First complete fillup soon. Safe to go to "0 mi to E"?

[mwr]

The low fuel light just displayed on my 2015 FFH and it says 45 mi to E. Is it safe to routinely go to "0 mi to E" before filling up?

 

I've ready many postings here but many are for pre-2013 FFH, and I didn't find much for 2013 and later.

[corncobs]

There are plenty of references but sometimes hard to find with the search function.

 

It's probably up the personal preference some people refill with half a tank others go another 50 miles with DTE = 0. The display will actually turn red and even goes negative.

 

I wouldn't push it too far but I have personally done 30 miles past DTE = 0. I mean it's supposed to be a 13.5 gal tank and I'm usually in the the red with 11 gal used on trip 1 so theoretically another 100 miles.

[djminfll]

If this is your first time filling up, why take a chance? As you drive and get to know your car, you can push the limits with a little more assurance. After all, the mpg of the forum members ranges from not so good, to excellent, to unfreakinbelievable. Where do you fit in that spectrum? You don't really know yet. The computer gauges aren't spot on accurate, so you can't depend on them. I have shown 10 gallons used and couldn't squeeze in more than 9, and I've shown 10 gallons used and easily pumped 11+ gallons. So if the car is telling you it's time to fill up, for now, I'd listen to the car!

[mwr]

There are plenty of references but sometimes hard to find with the search function.

 

It's probably up the personal preference some people refill with half a tank others go another 50 miles with DTE = 0. The display will actually turn red and even goes negative.

 

I wouldn't push it too far but I have personally done 30 miles past DTE = 0. I mean it's supposed to be a 13.5 gal tank and I'm usually in the the red with 11 gal used on trip 1 so theoretically another 100 miles.

I don't intend to push it. I have 8 miles to go to reach 500 miles on this tank, my first tank only driven by me (prior tank had some dealer miles on it). 38 mi to E. I'll fill up tomorrow after it reaches the 500-mile-tank marker. Somehow that makes me feel good :-)

 

Car computer is showing 47 mpg for my suburban driving with hills, town streets, 60 mph freeway, and some 70 mph freeway.

[corncobs]

I don't intend to push it. I have 8 miles to go to reach 500 miles on this tank, my first tank only driven by me (prior tank had some dealer miles on it). 38 mi to E. I'll fill up tomorrow after it reaches the 500-mile-tank marker. Somehow that makes me feel good :-)

 

Car computer is showing 47 mpg for my suburban driving with hills, town streets, 60 mph freeway, and some 70 mph freeway.

You should feel really good about a 500 mile (47 MPG) tank on the first fill up. Not many have done that. :)

[djminfll]

You should feel really good about a 500 mile (47 MPG) tank on the first fill up. Not many have done that. :)

I probably had to fill up 10 or 15 times before I got a 500mile tankful. But that's probably because I was only filling the tank until the automatic shutoff activated, so I never really had a FULL full tank.

[mwr]

I filled the tank this morning at the same station and pump I used to do the last fillup. Both times I let the pump stop at the first click and didn't add more. 501 miles, 11.055 gallons, 45.3 mpg. Car computer showed 47.1 mpg, 30 miles to E.

[djminfll]

That's pretty typical that the car tells you that you did better than you actually did. Imagine if you had filled it to the very top? That's why I said to get to know your car before assuming that the dash is giving you accurate info. To get accurate data, you need to fill the tank the same way each time, in other words, if you let the auto shutoff determine that you're done filling the tank, then do it that way each time. But either way, 45mpg on the first tankful is EXCELLENT!

[Skydogz]

The car has a 13.5 gallon tank. Everytime i fill it near 0 miles remaining, I only put in 11 gallons or less!

My avg mpg is 40.2 therefore i could drive another 80 miles if an emergency.

But I do choose to leave those extra miles to an emergency.

 

SO if you know how much gas you are putting in when you 'fill up' you should have a good idea how far you can drive....

