redsturgeon wrote:It is surprising how much fuel can be still in the tank when the fuel light comes on. When I get a new car I make a point of noting this figure. With my current car, I can still travel at least 80 miles once the fuel warning light comes on.
Oh indeed. Most cars can do 50 miles after the yellow light comes on. But two things:
Firstly, there's a deliberate silence from manufacturers on exactly how far you can go. It's an evil conspiracy, dammit, and they're trying to frighten you into not letting your tank get so low. If they ever spilled the beans, the roadsides would be cluttered with smart alecs who've muttered the fatal words: "
Trust me, Mavis, I know what I'm doing. There's another four miles still in this tank...."
Secondly, do we really want to be running on the evil gunge that's washing up from the tank's sump? It killed my mate's fuel pump after he ran his Mondeo to a standstill, and the new pump cost him getting on for a thousand pounds.
I did once run right out, on a remote country lane with no mobile signal to summon help. (I hadn't been paying attention to the dash lights.) I set out on foot to find somebody with a petrol can, and in the end I made someone's day when I offered him a tenner for the contents of his lawn mower's tank.
Pricey, but worth it for the lesson.
BJ