Senstive low-gas warning light ?

[huy397]

I think my warning light is a little sensitve... Last time it lit up, there were still about 10L of gas in the tank, that's a 20% full tank !Are you Vibes this sensitive too ? thanks

[philndz]

hmmm....ive never driven w/ the light on until the car quits so i dont know...but some members here had said that it was a last second warning....when it comes on you better almost have a gas station in-sight. I was on the highway once w/ it on and I remember ignoring it and kept going for quite a while!

[Toasted7]

How many gallons does the gas tank hold anyway? I know when my warning light comes on, it takes about 11 gallons of gas to fill it back up. Does that seem right?

[Toasted7]

I thought that about 13 gallons sounded right. I don't know if the light is too sensitive or not. If it comes on when I have two gallons left, then I can drive for a while before I need gas. I guess that's how it is supposed to work.

[huy397]

If your warning light only come on with 2 gallon left ( almost 8 litres ) then yours is only slight more "insentive" than mine.I suppse it's not necessarily a bad thing for the warning light to go off a little early... I know I'd much rather have a senstive warning light than a insenstive one.

[micheles_bad_vibe]

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[cohocarl]

I drove mine about 10 miles after it came on one day, and it took 11.5 gallons to fill it up. Technically I could have driven it about another 45 miles before I ran out, but you don't want to run out completely. The fuel gauge was rather close to the fully empty mark when it came on. I was amazed the light was only a small, round, led on the gauge, not a "low fuel" light, or a gas pump symbol.One thing I didn't know up until about a year ago was the little triangle on the fuel gauge points to the side of the vehicle where the fuel filler is. My wife pointed that out to me.

[russ257]

usually when mine comes on i have to put about 11.5-12 gallons in

[disneydj]

All right I'm going to take one for the team. I have a Base Vibe, and I will drive it until it runs out! I'll just toss a tank in the trunk when the light comes on. Stand by for an answer...

[ragingfish]

quote:One thing I didn't know up until about a year ago was the little triangle on the fuel gauge points to the side of the vehicle where the fuel filler is. My wife pointed that out to me. What triangle? I don't have any triangles on my gauge. To figure it out the first time, I just popped the tank and checked my side mirrors to see where it popped.

[ragingfish]

Where is it???Lemme go look, but I dunno where to look???

[micheles_bad_vibe]

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[ragingfish]

quote:Tells you where the fuel door is located at.. I know what it DOES, but where is this arrow on the gauge??

[cohocarl]

quote:Where is it???Lemme go look, but I dunno where to look???It's on almost all vehicles now. Terrible pic, but it's right along side the fuel pump symbol.

60111=1673-vibefuel.jpg

[ragingfish]

Ok. I need to go look. Be back.

[ragingfish]

Well I'll be damned!Never even noticed that!I used to have a theory that Pontiac would put the fuel gauge on the side of the cluster the tank was on.For example, if the fuel gauge was on the leftmost side of all gauges, your tank was on the left, and vice-versa.Never was able to prove it, except on our three cars. But I haven't driven a pontiac yet that disproved it!

[cohocarl]

quote:I do not see a picture. Sorry Silver, I photoshopped the pic, uploaded what I thought was the right pic, noticed it was the wrong pic, went back and edited it out of the post, then I couldn't find where I had saved the photoshopped pic on my H.D. I found it and it's back on my original post.

[disneydj]

I'm at 300 miles and the light just came on. Should have an answer by this afternoon. Time to put that spare tank in the trunk

[michaelgt]

My light comes on with 2.5 gallons left in the tank. My other cars come on with approx 10-15% of the capacity remaining. I would not want it any less. With 2.5 gallons, I can make it 70 miles or to my favorite gas station.

[VibeSalsa]

Mine came on yesterday with 10 liters left (2.6 US gallons). I was a little upset because I was not sure about the number of kilometers I can do with the light on... I did 80 km but I think I was ok for 125 km (±80 miles)...

