmetalfab (04-16-24)
#5
Lexus/Toyota has been doing this for years. When our LX says refuel (DTE 0) we have around 4 gallons left.
So don’t panic at the DTE. Just plan on looking for fuel when it says refuel.
I’ve played many tricks on friends and family when the DTE reads 1 and I’m not even thinking about a gas station.
Coworker bought his 2011 Tundra brand new. It now has 310k miles. For 310k miles he thought he only had a 20 gallon tank because whenever the fuel light come on (17-20 DTE) he could only refill 19 gallons. His truck has a 26 gallon tank.
So don’t panic at the DTE. Just plan on looking for fuel when it says refuel.
I’ve played many tricks on friends and family when the DTE reads 1 and I’m not even thinking about a gas station.
Coworker bought his 2011 Tundra brand new. It now has 310k miles. For 310k miles he thought he only had a 20 gallon tank because whenever the fuel light come on (17-20 DTE) he could only refill 19 gallons. His truck has a 26 gallon tank.
spot on.
#7
This is good to know in a pinch.
My guess is that this fuel reserve is a reliability decision. In college I burned out two fuel pumps always running around on E. The fuel lubes and cools the pump, come to find out.
That and they don't want you calling in that roadside service program.
My guess is that this fuel reserve is a reliability decision. In college I burned out two fuel pumps always running around on E. The fuel lubes and cools the pump, come to find out.
That and they don't want you calling in that roadside service program.
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#8
This is good to know in a pinch.
My guess is that this fuel reserve is a reliability decision. In college I burned out two fuel pumps always running around on E. The fuel lubes and cools the pump, come to find out.
That and they don't want you calling in that roadside service program.
My guess is that this fuel reserve is a reliability decision. In college I burned out two fuel pumps always running around on E. The fuel lubes and cools the pump, come to find out.
That and they don't want you calling in that roadside service program.
Maybe I’ve been lucky or only apply on certain vehicles
#9
Well one was VW and the other a Ford, so that has something to do with it. But they still rely on the fuel for lubricant, so running them dry is suboptimal even if of the over-engineered Toyota variety!
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WhiteTX350 (04-23-24)
#11
I have never had issues. Running a car out of fuel is different than running it down to a few gallons left in the tank. This car is brand new and google provides literally no results for range or fuel capacity on the TX models other than the MFG stated 17.8 gallon capacity.
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BayeauxLex (04-23-24)
#12
I have never had issues. Running a car out of fuel is different than running it down to a few gallons left in the tank. This car is brand new and google provides literally no results for range or fuel capacity on the TX models other than the MFG stated 17.8 gallon capacity.
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sheetmetalfab (04-23-24)
#13
mileage is slowly coming up. long trips to NJ and back this last weekend. on the way back the car displayed 33.8mpg at one point as an average. car was over 33mpg for the entire trip home which was 6.5 hours with stop and go traffic for some of it. it really isn't that disappointing. curious to see if it continues to get better now that it is getting more broken in and has the snow tires and the roof box off.
#14
mileage is slowly coming up. long trips to NJ and back this last weekend. on the way back the car displayed 33.8mpg at one point as an average. car was over 33mpg for the entire trip home which was 6.5 hours with stop and go traffic for some of it. it really isn't that disappointing. curious to see if it continues to get better now that it is getting more broken in and has the snow tires and the roof box off.
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sheetmetalfab (05-23-24)
#15
mileage is slowly coming up. long trips to NJ and back this last weekend. on the way back the car displayed 33.8mpg at one point as an average. car was over 33mpg for the entire trip home which was 6.5 hours with stop and go traffic for some of it. it really isn't that disappointing. curious to see if it continues to get better now that it is getting more broken in and has the snow tires and the roof box off.
can you show it?