I have a 2009 Mazda Demio (Japanese import) which is the equivalent to Mazda 2 (I think). When I bought it there was no Instruction manual with it.
The petrol gauge has blocks/lines that slowly disappear as the petrol goes down, then I am left with an "E".I now find that the "E" flashes .which I guess is the 'fill me now or else' warning.I would really like to know how far I can run before I die!Of course, being a female I panic when the "E" starts flashing and my dh loves to see how far he can drive with it flashing!
Does anyone know roughly how far!
pico42,
Sep 5, 12:23am
Until you run out of fuel.
morrisjvan,
Sep 5, 12:24am
you'll soon be able to tell US.
horsygirl,
Sep 5, 12:26am
Bloody Labour voters.always on the bottom quarter of the tank.jap import.4 mismatched wheel trims.no warrant .rego lapsed
kazbanz,
Sep 5, 12:32am
serious---theres a LOT of really good reasons not to run your car that low on fuel. But you will most likely get another 30km of driving before ya run out. Why not put 4.0l of juice into a can and go out and find out.you'll get the exact milage then
thejazzpianoma,
Sep 5, 1:59am
No, don't do that in a modern car, not even once. (Bit weird of you to suggest Kaz as you already mentioned there were dangers in doing so)
Likewise, as Kaz said, tell your husband to stop driving around with the E light on, its likely to end up costing you a significant breakdown and mechanics fee. You can ruin an expensive fuel pump, block a fuel line and even ruin a very expensive catalytic converter playing those games.
marblicious,
Sep 5, 2:06am
What! No snow tyres!
studio1,
Sep 5, 2:07am
Mileage! Surely his car would be in kilometres!
smac,
Sep 5, 2:13am
The whole thing about blocking filters or pumps by running the tank low baffles me.
The theory is when you are low all the crap in the tank gets sucked in the intake.
Well guess where all the crap is ALL the time, and guess where the intake is ALL the time.
Somebody explain it to me please.
kevymtnz,
Sep 5, 2:14am
normaly at the start of the light anything from 30km -50km pending on if town or open road
sez_trading,
Sep 5, 2:15am
Its how mechanics make their money, "oh you ran it dry, well we will have to do alll this and it will cost $$$$$"
morrisman1,
Sep 5, 2:18am
Maybe it is misunderstanding, fuel pumps remember are fuel cooled, so get rid of all that cooling and run it dry then the fuel pump may fail. Runnign low on gas, shouldn't be an issue especially with plastic tanks, but running dry aint good for them
thejazzpianoma,
Sep 5, 2:20am
No wonder it baffles you if you think that is the theory.
Firstly with regard to muck. have you considered that some of it might float on the surface of the petrol in your tank! What do you think happens to that when the tank is run dry!
Catalytic converters don't appreciate the misfiring that can occur as a car runs low on fuel. This is printed in many car owners manual's and I think its fair to say the manufacturer should have some idea.
Some fuel pumps benefit from the extra cooling of being submerged in fuel, some designs also work much harder when there is less fuel in the tank.
How are those for reasons!
thejazzpianoma,
Sep 5, 2:21am
Still an issue with plastic tanks, although it may help a bit.
smac,
Sep 5, 2:47am
I'd say 'theories' rather than reasons.
People run cars out frequently. If this was such an issue, I have no doubt manufacturers would install a shut down before it happened to avoid warranty issues.
morrisman1,
Sep 5, 3:08am
well part of that shut-down is the fact that most ECUs, if not all of them, shut down the pump when the engine stalls. In doing so it prevents the fuel pump feeding a fire in an accident, saves unnecessary drain on the battery, and if you let your car run out to the point of it stalling, the pump will also turn off, preventing it running dry for any long period of time
My point of the plastic tanks there Jazz was the lower chance of corrosion resulting in stuff floating/sinking around.
bigfatmat1,
Sep 5, 3:25am
When i was younger and a apprentice I had a wrx I travelled 160 000km in this car in the 4 years I owned it I ran out of fuel so many times prob around 50 times always drove with fuel light on never had a fuel related fault. apart from running out.
bigfatmat1,
Sep 5, 3:27am
In fact having no fuel even saved me from losing it when it got stolen because it ran out 500m down the road
upnorth,
Sep 5, 3:32am
It should be better understood that E stands for Enuff on Jap cars
lpggas,
Sep 5, 3:33am
The majority of modern cars have 7-8 liters left when the fuel light 1st comes on which is normally as a constant light . 7-8 liters will get you anywhere between 60-100kms so more than enough to get to your local servo .generally if the constant light starts flashing you down to the last 2 liters and will soon be walkingn. Our current model mitsubishi outlander will lock in 1st gear if you try & cut it too fine .
zak410,
Sep 5, 3:39am
at least 50 km with the light on for me on all the cars I've owned, (driving economically).
thewomble1,
Sep 5, 4:09am
'E' stands for enough
hopie,
Sep 5, 5:03pm
in the K11 march Im always on fuel light on the way home from Ellerslie to Pukekohe. Depending on when the light comes on, ill even drive it back to Ellerslie again. Well over 50Ks. never tempted to just see just where the empty point on the needle is yet, had it about 4-5mm past the line.
johnf_456,
Sep 5, 5:29pm
Depends on the car, from memory one of the manuals I have at home states 120km once the fuel light is on. But personally I don't push it and fill up when the next station is around.
jenny188,
Sep 5, 6:51pm
google the make and model and find the tank size. As soon as light starts to flash (next time) rush in and full up, to the top.Tank volume minusliters required will giveyou what is left in tank when light comes on. Times this figure by cars fuel consumption per hundred kilometers and you will have a maximum range figure. Usually around 8 to 10 liters . My Commodore has its light start flashing and warning beeps come on with 17 liters in the tank still or about 170 kilometers. Think the first owner set the computer up for around town fuel consumption
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