[ptjones]

The car has a 13.5 gallon tank. Everytime i fill it near 0 miles remaining, I only put in 11 gallons or less!

My avg mpg is 40.2 therefore i could drive another 80 miles if an emergency.

But I do choose to leave those extra miles to an emergency.

 

SO if you know how much gas you are putting in when you 'fill up' you should have a good idea how far you can drive....

In another thread I ran FFH empty and it took 14.1gal to fill it up. :)

 

Paul

[Easy Rider]

The low fuel light just displayed on my 2015 FFH and it says 45 mi to E. Is it safe to routinely go to "0 mi to E" before filling up?

 

I've ready many postings here but many are for pre-2013 FFH, and I didn't find much for 2013 and later.

 

I suspect that the situation has not changed but it is really easy to find out for yourself.

Fill up now. Compare that to the tank capacity stated in your owner's manual.

It may go from 45 to 0 really quickly. At most, it would use about an additional gallon.

 

Based on your calculations of how much will be left in the tank, only YOU can determine if you will be comfortable with that or not.

 

Personally I think it is just stupid to "routinely" let it get that empty and I fill when there is about 1/4 tank left according to the gauge.

[lolder]

There are all sorts of reasons to refill at 1/4 or above, particularly in wintertime where refilling at 1/2 is even prudent. If you refill at 0 DTE once or so to see what the number is, Ok. The DTE calculation is a complicated algorithm that is fairly accurate if your driving is all the same but deviates if there are big changes near the end of the tank. There should be a gallon ( or apparently two ) remaining at 0. That's a very little amount at the bottom of the tank.

[acdii]

Rule of thumb I use. Tank is 13.5 gallons, Trip says I used 10. Theoretically I have 3.5 gallons left at 0 DTE. Therefore based on the 40 MPG that the car has been averaging(39.5), I could got another 120 miles before I must refill. I will usually go half that if I need to.

 

OTOH, if the car is new, and it is technically its second fill. If the trip reads only 10 gallons with 0 DTE, then it is being conservative, or was never really full. If it reads 12 gallons, Fill it up, it is on the money at that point. The fuel gauge/DTE doesnt look at the fuel level in the tank, it uses that as a reference point and calculates approximately how much fuel you used to get to DTE. If you happen to fill at the 1/4 mark all the time, your DTE will go down, with quite a buffer of extra fuel in the tank, because that is what the computer has learned as your fuel usage. It doesn't really know that it is a 13.5 gallon tank, it just knows how much fuel was used, and how much has been replaced by the float level. I have proven this theory a bit with my car, increased the gallons used and DTE by driving well past DTE based on gallons used on the trip, but did not run the car dry. Filled up with a little over 12 gallons on the first click. Did that twice, and the trip increased to over 11 gallons before DTE was 0.

 

So what would be a truly empty tank for some drivers would be an actual 1/4 tank for others, just based by which point you fill up.

[Texasota]

This thread has interesting discussions and different points of view on fuel tank size, gallons used, miles left after DTE etc. It probably also illustrates why the Ford engineers decided to ditch the "gallons used" metric on all of the displays for the 2015s.

[ptjones]

This thread has interesting discussions and different points of view on fuel tank size, gallons used, miles left after DTE etc. It probably also illustrates why the Ford engineers decided to ditch the "gallons used" metric on all of the displays for the 2015s.

It is disappointing that FORD seems to be dumb down our cars more every year. Instead I wished they would have come up with real MPG improvements, instead of making all the info go away. At this point it would appear 2013 was the best year for Hybrid info. :)

 

Paul

[Texasota]

I'm willing to bet there was considerable negative feedback to Ford about the "gallons used" metric, the fuel gauge reading, and the number of gallons required to fill the tank (i. e, gas station fuel pump reading) all being in conflict. Having all this data may be viewed favorably by some owners even if they are in conflict. Other owners were likely annoyed by it. For Ford it is a classic darned if you do and darned if you don't situation.

