MILES TO EMPTY READING

PugDad

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Meanderthal

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My concern would be running the tank empty in the first place. To burn all the fuel in the tank requires running the pump for a significant amount of time with less fuel than necessary to provide cooling. I believe that is the basis of the statement in the manual that your warranty may not cover damage caused by running the tank dry.
Yes, I've heard many people tell me that it is hard on fuel pumps to run the fuel level down. I've done it for years on multiple vehicles, almost always filling up when Miles to Empty is 10 or less. It is only a sample of one (but on multiple vehicles, both 2 and 4 wheel) and I've never had a fuel pump go bad.

This is one of those things that you just have to know that Ford engineers (and every other manufacturer) have tested for. You cannot assume that people will always fill up when there is still some magical minimum amount of fuel in the tank. As an engineer, you have to basically assume the worst, or at least very near the worst.

I'm not saying that running completely out of fuel every tank is a good idea. There seems to be very little, or no, issue with running very low on fuel before just about every fillup. That is despite the constant chorus of people saying that it is bad for the fuel pump. Running it completely dry is most likely not a good thing but even that could be argued somewhat because when it runs dry there is no load on the motor (which would reduce the heat created by the motor). Add to that, the fact that once you run out of gas, you probably turn the key off soon after.

Is it better to always fillup with a 1/4 tank or more, maybe. Is it disastrous to always fillup with only a gallon (or less), apparently not.
 

Mark S.

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Yes, I've heard many people tell me that it is hard on fuel pumps to run the fuel level down. I've done it for years on multiple vehicles, almost always filling up when Miles to Empty is 10 or less. It is only a sample of one (but on multiple vehicles, both 2 and 4 wheel) and I've never had a fuel pump go bad.
I've done this in the past as well, but I don't remember seeing a warning in the owner's manual about loss of warranty for doing so. This particular statement got my attention; it suggests to me that cooling for this particular pump in this particular installation may be an issue.
 

AlpharettaOuterBank

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Okay, it’s been almost a year, but I have somewhat of answer on this. Today I drove 5 miles past the point of it reading zero miles to empty. When I fueled up, it took 15.7 gallons. My current mileage, as reported by the computer, is 23.1 mpg or .043 gallons per mile. That would mean that during those 5 miles past the zero reading I used about a quarter of a gallon. So, the BS is reporting zero miles to empty when there is about 1/2 gallon in the tank based on the listed fuel capacity of 16 gallons. I don’t know if that capacity includes whatever is in the filler neck or if it is just what is contained in the actual tank.

That is not a lot of buffer and a little less than I have seen from other vehicles. I have generally found that there is about 1 gallon remaining when it reads zero. So, at least for me and my BS, there is about 10 miles remaining when it reads zero Miles to Empty on the display. This is in no way saying that you should push to the edge of that 10 miles (1/2 gallon). It is good to know that when I am 5 miles away from a preferred gas station and the reading drops to zero MtoE, I can make it to that station without concern. Feel free to dream up whatever other scenario you wish in this scenario.

This happened today because the reminder came on yesterday on my way home but it was cold and raining and I wasn’t feeling great, so I decided to wait until today. I know it would be pretty close but then got even worse because I drove 5-7 miles for lunch (which I didn’t intend to do). My preferred gas station has ethanol free gas, so I do what I can to use that station and not buy gas with ethanol if I can avoid it.

At some point I may put a gallon of gas in a can and just drive until it runs out of gas to determine the true capacity. I do believe that I have put in a little more than 15.7 gallons before but I didn’t record it anywhere.

All of this is just information for any of you to do with what you will. For me, it is just good to know the limits in case I do need push up toward them. You may not ever want to push the limit but if/when you find yourself in an ”emergency” situation you might remember this post and know that you still have 10 miles until you run out and you can make a decision about what you need to do.
10 MILES!!!!
 

AlpharettaOuterBank

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Yeah my reader is wonky. But this thread helped me get some insight. I used to put in gas and it would read 400-500, now it reads 260 or 300 if im lucky.
 

Bucko

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The dreaded thread moderator!
I'm with you PugDad. Why members waste time with comments such as "Stop commenting on ancient threads please " is beyond me. The issues in an older thread pop up once in awhile, and it's perfectly fine to post on it.

I see no one forcing a member to read a post. Simply move on to one that interests you.
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