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In a Mercedes (at-least the Gulf countries Specifications model), the tank is really empty as soon as the needle hits 0 (Empty), unlike Japanese and American ca

In a Mercedes (at-least the Gulf countries Specifications model), the tank is really empty as soon as the needle hits 0 (Empty), unlike Japanese and American cars, where you can drive quite a bit even after the needle is below the "red" empty mark. To be clear, the "low fuel" sign comes up well in advance, but as soon as the needle hits 0 (Full is 1. Half Tank is 1/2 and Empty Tank is 0) the car will stop, without any extra buffer for driving beyond that mark.

aboonaboo 10y ago
That is how it should be
Declanomous 10y ago
My 2010 Impreza behaves in much the same way. Light comes on at a quarter tank, and when fuel gauge needle bottoms out you are out of fuel. It's not exactly where the needle points to empty though, the empty line is pretty wide. It's empty at the point where the indicator needle reaches the bottom of that line. There isn't any sort of peg, so you can't really be sure of how much fuel you have left, but at the same time the light motivates me to fill my car way before that point so I don't have to worry.
lb1lf 10y ago
My (KZJ95; 3.0l I4 turbodiesel) Land Cruiser is completely off its kilter with regards to this - the low fuel light comes on when there's 25 litres or so left - which, if you are on a paved road translates into some 250km/150mi. or so. In addition to the fuel pump's well-being there's also condensation - if your vehicle experiences large temperature swings, it makes sense to keep the tank reasonably topped up to minimise condensation and water build-up in the tank.
Udo 10y ago
> In a Mercedes [...] the tank is really empty as soon as the needle hits 0 Not in mine (in Germany, recent C class). It depends a bit on whether you define "reserve level" as 0 or not. On the one hand, the needle does go below reserve level all the way to physical zero, but from a UI point of view, reserve level itself is clearly what they want you to see as "running on empty". And that's what they mean in this article, too. In my car, it actually shows you in the dashboard how much range you got left based on your current driving style, too. I have a medium-power Diesel engine, so that works out to about 40 miles remaining once the warning light goes on, and that's pretty accurate. After half of that is used up, the dashboard stops showing the estimate and instead begins to flash a "fill up immediately!" message.

aboonaboo 10y ago

That is how it should be

Declanomous 10y ago

My 2010 Impreza behaves in much the same way. Light comes on at a quarter tank, and when fuel gauge needle bottoms out you are out of fuel. It's not exactly where the needle points to empty though, the empty line is pretty wide. It's empty at the point where the indicator needle reaches the bottom of that line. There isn't any sort of peg, so you can't really be sure of how much fuel you have left, but at the same time the light motivates me to fill my car way before that point so I don't have to worry.

lb1lf 10y ago

My (KZJ95; 3.0l I4 turbodiesel) Land Cruiser is completely off its kilter with regards to this - the low fuel light comes on when there's 25 litres or so left - which, if you are on a paved road translates into some 250km/150mi. or so. In addition to the fuel pump's well-being there's also condensation - if your vehicle experiences large temperature swings, it makes sense to keep the tank reasonably topped up to minimise condensation and water build-up in the tank.

Udo 10y ago

> In a Mercedes [...] the tank is really empty as soon as the needle hits 0 Not in mine (in Germany, recent C class). It depends a bit on whether you define "reserve level" as 0 or not. On the one hand, the needle does go below reserve level all the way to physical zero, but from a UI point of view, reserve level itself is clearly what they want you to see as "running on empty". And that's what they mean in this article, too. In my car, it actually shows you in the dashboard how much range you got left based on your current driving style, too. I have a medium-power Diesel engine, so that works out to about 40 miles remaining once the warning light goes on, and that's pretty accurate. After half of that is used up, the dashboard stops showing the estimate and instead begins to flash a "fill up immediately!" message.