[dfw.embalmer]

Are those of you that feel your fuel indicator isn't correct, seeing that it is showing low prematurely? When mine hits the red mark it only takes8.5 gallons, religiously. Using pump at the same station every fill.

Is this consistent with what others are experiencing?

 

[LMTech]

What did your DTE show ? I have only filled mine once so far and it showed 44 miles DTE and I put in 10.3 gallons. I don't remember where the needle was because like I said in the other thread I ignore the fuel gauge once it gets to the bottom half of the gauge and use the DTE ( Distance To Empty ) just in case someone didn't know what DTE meant.

 

[dfw.embalmer]

DTE

What did your DTE show ? I have only filled mine once so far and it showed 44 miles DTE and I put in 10.3 gallons. I don't remember where the needle was because like I said in the other thread I ignore the fuel gauge once it gets to the bottom half of the gauge and use the DTE ( Distance To Empty ) just in case someone didn't know what DTE meant.

I am going to start using the DTE instead of the guage, I can fill up out near DFW and by the time I get home, in downtown Dallas, about 30 miles, I am down an 8th of a tank according to the guage. I was just curious if the two were linked.

 

[Corvair]

Mine doesn't make it all the way to the full mark. Filled it several times now, always the same. Once I tried to put a little more in, that only made a mess. Still didn't make up to full. Drops real fast at first. That self test you can do, it went up to to full, but not over.

 

[dfw.embalmer]

Sounds as if the DTE will be the best tool to measure by!

 

[Reddog99]

I ran mine until DTE said zero miles (and then some). Fillup was 11.6 gal, and the gauge was sitting on the E line. The gas level in the tank must have been pretty thin because going up some steep hills had the engine stumbling intermittently.

 

[LMTech]

I ran mine until DTE said zero miles (and then some). Fillup was 11.6 gal, and the gauge was sitting on the E line. The gas level in the tank must have been pretty thin because going up some steep hills had the engine stumbling intermittently.

I guess that means the Fiesta has a true 12 gallon tank then.

 

[iamz]

I ran mine until DTE said zero miles (and then some). Fillup was 11.6 gal, and the gauge was sitting on the E line. The gas level in the tank must have been pretty thin because going up some steep hills had the engine stumbling intermittently.

Not real good for your fuel pump.

 

[Reddog99]

Not real good for your fuel pump.

That is an "old wives tale", that running of of gas will harm the pump. This fallacy has been spread for years and has no basis in fact.

FACT: the fuel pump is cooled & lubricated by gasoline.
FACT: the engine runs on gasoline.
FACT: the engine will stop running when the fuel pump runs out of gas to pump.
FACT: the computer will shut off the fuel pump when the engine stops running.

ERGO: Since the pump does not run when there is no gas to pump, no damage is done.

 

[dfw.embalmer]

Hrmph?

That is an "old wives tale", that running of of gas will harm the pump. This fallacy has been spread for years and has no basis in fact.

FACT: the fuel pump is cooled & lubricated by gasoline.
FACT: the engine runs on gasoline.
FACT: the engine will stop running when the fuel pump runs out of gas to pump.
FACT: the computer will shut off the fuel pump when the engine stops running.

ERGO: Since the pump does not run when there is no gas to pump, no damage is done.

And your point is? The question in this thread was the correct calibration of the fuel guage.....did not have anything to do with the fuel pump. If you want to discuss the fuel pump, please start a fuel pump thread. Thanks

 

[dfw.embalmer]

Distance to Empty...

I ran mine until DTE said zero miles (and then some). Fillup was 11.6 gal, and the gauge was sitting on the E line. The gas level in the tank must have been pretty thin because going up some steep hills had the engine stumbling intermittently.

I will definately use the Distance to empty as my measurement on a road trip. Generally I have to fill up once weekly, and it takes 8 gallons, I beleive I will continue to follow this regimen, as it allows me to fuel at the same station, from the same pump each time, which should give me a pretty good baseline for comparing my mpg's to the car's computer.....which has been 0n 35.1-35-6 for the last 3 weeks. That is a combination of freeway and surface street driving, all in the DFW metroplex. Not bad.

 

[Reddog99]

And your point is? The question in this thread was the correct calibration of the fuel guage.....did not have anything to do with the fuel pump. If you want to discuss the fuel pump, please start a fuel pump thread. Thanks

RE-read my post. The "point" was a response to the previous post before mine...

 

[golf strom]

That is an "old wives tale", that running of of gas will harm the pump. This fallacy has been spread for years and has no basis in fact.

FACT: the fuel pump is cooled & lubricated by gasoline.
.

It IS best that the fuel pump in modern cars be submerged fully in the gasoline so that maximal cooling is achieved ...if you let a car go BELOW 1/4 of a tank on a regular basis the pump will heat up and it will likely shorten the life of the pump...

 

[Marc]

It IS best that the fuel pump in modern cars be submerged fully in the gasoline so that maximal cooling is achieved ...if you let a car go BELOW 1/4 of a tank on a regular basis the pump will heat up and it will likely shorten the life of the pump...

I don't know if 15 years old is still considered a 'modern car', but I always run on fumes. That is--I always wait until the red pump indicator is lit before I fill 'er up. In the past I even went beyond that and ... stranded. But that happened only about 4 times. Or 5. Anywhooo, the fuel pump is still working on my old and trusty Fiat.

 

[Reddog99]

Originally Posted by golf strom
It IS best that the fuel pump in modern cars be submerged fully in the gasoline so that maximal cooling is achieved ...if you let a car go BELOW 1/4 of a tank on a regular basis the pump will heat up and it will likely shorten the life of the pump...

When the fuel level is low, the fuel pump is cooled by the gasoline being pumped thru it, not by being submerged.

 

[golf strom]

When the fuel level is low, the fuel pump is cooled by the gasoline being pumped thru it, not by being submerged.

Actually ...it is BOTH...on many cars.

I'm not saying that an exposed pump will always shorten its useful life but it can and does sometimes.

 

[Chan]

I always fill up at 1/4 tank, anything lower and I start getting sketchy.

 

[MGREEN11]

So the bottom line here is that there is no Ford fix for many of the inaccurate fuel gauges and that the only current solution is to scroll through our trip monitors for the current DTE reading? Honestly, I think the fuel gauges need to be a little more accurate. It was the first thing I noticed on my first fill-up. I'd venture to say my gauge is off by 2-3 gallons.

 

[Corvair]

Note to Ford: My gas gauge not going up the full mark and the speedometer off 4 mph will count as two defects when I fill out any independant quality serveys.

 

[MGREEN11]

Note to Ford: My gas gauge not going up the full mark and the speedometer off 4 mph will count as two defects when I fill out any independant quality serveys.

I wasn't aware that Ford was throwing out quality surveys on the car. The survey I received addressed my buying experience with Ford, mostly with the dealer.