perhaps because the extra emissions controls built into the catalytic converter added extra weight, and they wanted to keep the vehicle at the same gross weight as the ulev version. either that or the extra emissions control machinery needed more space, and so the tank had to be reduced in size to make room. those would be my guesses.

 

Hi folks,

Sorry to sound off as the "anti-full tank police", but imho, perhaps only test the literal, full-blown milage per whole tank depleted, just once and awhile.

That is...over the long run, isn't it not recommended to run a tank down to zip? (premature fuel line or engine knock issues)?

So, perhaps one could suggest doing half-tank fill-ups and then for every two fill-ups, simply add the cumulative miles for said 2 trips?

Sorry for being such a buz-killer ;(

 

we're not running the gas tank down to zip - i always fill up with at least 1 gallon remaining, which is plenty for a hybrid

also, half-tank fill-ups negate one of the purposes of having a hybrid - filling up half as often as other people.

 

I've always run my tank to where it shows empty on all my cars. I have yet to see an auto manufacturer actuly put the empy part of the gauge where you are actualy out of fule. In my geo metro I used to go about a 1/4" below the actual empty line. Not just the warning line, but the actual bonifide your out of gass empty line.

I never ran out of gas.

 

I generally shoot for 3 bars.
I did read in the manual to never let it go all the way to empty so I figure 3 bars is good.

Sometimes, I'll admit, it doesn't quite work out that way...
I've had that little gas light pop on with 1 bar left or with no bars left so I'm never quite sure where I stand on gas.
The first time it happened, it was 2am and I was many, many miles away from home. I had just gotten my car and I had visions of myself running out of gas and having to call my parents... at 2am... yikes! Luckily, I found an open gas station in time.

 

The most my fill up has ever been was 12.901 gallons into the 13.2 gallon tank. I typically try to fill up at 2 bars or about 11.5 gallons.

I have also found that the "low gas" light will go on, then go off, and go on a second time. That second time it really means it.

 

Yesterday, I got home and had 6 bars on the gas guage, with about 620 miles on the gas tank. I got back in the car to go to soccer practice and there are three bars.

I did *not* siphon any gas out.

By the time I got in the car this morning, there was 641 miles and one bar, and the light goes on. It shows 60.9 mpg. This means there should be 2+ gallons, or 100+ miles left.

I get to work, 698 miles and 3 bars, no light.

I think my gas guage is schiztophrenic. I wanted to shoot for 800 miles on this tank, but now I am paranoid.

 

Keep a can of gas in your trunk. Mine tends to fluctuate based on my mpg rating. It will go up when I'm getting good mileage and down when I'm getting poor and then back up when I am getting good mileage again.

 

I have a California HCH CVT and it is AT-PZEV, I suspect so is yours.
WHy do you call it a SULEV?
Is it because there is a SULEV sticker in the rear left window?
Mine too, I think they all got that, but ours has a special sticker under the hood that indicated the AT-PZEV status, also it was on your window sticker.

 

First, these are not precision fuel guages and were never meant to be. They are just a rough indicator of how much fuel you have. This applies to any vehicle, car or truck.

Second, most probably all are absolutely not linear, so you cannot expect that you have 5 gallons left in a 20 gallon tank when the gauge is on 1/4 tank. I have driven enough HCHs to know that from 1/4 tank down to empty, they are NOT linear. The bars do not relect so many gallons left, just a rough estimation of gas left in tank.

Third, this happened to me in the past to a car I once had. I put gas in the car and the pump was like "high speed delivery". It filled the tank in a hurry. I then later found out that it much have bent the float assembly as the tank never registered correctly after that and not much way to fix it. Not saying this would happen on a HCH or any other cars, but there is the possibility with a fast pumping pump depending on how the tank/float assembly was made.

You need to look at the gauge on the HCH before filling and that note where is it. Fill it up and remember the next time to do the same and get a rough idea how your gauge works.