Fuel gauge question

NJshadow93

NJshadow93

New member
Hey guys,

I am wondering if anyone else experiences this. I have a 2003 4x4 V8. I let my fuel run really low. The light came on and my range had 8 miles left. When I took it to fill up, only 19.6 gallons were filled. I understand our trucks have a 23 gallon gas tank. What is the reason for this?
 
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I understand that, but I would expect to at least fill 21 gallons or so. My friend with a 17 gallon tank was running it down one time and filled up 16.4 gallons.
 
Yea. Don't do that. Overfilling is really bad to both the environment and your car. When the gas pump shuts off, your tank is as good as full as you honestly need it. Any higher and you are wasting fuel and straining your fuel pump.


But. As to how much gas your tank holds. Every vehicle is different and your gas range was wrong. How do I know it was wrong? Becuase it is always wrong. It is a best guest "guestimate" based on a bunch of ENRON math.

It is impossible to actually "access" all the fuel in your tank. You just can't get it all. How much gas is left in the tank when your fuel pump is unable to "grab" it has a lot to do with tank design and orientation of your car. I have helped many people get down the road to a gas station as they were sputtering out by stopping and jumping up and down on the bumper to jostle the fuel tank and see if you could get just enough gas in the fuel lines to get the car rolling that .2 miles to the gas station.


The point. Don't sweat it. You car could well have been sitting at a slight angle or you could of had 4 gallons of fuel left in your tank. The actual gas gauge is a not very accurate either.....


TL;DR. Never trust your range gauge... it lies.. there is no cake.


HERE is why over filling is bad:
http://www.epa.gov/donttopoff/


Depending on your car it is really painful to your fuel system.
 
NJshadow93 said:
Hey guys,

I am wondering if anyone else experiences this. I have a 2003 4x4 V8. I let my fuel run really low. The light came on and my range had 8 miles left. When I took it to fill up, only 19.6 gallons were filled. I understand our trucks have a 23 gallon gas tank. What is the reason for this?
Click to expand...

This the first vehicle you've ever owned. Been owning cars since the early 70's. EVERY SINGLE VEHICLE I've ever owned did this. Not some...Not most...but every single one.

The reason for it is to give you a warning that you're getting low on gas. It is designed into the vehicle to work that way. It's better then running out of gas.

In the mid 80's when vehicles went to fuel injection manufacturers started putting the pumps inside the gas tank. It needs to be submerged in gas to keep it cool. Getting a gas tank completely empty is a sure fire way to overheat and kill a gas pump.
 
MikeInNH said:
This the first vehicle you've ever owned. Been owning cars since the early 70's. EVERY SINGLE VEHICLE I've ever owned did this. Not some...Not most...but every single one.

The reason for it is to give you a warning that you're getting low on gas. It is designed into the vehicle to work that way. It's better then running out of gas.

In the mid 80's when vehicles went to fuel injection manufacturers started putting the pumps inside the gas tank. It needs to be submerged in gas to keep it cool. Getting a gas tank completely empty is a sure fire way to overheat and kill a gas pump.
Click to expand...

I wanna point out that I do not run it low regularly, I was curious to see how when the light would kick on and how much fuel was left, etc. I usually fill up when it gets below a quarter tank. Anyway, I had 2005 RAV4 for a year before getting my 4Runner. The RAV4 had a 14.8 gallon tank, I believe. One time it was late and I couldn't get gas until the next morning because everything was closed and I was low on gas. When I finally did, it filled just under 14 gallons. So I guess with this truck the cutoff is well before the 23 gallon mark and every vehicle varies.
 
What is so difficult to understand? The range estimate is an estimate. Numerous users have driven over 30 miles past 0 and still had gas to go.

The 4Runner and LC low fuel lights come on way early - like 4-5 gallons left. This is not your average 4banger civic. Toyota wants to give you sufficient warning so that if you're that stupid and in the middle of no where with little gas, you might be able to make it back.

Relax.
 
DC runner said:
Yea. Don't do that. Overfilling is really bad to both the environment and your car. When the gas pump shuts off, your tank is as good as full as you honestly need it. Any higher and you are wasting fuel and straining your fuel pump.


But. As to how much gas your tank holds. Every vehicle is different and your gas range was wrong. How do I know it was wrong? Becuase it is always wrong. It is a best guest "guestimate" based on a bunch of ENRON math.

