How close have you been to running out of gas?

I was on vacation this week towing our 23' trailer with a 2007EB 4.6L. I had just under half a tank left and it was only 60km to the next town. Well towing at 8.5mpg quickly moved that fuel gauge! The gauge was on E and I was watching the driving computer in the dash telling me the distance to empty. 10 miles (Okay, should be close), 5 miles (hmm, where is that station?), 3 miles (how am I going to explain this to the wife?), we crest a hill and there is the station!! As I am slowing to make the turn the computer switches to 0 miles left. I make it the pumps and start pumping.

The manual states the capacity is 85.2 Liters. I pumped in 83.9 Liters!!! I must have been seconds away from stalling. After that I filled up at 1/2 tank on the guage for the rest of the trip!

 

[Tailtorcher]

I ran out of gas 2 weeks ago actually. I went down to so cal to visit my family and friends, as well as my gfs friends and family

(we lived 20 miles away from each other for about ten years before moving to NV never knew it!)

anyway it was about 1 am and we decided to go for a drive and.......... well i ran out of gas (in bfe mind you) paying too much attention to the passenger seat and not the gas gauge! ended up sleeping in the back of the truck.

 

[compworks]

Zero miles to empty? Maybe.

My dad drives his Explorer (an '06 4.0) to zero miles to empty rather regularly. So far, we can skate by going eleven miles after the range meter clicks into nothing; when he fills up, the nozzle 'clicks' at about 21.7 gallons (it's a 22.5 gallon tank).
I don't know how well I'll do when I get my Explorer because it'll be running the 4.6, but I sure as heck won't get down to zero unless I really need to. I don't quite have the range anxiety that my mom has - she won't run her '12 Impala past forty miles to empty - but I'm concerned about the gunk in the tank that'll eventually make its way into the injectors.

Just my two cents on that damned range meter.

 

[Essex4x4]

I wouldn't test that. Considering our (4.6l motor) EPA rating is 13/18 I always... ALWAYS fill up when i get just hair below a quarter tank. Im terrified of running out when the gas light comes on. Yes when it comes on you should have about 4 gallons left but when your city mileage isn't that much above 14-15 at best 4 gallons isn't very far.

 

[mitchness]

Started puttering going up a hill and about stalled. Dropped it in neutral and let it coast with the 4 ways on, finally made it to the gas station at the bottom of the hill and stalled. Using inertia from the downhill joyride, I managed to coast to a pump with manual steering and manual brakes...talk about sore shoulders! Now I know why we were afraid of our grandfathers. What a workout. Well, got it filled and it took another hour for the "Check Gauges" light to go off and the gauge itself took 3 days to catch back up to what it had.

 

[com4tably.numb]

Low enough to suck tank sediment into the strainer and burn up the fuel pump impeller.....

 

[Sedition]

Run out of gas, pushed it 100m down the road to the gas station.

 

[J_Train]

Almost ran out today made to BP just in time my check engine light came on as I pulled to the pump.

 

[AndysRig0429]

My X can go for 20-30 miles after the light comes on. If you ever get stuck, pee or put 3 oz of water in the tank. The liquid should be enough to push the remaining fuel in the pump out and you should get a mile or 2. Emergency use only of course. Now thats what i call running on fumes!!!

 

[rookieshooter]

With me it's not how close to running out, rather how close can I get to filling up. Been a long time with the price of gas and a 23 gallon tank.

 

[J_Train]

AndysRig0429 I see that light every Thursday on my way home from work fill up (whatever $50 will get me) on Friday after I get paid, It just happen that i forgot to stop on my way home. So yesterday morning I left for my parents to check on their dogs. Plus their house is close to where I wheel. So I got there stopped for breakfast and forgot again, I didn't remember til I left to go wheeling with my brother and he said something. The check engine light was a bonus cause the code said so.etching about multiple misfires.



rookieshooter. Yeah I know what you mean the only time I fill up is if I'm going to Georgia. Brings my joy of a road trip down lol.

