Beat this!

yup it applies to all cars, the fuel acts as a coolant so its not good to always use up all your gas after the yellow light turns on.
 
There's roughly 3 gallons remaining when the gas light comes on and or miles left is zero. I was driving a lot in 4x4 mode and had underestimated my range.

Anyhow, the needle starts accelerating downwards after going about an 1/8" under the empty line.
 
I should've looked, but I ran out of gas and stalled a '06 4Runner during a test drive New Year's Day. It was the best way and bang to starting off a New Year.

It's not the 4Runner I took delivery of nor even from the same dealership. I did ask the rep if we should add gas to the 4Runner before my test drive, he said, "no, we'll be fine." Out of gas less than a mile or a few minutes since leaving the dealership. Even better, his cell phone didn't even have coverage for him to call someone at the dealership to get him more gas. (AT&T and more bars everywhere.)

I'm sure the 15 minutes we spent on the side of the road with hazards flashing waiting for someone else from dealership did wonders for Toyota's bulletproof reputation. :AK47: Brand new Toyota without tags dead on the side of the road.
 
Thanks! I know nothing 'bout having crud at the bottom of the tank. I manually pour nothing but only gas in there. Been doing this every since it was new. But hey, at least i have a full tank of fresh gas in there.

Every time someone starts a thread on this subject, it isn't long before someone brings up the 'sucking the crud from the bottom of the tank' warning. Apparently these people don't have a clue how the fuel pick-up works in gas tanks. On every tank I have ever taken apart, the fuel pick-up is on the bottom of the tank all the time, it doesn't matter whether the tank is full, 1/2, or empty. If there is any 'crud' in the tank, which is highly unlikely unless you are putting junk gas in it, it will be picked up no matter what the tank fill level is. But, every fuel pick-up I have seen has a fine mesh screen surrounding the pick-up, so if you were to put some 'crud' in the tank, the screen would keep it from getting to the pump. And there is still the in-line fuel filter to get past before you get anywhere near the injectors. This doesn't mean that I think running out of gas on purpose is a good idea, just that I wouldn't worry about the 'crud' thing.
 
I always "top off" my tank so there is more fuel in the system than the computer knows about.

I have several times gone many miles farther than the computer says I can. That said, it is not the best of practices !!

An earlier comment referred to "crud" picked up when the tank is low. The pick-up never moves so I am not sure that is a significant issue. HOWEVER, the fuel is the primary cooling agent in the system for the pump(s). Running low....eerr OUT will cause pump-failure very quickly and with a huge bill to remind you to buy fuel earlier next time.
 
When you hit zero, you have approximately 2 gallons of fuel left. There's no problem with going 20 more miles (I've done 0 + 26).

Climbing mountains will reduce your MPG, which I make up for driving downhill on the other side of the hill. But it does hit 0 every 1-2 months and I keep going.

Happens to me so much I've started carrying a spare gallon of gas in the car "just in case" I do run out so I can just make it home.
 
I ran it out on purpose once: ~ 46 miles past "0". And I've filled it with 23.5 gallons !?!?!?!
I know not good to run it out often BUT I usually do it on a car I own so I know exactly where on the gauge the car will run out of gas. I guess I hate fueling as I often run pretty close to "0" range (that still leaves 2ish gallons in tank). On mine the needle will go about 2/3 down the "E". YOUR MILEAGE MAY VARY! ;]

Optimist: The tank is 1/2 full
Pessimist: The tank is 1/2 empty
Realist: I don't have to go to a gas station yet!
 
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I use to freak out as soon as I get the yellow warning light , run to the nearest gas station and pay whatever price for the gas. Not anymore. I have learned that I still have quite good miles to go before the engine stops. It is really nice to know about how many more miles you still have. Specially when you know the gas price is gonna go down quite a bit the next day!....
 

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