It is impossible to actually "access" all the fuel in your tank. You just can't get it all. How much gas is left in the tank when your fuel pump is unable to "grab" it has a lot to do with tank design and orientation of your car. I have helped many people get down the road to a gas station as they were sputtering out by stopping and jumping up and down on the bumper to jostle the fuel tank and see if you could get just enough gas in the fuel lines to get the car rolling that .2 miles to the gas station.


The point. Don't sweat it. You car could well have been sitting at a slight angle or you could of had 4 gallons of fuel left in your tank. The actual gas gauge is a not very accurate either.....


TL;DR. Never trust your range gauge... it lies.. there is no cake.


HERE is why over filling is bad:
Don't Top Off Your Gas Tank! | Mid-Atlantic Air Protection


Depending on your car it is really painful to your fuel system.
Click to expand...

To expand on this a little bit, overfilling can force too much fuel into the evap. system and cause fouling/premature failure of the T4R's charcoal canister. This would result in evap. codes being thrown, dash lights turning on, and a situation similar to a failing gas cap where VSC, TRAC, etc. are disabled.
 
ClockWork said:
What is so difficult to understand? The range estimate is an estimate. Numerous users have driven over 30 miles past 0 and still had gas to go.

The 4Runner and LC low fuel lights come on way early - like 4-5 gallons left. This is not your average 4banger civic. Toyota wants to give you sufficient warning so that if you're that stupid and in the middle of no where with little gas, you might be able to make it back.

Relax.
Click to expand...

I don't think the OP finds it that difficult to understand. I think he was just wondering since it's not in line with his previous experiences. In fact, in his or her first post, it says in the first sentence that they are "just wondering."

You relax.
 
NJshadow93 said:
Hey guys,

I am wondering if anyone else experiences this. I have a 2003 4x4 V8. I let my fuel run really low. The light came on and my range had 8 miles left. When I took it to fill up, only 19.6 gallons were filled. I understand our trucks have a 23 gallon gas tank. What is the reason for this?
Click to expand...

For what its worth I've always found my Toyota's to have a VERY conservative Fuel Lamp. My '08 4runner usually has about 150km worth of highway driving when "Range" says zero. I have confirmed this by filling up as soon as the lamp comes on, usually 12 or so litres of room. My Corolla was the same way 125-150km of range when fuel lamp first appears. I would assume they do this so you aren't left on the side of the road dead!
 
You have to do another test. Bring a gallon of gas with you then drive around till you run out of gas. Observe the range left then go to the nearest gas station and top it off completely. Then let us know your results.
 
Running completely out of gas is NOT a good thing to do. The fuel pump in your gas tank is cooled by the gas it's submerged in. You run completely out....there's a possibility of burning up the fuel pump.
 
NJshadow93 said:
Hey guys,

I am wondering if anyone else experiences this. I have a 2003 4x4 V8. I let my fuel run really low. The light came on and my range had 8 miles left. When I took it to fill up, only 19.6 gallons were filled. I understand our trucks have a 23 gallon gas tank. What is the reason for this?
Click to expand...

Funny thing, when the pump stops automatically when filling up at my local gas station, I can put 2 more gallons in the 4R by filling slowly. Really 2 gallons!

Bob
 
MikeInNH said:
Running completely out of gas is NOT a good thing to do. The fuel pump in your gas tank is cooled by the gas it's submerged in. You run completely out....there's a possibility of burning up the fuel pump.
Click to expand...

It will not matter. This is his 4runner not ours. He needs to do this in the name of science.:banana:
 
AE1M said:
Funny thing, when the pump stops automatically when filling up at my local gas station, I can put 2 more gallons in the 4R by filling slowly. Really 2 gallons!

Bob
Click to expand...


I've noticed this too. I overfill when I'm on a roadtrip and I am trying to max out my distance in between fill-ups.
 
Careful with over-filling. There's a vacuum line at the top of the filler neck that feeds into the Charcoal canister. Overfilling can cause raw gas to get into that canister. That's a sure fire way of destroying the canister. When I was trouble-shooting my gas cap problem. One of the possible causes of that code (I forget what it was)....it was either a gas cap ($30) or could have been a Charcoal canister ($500)...Add about $200 if you have to have a mechanic change it for you.
 
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