[acdii]

I think you hit the nail on the head on this. Its possible that the gallons used metric was so imbalanced based on fill up frequency that they couldn't get it to work the way it should, so they removed it. Thats the only explanation I can think of to remove it, probably because of all the complaints of why cant I get 13 gallons in my tank. E doesn't mean E in these.

[ptjones]

You know they should have added a correction feature to Smart Gauge Trip Gauge where you could input actual mileage and fuel used so it would be able to fine tune the numbers. IMO :)

 

Paul

[Texasota]

You know they should have added a correction feature to Smart Gauge Trip Gauge where you could input actual mileage and fuel used so it would be able to fine tune the numbers. IMO :)

 

Paul

That might be useful and desirable to savvy owners. On the other hand many owners would be completely flummoxed if you asked them to calculate their MPG based on miles traveled and number of gallons used. Configuring the MyView display or manipulating a trip gauge correction feature would likely be equally confusing. The more customization you add the more complex this car becomes.

 

Ford understands that they must market and sell to the masses.

[GrySql]

I have 5 grown up children, all married, all holding responsible positions in society - from 43 y/o to 34 y/o.

When I try to explain the FFH to any of them their eyes roll up and I get 'glad you like it Dad'.

Only one of the 10 kids/spouses can have a limited conversation with me, he has a Prius plug-in for work, but it ends with mpg's and plug-in features.

Basically, all 10 of them just put fuel in, use it, listen to the radio, keep the grandkids under control and put more gas in. They could care less about MyView.

 

The folks on this and similar forums who take a interest in their cars and really want to know how things work are the few, not the main body of buyers.

For that reason, it is a pleasure to be a part of this group.

[TonyHzNV]

The folks on this and similar forums who take a interest in their cars and really want to know how things work are the few, not the main body of buyers.

For that reason, it is a pleasure to be a part of this group.

And people like you, Sir, who take the time and have the resources to attempt to educate the rest of us (though some might be misfits, LOL) be it through magic, tomfoolery, garage science, your own personal experiments, or ACTUAL TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE, are what make this forum what it is. And, IMO, THAT is what makes it a pleasure and a privilege to be a part of this group! :worship:

[corncobs]

And people like you, Sir, who take the time and have the resources to attempt to educate the rest of us (though some might be misfits, LOL) be it through magic, tomfoolery, garage science, your own personal experiments, or ACTUAL TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE, are what make this forum what it is. And, IMO, THAT is what makes it a pleasure and a privilege to be a part of this group! :worship:

Ditto!!!

[GrySql]

We've got a bunch of nice people with us who are smart, energetic, practical, mechanical, scientific and who have a world of quality experiences to draw from - they are the backbone of this forum.

It's the rare day I don't learn something new here too, it's a group effort for sure.

 

Edited February 1, 2015 by GrySql

[ptjones]

That might be useful and desirable to savvy owners. On the other hand many owners would be completely flummoxed if you asked them to calculate their MPG based on miles traveled and number of gallons used. Configuring the MyView display or manipulating a trip gauge correction feature would likely be equally confusing. The more customization you add the more complex this car becomes.

 

Ford understands that they must market and sell to the masses.

For those of us using Fuelly.com this is a no brainer, and could be inputted on 8" display. It seems to me that you can't have to much info as long as you don't have to use it. IMO :)

 

Paul

Edited February 25, 2015 by ptjones

[tr7driver]

As my car has multiple drivers, it would be nice to know how much gas is *really* in the tank at any given time.

 

If I'm going to store the car, or like my C-max energi that has burned 6 gallons of gas in 2200 miles, I'll want to add fuel stabilizer. How the heck do I know how much to mix? My 35 year old triumph can do that, my 2005 Mustang can do that. When they get to empty, they are consistent and they ain't kidding. Why can't my new Fords?