GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

I keep hearing that you should refuel your car before the warning light kicks in .... but i notice there are rougly 9 liters of fuel when the car warning light turn on, which is about 1/5 of our 50L tank....so the question is... is 9L enough to avoid damage to the fuel pump?

Plenty! The fuel pump will survive being driven down on low fuel. Fuel going through the pump cools it well enough. And by the time the fuel pump is ready to give up the ghost, your car will probably be well over 120000 miles. If the fuel pump needed to be immersed in fuel to keep it cool, then they would've built the tank with a sump for it to sit in!

Aside from any fuel pump issues, sediment etc., I just feel more secure with ample gas in the tank. When I was young I was driving through Wyoming and passed up a gas station thinking I would stop at the next one. At least in the early 60's it was a long way between gas stations in Wyoming. Fortunately there was another one before I actually ran out of gas but it was getting close. Another time I was on I-77 in the NC/VA/WVa area (I forget exactly where) and was down to less than 1/4 tank - then the traffic slowed to a crawl. I got nervous and saw at least one car pulled off the road - perhaps out of fuel. Fortunately you don't use a lot of gas at idle.

1/2 tank, start thinking of filling up.

I try to not let my car get to the point where the light comes on. Sometimes it is inevitable. Just don't make a habit of waiting that long and you should be ok.

I fuel mine by milage. between 280 and 300. I am at about Around 150 at half tank. I get about 40 or so miles after the light comes on. This of course is all city driving. Hwy is a diferant story

Quote, originally posted by djkeev »1/2 tank, start thinking of filling up. +1, the less air in the tank (more fuel) the less condensation (water) forms. Water in the tank is not good.

Personally I never drop below a 1/4If the old lady does I take her keys !!!

I always wait for the light to come on. It comes on with 2 gallons (60 miles) to spare. That is enough to make it to work and back and to work again. If I filled up every time it got to half a tank I would be wasting too much time at the pump.

i usually dont fill up until the light comes on.

"+1, the less air in the tank (more fuel) the less condensation (water) forms. Water in the tank is not good. "Bad science, There is virtually no air in a tank. Vapor pressure from gasoline is so high that it pushes out all air when refueling. Air in the tank very bad, big boom. Most water gets in the tank because it is in the gasoline at the station.

i usually fill somplace between 1/4 and the light.supposedly my tank is 11.9 gallons I have often put in 14.xx filling to the tippy top.

I have been trying to fill right after the light comes on.... The reason is to reduce weight and hence better gas mileage... A book that I read suggested this! I think is working!

Quote, originally posted by star_deceiver »If the fuel pump needed to be immersed in fuel to keep it cool, then they would've built the tank with a sump for it to sit in!IMO - No reason for the manufacturer to spend the extra money to do that - a fuel pump will take 36 months/36,000 miles of abuse whichever comes first. Then the repair/replacement is on the owner.

Quote, originally posted by harryyiii »"+1, the less air in the tank (more fuel) the less condensation (water) forms. Water in the tank is not good. "Bad science, There is virtually no air in a tank. Vapor pressure from gasoline is so high that it pushes out all air when refueling. Air in the tank very bad, big boom. Most water gets in the tank because it is in the gasoline at the station. Numerous articles saying it is best to keep your tank at least half (or more) full of gas. Here's a couple. Besides, I've never gotten inside my car the next morning and said "damn, the tank is full". http://ezinearticles.com/?Tips...64321h ... 10...tanks

"There is virtually no air in a tank."Then, when you open up your gas cap, you should hear air rushing into the tank, instead of the air coming out of the from the positive pressure. I think you are wrong.

If you had no air in the tank you'd need a bladder system tank. (very similar to a well water pressure tank)For sure you have air in there, along with oxygen and moisture. If you are so convinced there isn't air in a fuel tank, Try this, take off the gas cap, strike a match and throw it in, if there really is no air in there then there will be no BOOM! Liquid gas has a much higher combustion point than gas vapors do. Vapors in the air will ignite violently at a fairly low temperature.Dave

agreed. From light on to full tank is only 11 gallons. Owners manual states a 13.2 gallon tank. It is only a warning notice not an out of gas light.

Yeah, the light comes on at 11gal, and most warning lights in my experience mean you have about 20-25miles left... or a little under 1 gallon... before the car stops working. So, 11gal to "warning", another gal to "empty", and still a gallon left over for the fuel pump. I was going to be all righteously indignant that I paid for a gallon of gas I'll never use, but then I remembered the dealer supplied the car with full gas when I bought it. So I guess that gallon I'll never use was included in the cost of purchase, lol!

Quote, originally posted by ponta2147 »So I guess that gallon I'll never use was included in the cost of purchase, lol! Just think of the interest you are paying on that single gallon haha

I took a chance on the way back from Indy and got lucky...I drove 25 miles after the light went on before I got to the next gas station. Talk about stressful. I'll never do that again...lol. Normally I fill it when it gets to 1/8 in summer and 1/4 in winter.

