When to fill up?

[TopangaSE]

I just got my 2014 FFH SE last week and my question is...When do I stop for gas? From what I have read in the posts, it seems like people wait until the car tells you it's low, but does it impact your MPG to fill up when there is 1/4 tank left, or half a tank left? My dad always said to "never let your gas tank go below a quarter of a tank!" Is it the same with the hybrids?

[SteveB_TX]

When you fill up does not impact your MPG. I prefer to fill up at 1/4 or less, but before the car starts to complain to me. Unless of course, I pass a station with a great price, then I stop and fill even if I only need a 1/4 tank. :)

[Sleddog]

I fill up on every other Friday. I usually have about a 1/4 of a tank left when filling up.

[TopangaSE]

Thanks! That helps. I'm used to stopping every Friday for gas with my old car, so I'm still trying to wrap my brain around being only at half a tank after a week. IT'S AMAZING! I love my car!

[corncobs]

My FFH usually tells that she needs a refill.

I also try to fill up on my home since the Sam's gas station is easier to get in and out off. If that means going all the way to 0 DTE I'm fine with that as well. When it's that low I keep an eye on the gallons used since the last fill.

[acdii]

For the first few tanks, if you fill up when you hit 11.5 or so gallons used, it learns where the bottom of your tank is and gives a better DTE reading, If you fill up at 1/4 tank though, the DTE will be off a bit, but thats the only side effect. The car learns how much gas is in the tank based on this. Search for the threads regarding only putting 10 gallons in a 13 gallon tank. The 14's "might" not be like this anymore, but the 13's sure are.

[TopangaSE]

For the first few tanks, if you fill up when you hit 11.5 or so gallons used, it learns where the bottom of your tank is and gives a better DTE reading, If you fill up at 1/4 tank though, the DTE will be off a bit, but thats the only side effect. The car learns how much gas is in the tank based on this. Search for the threads regarding only putting 10 gallons in a 13 gallon tank. The 14's "might" not be like this anymore, but the 13's sure are.

That makes sense. I was thinking something like that might apply. This car is so much more high tech than my last, I was worried about filling the tank wrong and messing up its calculations. Dumb question...how do I find out gallons used? I don't think I've tinkered enough to find that yet. Lol.

[billford]

I use the GasBuddy phone app and watch the price trends. When prices are at the low cycle, I fill up when the tank drops to 3/4. If the prices are at the high cycle, I let the fuel drop to about 1/8.

 

It does not seem like a lot of savings over a few weeks, but over a year, it adds up to quite a bit of savings...

 

The negative thing about keeping the gas tank full is that gasoline weighs about 6 pounds a gallon, so fuel economy can be somewhat less with a full tank.

Edited August 23, 2014 by billford

[jeff_h]

That makes sense. I was thinking something like that might apply. This car is so much more high tech than my last, I was worried about filling the tank wrong and messing up its calculations. Dumb question...how do I find out gallons used? I don't think I've tinkered enough to find that yet. Lol.

 

On the 2013 (I assume it would also apply on the 2014 but don't know), I reset Trip 1 on each fill-up and that tracks the number of gallons used... but there may be some menu option where I needed to set that option to 'enhanced' to also give more detail -- unless I'm thinking of a different menu option where you can choose basic or enhanced.

 

Below is a pic of one of my old trips that shows the gallons used.

[Hybrider]

I have around 5800 miles on my FFH, and I usually fill up right about when I have 1/2 tank left. The lowest my tank has gone probably wasn't even down to 3/8 tank left. I also only fill up to the first click on the pump. I only recently came across the DTE screen, but the couple of times that I checked it recently, right after filling my tank, it showed right at 600 miles.

 

So that seems like it has calculated accurately to me without ever running the DTE down to 0, and without ever filling it up to the brim.

[murphy]

Before the advent of gasoline with alcohol in it the recommendation was to never go below 1/2 tank to minimise the condensation of water vapor in the tank.

[TopangaSE]

Thanks for all the info! I appreciate how helpful everyone is! I don't know anyone with a hybrid, so I'm glad this forum is here to help. ?

[corncobs]

Thanks for all the info! I appreciate how helpful everyone is! I don't know anyone with a hybrid, so I'm glad this forum is here to help. ?

Now you know a lot of people and in case I missed it somewhere else welcome to FFH (+brothers & sisters) forum.

[milleron]

I just got my 2014 FFH SE last week and my question is...When do I stop for gas? From what I have read in the posts, it seems like people wait until the car tells you it's low, but does it impact your MPG to fill up when there is 1/4 tank left, or half a tank left? My dad always said to "never let your gas tank go below a quarter of a tank!" Is it the same with the hybrids?

Dad may have been right in his day. On modern cars, you won't damage the fuel pump even if you run out of gas, so the admonition about not letting the level fall below 1/4 is obsolete.

[Hybrider]

About the only reason I don't personally like to go below 1/2 tank is in case the bank network (ATMs) go down or if the gas supply quits flowing for any number of reasons, I can still get around for a bit, which will hopefully be long enough for any catastrophic issues like that to get resolved.

[Texasota]

Dad may have been right in his day. On modern cars, you won't damage the fuel pump even if you run out of gas, so the admonition about not letting the level fall below 1/4 is obsolete.

There has been lots of discussion on this forum about damage that may result from runnning out of fuel. There is also lots of information online about running out of fuel and possible damage to your car.

 

I tend to put my faith in the 2015 FFH owners manual and it states this on page 158:

 

RUNNING OUT OF FUEL

Avoid running out of fuel because this

situation may have an adverse effect on

vehicle components.

[Easy Rider]

On modern cars, you won't damage the fuel pump even if you run out of gas, so the admonition about not letting the level fall below 1/4 is obsolete.

 

That's a dangerous statement to be making.

You don't KNOW that for every car presently being made.

And I personally think that your are absolutely wrong anyway.

 

I believe that most fuel pumps ARE still "fuel cooled" and while going below 1/4 tank might not be a problem, running them completely out definitely can be.

Fuel gauges seem to be calibrated differently these days and E doesn't really mean empty like it used to.

There seems to be more of a reserve now, partly for safety and liability reasons AND partly to protect the pumps, I think.

 

But I am willing to listen to reason.

How about supplying some authoritative references that confirm your theory ??

Edited August 25, 2014 by Easy Rider