Fuel Warning Light & Tank Capacity

[guest1521]

Not used to my new Jazz, I ran my tank very low on its first long trip. Past ANY miles remaining and I think it took around 40 litres, if I remember correctly. No harm done (then) and not yet (4 years/39000 miles later). But time will tell as explained below:

Don't know how much this applies to the Jazz, however I know that many cars' in-tank fuel pumps (depending on design and positioning in the tank) rely on a certain level of petrol for cooling. Too low a level of fuel and parts of the pump are not sufficiently immersed and cooled; also, the pump ultimately begins to starve intermittently with 'fuel slop' when cornering/accelerating/braking/hills. Early on, the engine may not 'notice' it. Without enough cooling petrol, the pump heats up. This causes wear and tear on critical components and over time (p'raps thousands of miles later) premature, expensive pump failure results.

Not only that, there's always a chance of sucking up undesirable 'crap' and water (some is inevitable from atmospheric condensation on the inside walls of a part-empty tank) that would otherwise remain in the bottom of the tank.

And so I think it's good policy always to fill up not too long after the warning light comes on, if not a little sooner by keeping an eye on 'miles remaining' and the gauge needle.

[culzean]

Aside from worries about fuel pump getting hot or picking up rubbish from bottom of tank, It's pretty well universal on modern cars that there is about 7 litres of fuel remaining when the fuel light comes on or the display reads 'zero miles left' - this is really common sense as you don't want the fuel light to come on when the tank is actually empty, giving you no miles left to find a garage (which seem to be larger but further apart these days).   I have a Satnav which is updated 4 times a year with new maps and POI's - and when looking for a petrol stations in areas I don't know very well I am often directed to garages with a fence around them that appear to have been closed for a while.   Best thing to do short term is actually to head for a supermarket instead,  as most of the larger ones seem to have petrol stations attached - and are open late,  maybe not the best fuel - but better than pushing the car.  as someone who does a lot of miles I never normally let my tank get less to than 1/4 full mark.

also looks like Honda was ahead of the safety game by moving the fuel tank to centre of car,  as this is seen to be the safest place, the Americans as usual were slow to react and left their tanks outside the 'safety zone' and in the crumple zone at rear of the car - where it is very likely it will get damaged in a crash - many lawsuits are pending in USA so I hear !

[peteo48]

It's an interesting one this. Filled up my 2010 1.4 EX yesterday and even with a little extra squeeze after first cut off (I don't normally do this by the way!) I got 33 litres in. The fuel light was on and I was showing 17 miles left.

My former car, a 2007 Civic, was different. I could regularly get 50 litres in (bigger tank yes but, pro rata, it is still a bigger precentage than the Jazz)

So have Honda "designed" this earlier warning of low fuel into the Jazz?

In the Civic I was quite reluctant to wait until the warning light came on. In the Jazz, I am now confident that there is nearly 10 litres left when the light comes on so I will now wait for the warning light.

[hondajazzowner]

Hi Everyone,

Quick question. I have a Honda Jazz and it says I currently have 7 miles left, how many miles on average would you say I can drive after it hits 0?

Thanks for your help.

[John Ratsey]

Honda don't like their vehicles being stopped at the side of the road - people might think they've broken down due to poor engineering rather than running out of fuel. Remember that you might get stuck on a traffic jam and only get 10 more miles from what's left in the tank instead of 30 miles cruising on an open road at moderate speed. Or you might find that the petrol station you planned to fill up at is closed for some reason.

You can make your own estimate of miles remaining by filling up when the miles remaining get to zero. Fuel remaining in tank = tank capacity minus fuel put in. Use the fuel remaining and your average fuel consumption to work out the miles remaining under average conditions. However, then remember about traffic jams and the risk of closed petrol stations and leave this reserve capacity for emergencies.

[culzean]

Fuel station are getting further apart but with more pumps, but it does not help to know they have plenty of pumps when you are 10 miles away with no fuel......