Every time.

Quote, originally posted by BlueCrush »I took a chance on the way back from Indy and got lucky...I drove 25 miles after the light went on before I got to the next gas station. Talk about stressful. I'll never do that again...lol. Normally I fill it when it gets to 1/8 in summer and 1/4 in winter.Well, like I said, it's about a gallon left when the light comes on, so the miles you have left depends on your mpg for that gallon..... I estimate around 20 just to be safe, since I usually get 25-27mpg

I only refill the tank when the car starts bucking. Like Ponta said, you get better gas mileage when there is less weight. The car will run on fumes as it bucks to the next station. Never a problem

Quote, originally posted by Caretaker »I only refill the tank when the car starts bucking. Like Ponta said, you get better gas mileage when there is less weight. The car will run on fumes as it bucks to the next station. Never a problem Do you also carry a passenger when fuel get low....someone's gotta push!

I don't think you have to worry about h2o as much in the summer. Fuel is usually colder than the air temp. Think about it terms of a cold beer on a hot summer day.... Where does the condensation occur? On the outside of the container.Although I would agree, more fuel in the tank, less room for potential moisture.?There is a light. I've never seen it?my $.02

Interesting point. Is water getting into the tank a "natural" occurence that one would have to worry about?Anyway, for me, it varies. I usually fuel up at around 1/4 tank, particularly if I'm driving somehwere that I'm not familiar with, at least in terms of gas station availability (and inexpensive prices!). Otherwise, if I know exactly where I'm going (generally work) and know I can make it to a desired gas station, I might just make the commute on a 1/8 full tank. I do get nervous when that light turns on, though.

Do you also carry a passenger when fuel get low....someone's gotta push! That's what my trunk monkey is for

When I very first got my Vibe I ran it past the light coming on. What better way to understand your new car than letting the light come on so you know how much you have left and how far you can go .Typically I try to fill up when it hits a quarter of a tank.

I fill up at 1/8 of a tank for standard driving, or when it's at 1/4 if I'll be doing longer driving (to the south suburbs mostly). I don't like to let it hit the light, and I don't like to let it go long with the light on........... light on = too scared to accelerate, and where is the fun in that????

Quote, originally posted by Caretaker »That's what my trunk monkey is for http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...eddedshock advised stand clear

Quote, originally posted by ponta2147 » light on = too scared to accelerate, and where is the fun in that???? Couldn't say it better myself

Oh, for goodness sakes!!! We all have it so cushy today!!When I started driving I had a 1960 VW Beetle withoutA. A fuel GaugeorB. A low fuel lightYou had a lever on the firewall under the dash. You made darn sure that the lever was in the up position when you filled up. The car would drain the tank and when you felt the engine bucking and running out of fuel you'd reach down the move the lever to horizontal and you'd have about a gallon of gas to get you to a refueling point.The tank had two vertical fuel pickup pipes, one a tad higher than the other.When you refueled, If you failed to reset the lever to the higher fuel pickup, when you ran out of fuel the next time .... you were OUT of fuel!!I only ran out once, that'll learn you! I kept a little notebook in the glove box and made mileage notes for refuel information. They also made little plastic number wheels that clipped to your visor that you set the mileage on everytime you filled up so it was always right there handy just waiting for you to do the math of mileage on odometer, minus refuel mileage, divide by 30 (average MPGs)which would give you gallons used, and subtract that from the known gas tank capacity and then multiply the gallons left by 30 which would then tell you how much further you could drive without getting gas. I know, today the concept of doing math in your head while driving is totally foreign to the calculator generation!! It would be considered distracted driving today!!(or you could simply remember that you need fuel every 300 miles, I've only drive 260 so I need fuel in 40 miles)(still might be to much mental math for the products of todays modern education system)Off topic but sometimes just for fun after a kid rings up a sale and the change total pops up I ante up the penny or two needed to round up to the next full dollar or quarter and then watch the smoke as they try to figure out what the new change total is now!! I've found that Mental math CANNOT be done by anyone under the age of about 35.BTW I only paid 23.9 cents per gallon back then! $1 of fuel gave me an entire evening of motoring / dating pleasure!!! Ah..... the good old days!Dave

Hey now, I resemble that remark, being only 24! I can do math in my head pretty well - I am the girl that everyone hands the check to at a restaurant to divy up totals and figure out tips! None of those "calculators" for me.And I remember working at Staples and people would decide to give me an amount that would get them "even change" after I'd hit all the buttons on the register... I could do the math in my head and get them their change, I would just get nervous that maybe I messed it up and would get in trouble, even though I knew I did it right.And about the fuel light thing... I am not complaining that we have it so cushy! I like it! Hooray technology

I'm like most people here and wait till the light comes on & then some I think the furthest I've went was 30 more miles after the light came on, then we fill-er up I always try to get MAXIMUM miles out of every tank so that when I calculate my mpg, it is more accurate