[johnsoax]

I don't put fuel in the car until the light comes on. But I usually put 10-12 gallons in when the light comes on depending how long I drove it afterwards.

[disneydj]

313 Still going strong... should run out on the drive home tonight... now my interior's starting to smell like 87 octane

[disneydj]

THIS JUST IN... I coasted to a stop right at 354... granted all of this was mostly highway driving... but it was all worth it. Hopefully this will help all of you not to cringe when the little "lighty" comes on.

[ragingfish]

So I guess it means, on average, a base model can go about 40-50 miles once that light kicks in. Not bad. Good to know!

[NovaResource]

354 miles / 13 gallons = approx 27-mpg.354 miles dry - 300 miles at light on = 54 miles with light on.54 miles with light on / 27-mpg = 2 gal in tank when light gets lit.So basically the light comes on with 2 gal in the tank. Your mileage may vary.

[joatmon]

quote:One thing I didn't know up until about a year ago was the little triangle on the fuel gauge points to the side of the vehicle where the fuel filler is. My wife pointed that out to me. It's not mentioned in the 2003 Vibe owner's manual, but in the 2004 version, on page 3-40 it now says:quote:Your fuel gage shows about how much fuel is in yourtank. There is an arrow on the fuel gage that indicatesthat the fuel filler door is on the left side of yourvehicle. The fuel gage works only when the ignitionswitch is ON. When the gage first indicates E or empty,you still have a little fuel left, about 1 or 2 gallons(3.8 L or 7.6 L), but you need to get more right away.When your vehicle is low on fuel the low fuel warninglight, located below the empty mark, will also come on toremind you to add fuel.

[Sputnik]

Ever since the Cavalier ran out of gas and never gave any warning light about being that low (it should have), I don't let it get low enough for the light to come on. I don't trust it.

[Sputnik]

I've been driving with my light on for the last day now. I still don't trust it and will search out a gas station tomorrow on my way to the gym. I think I've only gone about 12km with the light on so far according to the GPS.

[kostby]

My low-gas light came on today while I was on the highway. I drove approximately 15 more miles (back home), and it took 10.804 gallons, filling until the automatic shut off, then again two more times (my standard fill procedure to guard against a false shut off from a surge in pump pressure caused by another pump).

[Jahntassa]

Yeah..my light generally comes on between 10.1 and 10.5 gallons from full, which leaves 2.5 gallons in there.. I've run it to 11.6 gallons from full on one occaision..

[cdFxer]

Mine comes on around the 2 gallon mark too, perhaps a bit less. I am getting a pretty steady 32~34mpg so thats quite a bit of travel left. I dont know if is still true, but I was told that letting the tank run dry on newer fuel injected vehicles is hard on the pump. The pump is cooled by the fluid (gas) in the tank and on some it actually damages the internals and it allows crud in the bottom of the tank to get into the fuel filter (not sure I buy that one). Dunno how true any of it is, but I do know my 94' Sonoma fuel pump shot craps @ 34,000 miles - and I had ran it dry twice.

[ColonelPanic]

Mine generally comes on above 300 miles. I think around 350 or so was the most I've driven before the light came on. Generally have right at 2 gallons remaining when the light comes on.I rarely ever run it below 1/4 tank, so I have only had the light come on a handful of times. On the last tank, however, it came on at 260. Drove it for another 30 miles before filling up. Fuel economy was only 24.59 MPG on that tank, yikes. Where'd my 31 MPG go? *sigh*

[Dave_ca]

575km=357 miles and filled it with 12.3 Gallons (I always fill to click, then add .2 gallons more) The gauge was showing below the empty mark, felt very nervous driving over to Maine with the gauge on emptyand gas light on

[Vibe o rater]

I've never seen my light come on. I'm on my 4th tank of gas and have filled up every time with 11-11.2 gals. Fuel gage shows inbetween 1/4 and E. I either have a faulty light or else it's not going to coming on until I'm down to about a gallon to go. I'll take it to E next time and see if it comes on and what it takes.