Help; 4running out of fuel

714runner

714runner

New member
The only mods I have on my 4runner are a borla exhaust and aftermarket wheels.

So recently, my car has been dying/shutting off while driving on the road, mainly due to running out of gas (I like to live life on the edge). The first time it happened I knew I was running on fumes but had no choice because I didn't have my wallet on me, and luckily for me, the car died right in front of a gas station where my girlfriend met me up to fill up the tank.

The 2nd time it happened was on the driveway at home, where The car was low on gas, but not that low (the red gas line was not even touching the last white marker on the fuel gauge) and it wouldn't start. I figured maybe it's because I was parked on a steep driveway and somehow the engine couldn't suck up the fuel. So I brought back some gas and filled the 4runner up, and it started up as it normally would when a vehicle runs out of gas.

Today while driving down my street, with a little less than 1/4 of gas in my tank (according to my fuel gauge) and supposedly "15 miles til empty" on the clock screen, I had the same experience as the first incident....

Now I will take fault for the first incident because I was running extremely low on gas and I knew that. As for #2, I will let it slide because I was parked on a steep driveway, but as for today's incident, I am a little shocked because of the misguided information on my dash. Could it be that me having the 4runner die a couple times before affect the ability of the vehicle to correctly read the amount of fuel, or could it be a different problem that's causing the 4runner to run out of gas?

I have driven the 4runner many times with pretty low fuel before and have never experienced this problem, not until after I got a borla exhaust I bought used off of craigslist.

If anyone can help me figure this out or if anyone has experienced similar scenarios, I hope we can get to the bottom of it.

Btw, the most miles I got on a full tank of gas is 452 miles, and I am always trying to see if I can get more.
 
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It sounds like all that "Living life on the edge" may have caused you to burn out / damage your fuel pump.

Modern fuel pumps rely on gas in the tank to cool them. If you chronically run them low, they wear out much faster.
 
It's real hard to remain positive with a reply but you did ask for help. Don't let it go below 1/4 tank for 3 tanks and see if that fixes the problem. If it fixes it, you are the problem. If it does not fix it then there's a physical issue else where that can be further diagnosed. We can't help you until you get out of the way.
 
I hate being low on fuel, once I go below 1/2 tank I usually look for a place to fill up but this is because I do 300+ miles on the weekends. [MENTION=91258]714runner[/MENTION] lesson learned my friend. These trucks are made to stretch the fuel tank to see how far you can go :bravo: good job on the 452 miles tho.

Not that I live on the edge at all compared to this guy..... but I did notice when my miles to empty read 10 miles I still had 1-1.5 gallons left in the tank.
 
st8rocks said:
. . . . Not that I live on the edge at all compared to this guy..... but I did notice when my miles to empty read 10 miles I still had 1-1.5 gallons left in the tank. . .
Click to expand...

That's a great observation.

Every time I buy a new vehicle I run the tank "fairly" low (but still a bit off the empty line) to see how many gallons it holds to determine how accurate the gauge is on approximating empty. I do that once and only once when it's brand new. That way if I ever get into a future situation where I HAVE to run it low, I'm not sweating bullets.

Doing this on a regular basis is asking for trouble. Gasoline is lighter than water. If there's any water in your tank, it will be on the bottom. There is a Neopreme like filter sock over the fuel intake inside the tank. If you run it real low, the water will coat that sock and reduce the ability to suck in gas.

I had this happen on a previous vehicle. I dropped the tank, and had to use high pressure air to get the water off the sock. I thought it was the fuel pump, but it was just water blocking the intake sock.

Consistently running your tank real low will only cause issues over time.
 
714runner said:
The only mods I have on my 4runner are a borla exhaust and aftermarket wheels.

So recently, my car has been dying/shutting off while driving on the road, mainly due to running out of gas (I like to live life on the edge). The first time it happened I knew I was running on fumes but had no choice because I didn't have my wallet on me, and luckily for me, the car died right in front of a gas station where my girlfriend met me up to fill up the tank.

The 2nd time it happened was on the driveway at home, where The car was low on gas, but not that low (the red gas line was not even touching the last white marker on the fuel gauge) and it wouldn't start. I figured maybe it's because I was parked on a steep driveway and somehow the engine couldn't suck up the fuel. So I brought back some gas and filled the 4runner up, and it started up as it normally would when a vehicle runs out of gas.

Today while driving down my street, with a little less than 1/4 of gas in my tank (according to my fuel gauge) and supposedly "15 miles til empty" on the clock screen, I had the same experience as the first incident....

Now I will take fault for the first incident because I was running extremely low on gas and I knew that. As for #2, I will let it slide because I was parked on a steep driveway, but as for today's incident, I am a little shocked because of the misguided information on my dash. Could it be that me having the 4runner die a couple times before affect the ability of the vehicle to correctly read the amount of fuel, or could it be a different problem that's causing the 4runner to run out of gas?

I have driven the 4runner many times with pretty low fuel before and have never experienced this problem, not until after I got a borla exhaust I bought used off of craigslist.

If anyone can help me figure this out or if anyone has experienced similar scenarios, I hope we can get to the bottom of it.

Btw, the most miles I got on a full tank of gas is 452 miles, and I am always trying to see if I can get more.
Click to expand...

Try disconnecting and reconnecting the battery ground to reset the computer and ya that is NOT a good idea to keep running it low. .

BTW ......Kramer is this you?
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Last edited:
714runner said:
Btw, the most miles I got on a full tank of gas is 452 miles, and I am always trying to see if I can get more.
Click to expand...
this right here sums up your problem... now sell your 4runner and get a Hotwheels Bigwheel so your transportation fits your thought process
 
714runner said:
Btw, the most miles I got on a full tank of gas is 452 miles, and I am always trying to see if I can get more.
Click to expand...
Why? You have probably fried your fuel pump by running it low on gas. One day, you're going to be walking when a disaster makes gas scarce.
 
The only time I ever even got the low fuel light to come on was right after I bought my SR5. Did it on purpose to see how much fuel remained in the tank for any future reference I may need if I were to get in a bind. 3 gallons remained or around 50 to 60 miles of travel. Good to know. This said I'd never, ever put my baby in a position to purposely stress the fuel pump this way, because that is exactly what will happen. Do it enough times and its a trashed fuel pump and stuck(:sobbing:) you'll be dealing with. Don't know why anyone would do this on purpose or even risk doing it by accident.
 
The fuel in your tank is the coolant for the fuel pump. You will overheat the pump if you always keep it low. Plus, an empty tank allows moisture to condensate within the tank, causing further nasties. If parking on a steep incline, park nose down, pump won't have to pull as hard against gravity.

I've run out of gas before in a VW Scirocco in West Texas on a lonely state road at 2am. Not fun.
 
Wow! Totally getting :flamethrwoer2:, bud. Don't sweat it or try to rebut... it will only make it worse.

Anyways, you got the info you need so no harm, no foul.
 
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