How close have you been to running out of gas?

[Mr. Truckles]

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..

I know how that feels! My tank had a venting problem which made it almost impossible to put gas in it so I would be stuck driving around with a quarter tank. One day I had an appointment and someone had given me the wrong address. I ended up driving around lost and as soon as I finally got the right address the engine started sputtering. I coasted into a gas station just to find out it was cash only and I only had my card! I had to run across the street with a gas can

 

[Explorer0204]

I almost ran out on my motorcycle one time. Had to zip zag to splash gas into the fuel line to get to the station... I kid you not it worked.

Damn Sportster peanut tanks... Look so good though!

 

[fireball 440]

I coasted into a closed gas station on my Katana on time, had to wait 45 minutes for them to open. No pay at pump, only pre-pay inside.

A few weeks ago my Explorer display read "24 miles to empty" when I made it to the next town.

 

[MrQ]

Today, ran to empty and had to coast and neutral start to the gas station, engine died when when turming left across a street with a big truck coming my way. Managed to have enough motion to get to the driveway without being side swiped, but it was close.

 

[USExplorer04]

In my four years of driving, I have never gotten my X's gas gauge below 1/4. Since I now get gas with $20 cash, it rarely gets above 7/8 and rarely gets below 1/2.

 

[4rd Xplora]

Outside right now, needle hiding under the red line, showing 2 miles til empty. Glad the gas station is one mile away.

 

[Camacorn]

I've had my 1997 Mountaineer go about a quarter below E, luckily it didn't stall out on me. I did have it stall out once while I was trail riding, was at an incline and all of the fuel ran to the front of the tank, had to let it sit for a few minutes on even ground before it would stop sputtering out on me.

 

[cycle61]

We went camping last weekend up in some BLM forest land near Mt Rainier, got to our spot with about 1/4 tank showing on the gauge. Didn't think much about the fact that we were parked significantly uphill. Night turns bitter cold, so we pile out of the tent and into the Ex, where we ran the engine about 10 minutes every hour to keep it survivably warm inside. Wake up in the morning, still showing just under 1/4 tank, no problem. Turn the rig around to go back down the hill and

I didn't actually know that negative 1/4 tank was possible on the gauge. Nursed it along 5-6 miles of logging road, onto the pavement, and into town on what had to be the last sip, with the needle still deep below empty.

 

[trozei123]

on my 92 xlt, i have run out at least 6 times since buying it in october 2014. i use it for delivery, and i never make much in tips. I have never had more than 15 bucks in the tank. so the gauge is always under the quarter line. one thing i did notice was what grade to put in. for months, i always used 87 octane since it is always cheaper. but i noticed that the engine ran a little rougher. my fiance told me this month that older vehicles are actually made for the higher octane gas. so i took her advice, and started using 91 octane. WHAT A HUGE DIFFERENCE!!!! it may cost a lot more than the cheap stuff, but for it making the engine run a lot smoother, its worth it. anyone else notice that on their older vehicles?

 

[bilzy7]

I have a bad habit of running my truck at E and knowing it has about 20 miles left in the tank. I once ran out of gas just as I entered the gas station. 20 feet from the pump of course.

 

[Gisela Vanslyke]

I can't really afford to have a full tank, so I am always close to running out of gas.

 

[fifthranger]

My Ranger and my wife's Edge both have a 19.5 gallon tank, and I recently put 17.5 gallons in my Ranger. Naturally, the low fuel light was on, and I was nervous because I had never run this low before. I have an 80 mile roundtrip commute daily, and I do not like fueling often, unless I feel gas prices will rise. We are holding steady here around $2.35/gallon, but a couple months ago when prices kept lowering, we hit a low of around $2.08/gallon. Anyway, I know our low fuel light is orange, but my wife claims that she ran do low that the light changed to red. I say that I've never seen or heard of that. I am thankful for how flat it is here.

 

[CreepingNet]

Had another one of those "running on fumes" moments. Apparently my (now ex-)Rhythm guitar player has no friggin idea that gasoline in your vehicle is finite.

I broke my ankle six months ago. The band had a series of high(er) profile gigs, and the crap Chevy Astrovan we carry all of our gear in developed a nice expensive transmission problem. Being as I was the only guy in the band with a sizeable truck (93' Ex Sport), and I Could not drive it because it has a manual tranny (I broke my clutch ankle), we loaned it to aforementioned dude.

So he says he'll fill up the tank afterward and pay attention to the trip odometer, DON'T trust rock musicians is my first rule of thumb.

So the truck sits for a month or two more and I have to move it, it now is reading 337 miles on the trip odometer, and suddenly my gas gauge starts working again (reading - 1/4 tank), I'm thinking "hopefully I'll trust him once that he put gas in this thing"....I have to go play a show in Seattle and need to get gas but have a small window to grab gear at the guitarist's place, so I swing by, and just as I get to his house, the engine starts sputtering as I pull in front of his house. So I grabbed a can of gas from his porch, threw it in the truck, got the gear, and proceeded to put 19.7 gallons of gasoline in my truck.

Like I said, don't trust rock musicians, most of us are idiots (not me though).

Funny enough the moron ran his Camaro out of gas before the next gig and I had to bail him out by driving seven blocks to his car - twice, because he did not remember his car keys the first time. In his case there's no excuse, he was not dealing with the mystery of "payback" nor was he driving a car with a non-functioning gas gauge.....the poetic justice sort of makes me chuckle and gives me a bit of a warm fuzzy feeling.

 

[5spdman]

So close I had to get towed the remaining 1/4 mile to the gas station lol.

 

[96firephoenix]

Closest call in the Explorer:

2002 Ford Explorer Capacities Gas Tank 22.5 gal

I put 21.9 gal in it once.

Closest call of any vehicle:

1996 Pontiac Firebird Capacities Gas Tank 15.5 gal

Put 15.350 in it once.

 

[DymondD]

Once I pulled over to check out a baja'ed Ranger that was for sale. shut my 93 Explorer off and got out. It didnt restart. had to push it into the center of the road where it was flat, it fired right up. 19.1 gal at the station.

 

[cwol97401]

I have a bad habit of driving all day with the gas light on. One night I parked just over the crest of a small slope to go to dinner, came back out to leave and no start. I coasted to the bottom of the slope and sightly back up the hill and waited a few seconds. Fired right up and went to the station. Never ran completely out but i draw it close way too often.

 

[blulite]

I was on a short break with my wife and kids last weekend, we took our caravan away. before I went I filled up the lpg and a half tank of petrol.

on the way there we got diverted due to an accident and when returning home the satnav took us through a mad old tour of the countryside.

driving along, no civilization in sight... The lpg ran out... then a short time later my check guage light appeared and my petrol was low.. The nearest town was 14 miles away and I found myself coasting every chance I got to try to make the fuel last that long.

The route however had a strange idea of bringing us to a hill about 2 miles long and with a very steep decline.

which, in turn, prohibited caravans on the road.

luckily for us we were in an x with low range 4x4 and I had 2 options... go ahead and drive down the hill... or turn round and go back the way we came.

going back wasn't an option with such low fuel and straight ahead was only now 6 miles from the next town.

so with that... I pulled over, set 4x4 low range and the car drove itself down the hill with the caravan in tow.

We made it to the fuel station just before the engine died of thirst. It must have been running on fumes for the last couple of miles.

 

[koda2000]

I once pulled into a gas station and ran out of fuel as I rolled up to the pump. Does that count?

 

[mr cribb]

wife ran mine out of fuel today. I told her the maximum number on the trip, and she exceeded it.

There was a little gas left in a can for the lawnmower and it restarted and got back in the driveway.