Petrol light

tania1980, Oct 17, 8:54pm
does anybody knw hw many kms u can do b4 u r out. toyota windom v6
andrea_w, Oct 17, 8:56pm
Isn't it easier to just put petrol in it!
pericles, Oct 17, 8:58pm
didn't think it was a good idea to run without much petrol.
thought the lines would get full of crap
tania1980, Oct 17, 8:58pm
yes it is just curious thats all
chito, Oct 17, 9:09pm
I think usually about 50kms. I find if I take the bulb out I get more. the energy taken to run the bulb uses up valuable petrol.
bellky, Oct 17, 9:33pm
my falcon has a 68ltr tank. petrol light comes on when there are 8ltrs left.
(dunno if this helps)
socram, Oct 17, 9:56pm
If you are travelling up hill, then you'll use heaps of fuel and if you are travelling down hill, you probably don't use any. if you are doing 100kmh on the motorway, you'll go a lot further than in city traffic during the rush hour. if you accelerate and brake hard, you won't go far either.
On ours, probably about 10-12 litres left when the light comes on.

So, keep a fuel usage check and see what your normal economy is, over several fills, then consult your handbook for tank capacity. Should be easy enough then to work it out.
moosie_21, Oct 17, 10:06pm
Most Toyota fuel lights come on around the 8-10 ltr mark, so at a guess I'd say you could do anywhere from 80-120 kms when it is on.

*Sits back and wait for next weeks thread "How do I push home my automatic Toyota Windom!"*
tmenz, Oct 17, 11:32pm
About 8 litres.
johnf_456, Oct 18, 12:54am
Just fill up
socram, Oct 18, 1:18am
Unfortunately, there are occasions in the sparser areas of NZ where there is no petrol station for long distances, so if you don't know how long you have left, you may need to make a detour. State highway 27 is a classic example of disappearing fuel stations, where you'd expect to find one or two when you still have fuel in the tank and before the light comes on.
johnf_456, Oct 18, 1:29am
I realise that but some just use fuel lights as an excuse to constantly drive around with low or next to nothing in fuel then wonder why their fuel pumps drop prematurely. Having driven around most of NZ I find it very rare to go by with no fuel, filling up is just thinking in advance.

Most just use it as an excuse to drive around with the light on constantly, the amount of fuel pumps I have replaced most likely as a result constant low fuel consistently is beyond reality.
matthew111, Oct 18, 2:36am
dont let the light come on
flybye_in_a_rx7, Oct 18, 3:16am
mate reckons he got 100km from when his light came on, open road driving
tuttyclan, Oct 18, 3:35am
When the gas gauge in a old Vauxhall reads 1/4 its time to get more fuel,I found out the hard way once in my HA Viva,it ran out of fuel on 1/4.
solarboy, Oct 18, 3:37am
Put a full 5 or 10 litre can of petrol in the boot before the light comes on ,zero the tripmeter when it lights then carry on driving around till the car runs out and read what the tripmeter is on then empty the can into the tank and carry on .Probably pay to refill the can and keep it in the boot for future use too.
owene, Oct 18, 4:34am
When looking at the gauge, just remember that 'E' means enough and 'F' means eff-all.
socram, Oct 19, 12:01am
if you rely on the gauge, what you also have to take into account is the shape of the fuel tank. According to my Mini, on a full tank, using the computer info, I have anything up to about 1100kms range once I get rolling- especially on the motorway.The tank presumably is like an inverted cone as the last quarter tank disappears hellish quickly and I usually get about 750kms.
On my project car, the tank is the equivalent of an upright cone, where the first quarter will disappear much faster than the last quarter, when the light comes on.
It comes down to knowing your vehicle first, but secondly, as weaver2010 correctly points out, you also need to know the road, (and the opening hours) and that is not always so easy if you are travelling away from home.In my older cars, I always carried a fuel can in the boot.It isn't too dangerous if kept cool.
johnf_456, Oct 19, 12:02am
A very good point socram, never trust the gauge. My car is like that full to half is slow and steady but once it hits 1/3 oh boy does it go fast.
noswalg, Oct 19, 12:14am
Don't think of it as a warning, think of it as a challenge! Good luck
noswalg, Oct 19, 12:22am
so so true. according to my fuel gauge I use more fuel going up the access road than I do from Te Kuiti to Ohakune, always comes back up by the time I hit SH4 though!
muzzie, Oct 19, 12:45am
I get, on average - 160km out of my fuel light. So when it comes on, I go for another 130k or so then consider filling up. My fiancees bmw and my old mans bmw would get 180 and 200k respectively.
solarboy, Oct 19, 6:18am
Many years ago I smoked and carried a gallon tin can of petrol in the car all the time as the fuel gauge was hopelessly inaccurate but the can was in the boot secured upright and I drove from the drivers seat also secured upright .I would've been in more danger smoking on a motorcycle with a tank of petrol between my knees being heated by the sun.
richardmayes, Jan 5, 9:06am
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