Gas tank question...?

[revelated]

So I wanted to make sure the car was all full for the commute next week. Tomorrow will mark my "real world" driving condition: piss poor traffic conditions, 30 minutes to an hour wasted in the morning to go 19 miles, piss poor road conditions, piss poor infrastructure in downtown Seattle...and then a reverse of what I just mentioned, on the way home.

 

My understanding is that the tank is 14 gallons. Either that's incorrect or the fuel gauge isn't reading the capacity properly, or maybe not calibrated, because though the indicator was just above the halfway mark, the car only took 3 gallons in, and is now showing full. That's not what I expected to happen. I even checked the pump a couple of times to make sure it wasn't a premature stop, but when the car started up, sure enough the gauge is just over full.

 

Are others seeing the same type of behavior? Where the amount you fill up doesn't seem to track with the fuel indicator? Is it possible the Fusion's reserve amount is higher than other cars?

 

[jeff_h]

The hybrid is 13.5 gallons, the Energi is 14 gallons. If this was your first fill-up, that is like mine was, though mine was not nearly that short.

 

I think there are a couple possibilities, though others may have other thoughts.

 

1 - When the car is new I think the Distance To Empty (DTE) calculation is very conservative since there is no real history from which the computer can calculate. Like I said, I think my first fill-up was shorted a bit, and since then has been fine, and one tank I went a bit further than I should have and ended up putting 13.2 gallons into the 13.5 tank, so I cut it kinda close and don't planning on making a habit out of that.

 

2 - Was your car on a level footing at the pump, or tilted upward or downward? I saw another user post that if the car is tilted downward you'll not get as much in the tank since air could be trapped in the rear of the tank, and likewise if tilted upward a bit you'll be more likely to get a clean fill. Others can try this and see if that holds water, makes sense to me when I think about the places that I fill up and how easy it is to get a clean fill or not.

[revelated]

I have never seen a gas station on any sort of incline. Its always been on flat ground.

[hybridbear]

The fuel gauge level doesn't seem to correspond very well with the actual space in the tank for more gas. You're better off resetting one of the trip meters at each fill up and then going by the gallons used on the trip meter. That is often more accurate than just looking at the gauge. The car will show half on the display at about 4-5 gallons used from my experience

[corncobs]

The fuel gauge level doesn't seem to correspond very well with the actual space in the tank for more gas. You're better off resetting one of the trip meters at each fill up and then going by the gallons used on the trip meter. That is often more accurate than just looking at the gauge. The car will show half on the display at about 4-5 gallons used from my experience

That's exactly what I'm doing too; interesting enough I found that sometimes the gas pump shuts off below the gallons used and sometimes it's already past the number before it shuts off.

I try to keep it as close as possible to the trip display when I refil.

[BradS7535]

I just filled up yesterday with my screen reading 2 Miles to Empty and the guage turned red. But when I filled up I could only put 11.7 gallons in. How big is the reserve tank? How far has anyone gone past Mile to Empty?

[neod192]

I just filled up yesterday with my screen reading 2 Miles to Empty and the guage turned red. But when I filled up I could only put 11.7 gallons in. How big is the reserve tank? How far has anyone gone past Mile to Empty?

http://fordfusionhybridforum.com/topic/6201-whats-the-most-gallons-youve-been-able-to-put-in-at-one-fill-up/