New BS owner questions

[Mark S.]

I filled my tank up full this week, the Miles Remaining said 176 afterward. I've driven it 45 miles since then, it currently says 170 remaining. Last week the miles remaining actually increased by 10 after i drove it to work that day.

Do you reset your trip meter after refueling? If so, what was the indicated fuel economy on the last tank? As @Davexxxx noted, the miles-to-empty computation is based in part on historical fuel economy.

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[NMhunter]

I bought Tuxmats, and they are good. I had WeatherTechs in my Jeep Liberty, and like them better. It had deep treads, like an off road tire, which allowed the sand and water to fill the cracks and not be on the surface. I find the Tuxmats have to be removed or vacuumed more often.

I didn't order mine with the inductive phone charger. I added a Wireless Car Charger, MOKPR Auto-Clamping Car Mount from Amazon. It is made to clamp on a vent, which seemed like a dumb idea. I already had a phone mount on top of the dash, and the ball was the same size, so the charger went right on. It works with my Iphone and my friend's Android.

 

[Mwittke5857]

The Ford floor mats are great. The cargo area mat is also worth the money.

As for the Miles to Empty calculation, it can change based on the recent MPG the vehicle is returning. I've got about 18K miles on my Bronco Sport, and the Miles to Empty figure has generally been pretty accurate.

No issue as I never let my rig go below 1/2 a tank!

 

[jkernitzki]

No issue as I never let my rig go below 1/2 a tank!

3/4 tank for me. Old fire department habit.

 

[Mark S.]

3/4 tank for me. Old fire department habit.

7/8ths, because you can never have too much gas.

EDIT: My wife disagrees. We may not be talking about the same thing.

 

[oharajoynr]

Not knowing vehicle exact age and total miles driven, some things to consider checking (not on your list): Check battery life and manufacture/source; check rear diff fluid/ the RDU fluid / and transmission fluid. Service/replace these as needed.

 

[Schuelady]

It's likely Ford doesn't want owners to drive using the empty reserve. It's there for an emergency or mistake, but shouldn't be used on a regular basis. The electric fuel pump sits in a well at the bottom of the tank and relies on fuel for cooling. If you continue driving on the empty reserve the fuel level will drop below that required to provide adequate cooling for the pump.

I've always been told, it's not good to drive past 1/4 of a tank, it could burn out the fuel pump! I never let mine get that low!

 

[Mark S.]

I've always been told, it's not good to drive past 1/4 of a tank, it could burn out the fuel pump! I never let mine get that low!

It's good advice if you don't know the tank design. In our case, we have clues in the Owner's Manual. First, we're told not run out of fuel--which means no fuel remaining in the tank--because that could result in damage not covered by warranty. We're also told that if we do accidentally run the tank completely dry that we should add at least 1.3 gallons before restarting. Since the pump is the only component in the fuel tank that can be harmed by running running out of fuel, that strongly suggests to me the pump requires at least 1.3 gallons of fuel in the tank for cooling.

Second, the manual tells us the tank incorporates an "empty reserve" without telling us how much that reserve is. I posit that the empty reserve is the minimum amount required for pump cooling, or 1.3 gallons.

Based on the above, I believe once your fuel gauge indicates empty you should still have that 1.3 gallon empty reserve, which should be enough to keep the pump cool--assuming you stop immediately for more fuel. This assumes, of course, that your fuel gauge is dead on accurate. If you want to play it safe, refuel when your gauge indicates 1/4 tank remaining, but if everything is working as it's supposed to there's no real danger of damage until you get to empty.

 

[Schuelady]

It's good advice if you don't know the tank design. In our case, we have clues in the Owner's Manual. First, we're told not run out of fuel--which means no fuel remaining in the tank--because that could result in damage not covered by warranty. We're also told that if we do accidentally run the tank completely dry that we should add at least 1.3 gallons before restarting. Since the pump is the only component in the fuel tank that can be harmed by running running out of fuel, that strongly suggests to me the pump requires at least 1.3 gallons of fuel in the tank for cooling.

Second, the manual tells us the tank incorporates an "empty reserve" without telling us how much that reserve is. I posit that the empty reserve is the minimum amount required for pump cooling, or 1.3 gallons.

Based on the above, I believe once your fuel gauge indicates empty you should still have that 1.3 gallon empty reserve, which should be enough to keep the pump cool--assuming you stop immediately for more fuel. This assumes, of course, that your fuel gauge is dead on accurate. If you want to play it safe, refuel when your gauge indicates 1/4 tank remaining, but if everything is working as it's supposed to there's no real danger of damage until you get to empty.

Why take a chance, I've just gotten into the habit of not letting the gas get that low, no matter which vehicle I'm driving!

 

[BSBB4Les]

I'm of the quarter tank philosophy. I find that when I fill up with the guage marker just above the quarter mark, the gas pump reads 11+ Gallons filled. 16 gallon tank, less 11+ gallons filled means my tank had 5 gallons +or-. I don't know what this means other than perhaps that reserve is in the mix or the gauge is not totally accurate.

 

[Major Kong]

as the last bit of fuel sloshes around inside the tank
solid contaminants to fuel ratio greatly increases
repeated low fuel occurrences yields greater potential for filter contaminant exposure
fuel filter located inside the tank
bad scenario

 

[Mark S.]

as the last bit of fuel sloshes around inside the tank
solid contaminants to fuel ratio greatly increases
repeated low fuel occurrences yields greater fuel filter contaminant exposure
fuel filter located inside the tank
bad scenario

I think this used to be an issue with older cars utilizing metal tanks. The "contaminants" in that case was corrosion flaking off the inside tanks walls. Our cars use a plastic tank, thus no corrosion. The only way contaminants get into the tank is through the filler port or suspended in the fuel. This is a good reason to stick with stations that offer Top Tier fuel. Even if you don't use Top Tier fuel the filtration systems on modern fuel dispensers are quite a lot better than they were in the past.

All of that's to say I believe the danger of contaminants clogging your pump filter to be significantly less than overheating the pump.

 

[Major Kong]

I think this used to be an issue with older cars utilizing metal tanks. The "contaminants" in that case was corrosion flaking off the inside tanks walls. Our cars use a plastic tank, thus no corrosion. The only way contaminants get into the tank is through the filler port or suspended in the fuel. This is a good reason to stick with stations that offer Top Tier fuel. Even if you don't use Top Tier fuel the filtration systems on modern fuel dispensers are quite a lot better than they were in the past.

All of that's to say I believe the danger of contaminants clogging your pump filter to be significantly less than overheating the pump.

correct you are sir
internal corrosion is not the factor pertaining to contaminants in this case
however I would add the word introduced in this situation
possible poor fuel selection
or simply the lack of a proper screw type gas cap
consider some of the off road driving conditions
and what is the only thing between your fuel and the environment
a spring loaded fuel hatch cover
far from being hermetically sealed from particulates
the potential risks exist
how many owners visually check the opening before fueling
rare happening is my guess

 

[NMhunter]

I bought an $8 dollar Amazon plastic cap for my fuel fill. Dust gets everywhere in my Bronco when I'm off road, and I don't need to add it to my fuel.

 

[jkernitzki]

I bought an $8 dollar Amazon plastic cap for my fuel fill. Dust gets everywhere in my Bronco when I'm off road, and I don't need to add it to my fuel.

Link?

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