 

[429CJ-3X2]

Years and years ago when I was in high school, I drove my '68 F250 50 miles on gravel and dirt roads chasing friends one Sunday night with the gauge on E. Next day, my dad drove it and ran out of gas before he got to the station 2 1/2 miles away. He was not happy.

Some time later, my brother and I were using Dad's F250 to tow my brother's horse trailer about 150 miles. Knowing my truck could go 50 miles on E, I wasn't concerned when the gas gauge read 1/8 tank. Went to pass and the truck slowed down. My brother had been telling me to stop for gas, but was asleep when this happened. Fortunately I was right at an exit ramp and made it to a station. I put 19 gallons in an 18 gallon tank!

 

[CreepingNet]

Two gas stories......

1.) Had my 93' Explorer for about 6 months, I was 20, just got a girlfriend, and the gas gauge got the infamous float problem.and I was not paying attention to the trip odometer. I pull right in front of her house, the engine dies! Had to coast to the end of her street with no power brakes, no power steering....you will come to appreciate those things when trying to stop a 4800LB SUV with nothing powered on.

2.) The move to Washington, I was driving through a deserted section of I-80 in Wyoming, trucking along at a swift rate of speed. This is the REVERSE of this thread. I needed gas, bad, I was up to 310-320 miles on this tank, and knew I was running on vapors. So I pull into this super-old-school gas station about 250 miles west of Platte City, with 1970's gas pumps. Now me, being born in 1983, had no idea back in the day that you actually had to WATCH how much gas you put in your car and manually stop the pump........and you can guess what's next....

That's right, gas just POURING down the side of my truck, I promptly pulled the pump, put it up, went inside, paid, and went shopping for a bit to let the fuel evaporate before continuing on my way.

Oddly, despite putting what was probably 18 gallons in a 17.5 gallon tank, seemed not to affect the Ex at all...just kept on happily humming it's way all the way to the Pacific Northwest.

 

[mr cribb]

Again not in the X, but a good one: 95 neon single cam 5 speed and a non op gas gauge will go 336 miles on the highway before it runs out of gas, my wife found out the hard way. I took her a gallon of gas and she went to the gas station and put in 10.49 gallons in an 11 gallon tank. Car runs fine, no harm to the fuel pump.

 

[jadez03]

I ran my 96 4.0 V6 Explorer to below E commonly...until my fuel pump blew and the guys at the shop told me about how much crap sediment was in there (and at the bottom of my tank).

Now I fill up all my vehicles at the 1/4 tank mark...lesson learned.

 

[ambrosiaB]

I used to do a paper route in my 2000 ex. And one night after the route got it down to 0 mikes to empty. I jad $3 on me. That three bucks didn't even register. Scary!

 

[Fordsgalore4]

i drove my 2007 Escape Hybrid to 0 miles to empty i have to drive it all in electric mode for 3 miles to get to get it to the station and i was in the middle of the desert

 

[admsbmr]

I just drove my 7.3 powerstroke with 0 miles till empty for 15 miles to the gas station.

 

[MrQ]

On my way back from Moab last year, every time the my explorer went below 40mph it died. I got very good at shifting into neutral and starting the engine coasting at 30mph then putting it back into drive. The real fun was when I had to do it going through stoplights and left hand turns. Turns out the issue was a combination of things, not the least of which was the fuel pump.

 

[Explorer0204]

I just drove my 7.3 powerstroke with 0 miles till empty for 15 miles to the gas station.

Situations like this teach you an amazing amount about efficient driving lol. You suddenly become a master of throttle control and a little more connected to God as you pray you can make it lol.

 

[vq5speed]

The last time I ran out of gas in my X was some years ago. I new I was about to run out so I drove as fast I can to get some rolling speed up. I ran out about 200 yards from the gas station and coasted all the way to and right up to the pump. I was praying that there be an empty spot to pull up to I got lucky that day. After that day I vowed never to run out again. But the last few weeks my gas gauge quit working. I been just topping off every couple of weeks just to make sure I have gas. I don't drive that much so I kinda got a feel of how much gas I have. When I went to fill the last time I expected I was about a halve a tank. I was surprised to find I must of been almost empty as it took almost 20 gallons of gas. Whew glad I went and got gas could of ran out again..