[509er]

FWIW - decided to risk the accuracy of our digital dash fuel range on Saturday. Needed to go about 30 miles to nearest Costco to fill up along with other city errands. Left home with 35 miles showing on range. We live in a river canyon, so a fair amt of climbing out and ups/downs on the way. Lowest reading I got en route was 6 miles range. Ended up at the Costco pump at a 7 miles remaining reading. Total fuel fill-up was 16.89 gals. StoOpid yes, but I was curious.

Cheers~

[g11hoonigan]

You know curiosity can kill a cat ;-)

I personally wouldn't let the tank go less than a 1/4. But that's just me.

[ASAP]

I had my lowest remaining range this week... only 40 miles. Went to fill up and it took exactly 15.2 Gals... The tank is 17.2 Gals and I was averaging 20 MPG at the time, so it seems accurate given 2 more gallons would be needed to fill it up.

With that being said... i am sure you can go sub 0 and get at least a few miles out of it... I wouldn't do it but I've seen people drive on other BMWs with remaining range showing --- and they were still able to get a few miles.

[509er]

Originally Posted by g11hoonigan

You know curiosity can kill a cat ;-)

I personally wouldn't let the tank go less than a 1/4. But that's just me.

I totally get where you are coming from. I did this mainly as a test at a time and place I could "afford" the extra time if I got stranded. It's nice to know going fwd that the accuracy is pretty spot on. OTOH, when my Ram shows minimal miles left on a 32 gal tank the most I've filled it is like 28 gals. So 16.89 on a 17.2 tank is surprisingly accurate. I won't be doing this again unless in emergency - I don't know if it's a wives tale (can you still say that?) but had understood it is hard on a fuel pump (heating up) to let the tank get really low. Not sure if that applies to our vehicles or not.

Cheers~

[peppebmw]

Filled up yesterday with 12 miles left to go. Think I put in 16.9 gallons or so. Unfortunately Costco was too far for me to fill up. Been trying to time it right but didn't work out this time!

[Q1968]

Originally Posted by 509er

OTOH, when my Ram shows minimal miles left on a 32 gal tank the most I've filled it is like 28 gals.
Cheers~

Pretty sure the Rams from that generation have the same fuel level sender whether it's a 26 or 32 gallon tank. My 2015 is absurdly pessimistic; I have driven it 60 miles after getting the "Fuel Low" message on the range indicator. Still only took about 31 gallons after that. I know from experience that the MPG estimate is typically 1 MPG high, so I calculate my true range based on that.

[IAmSpeed]

Confirmed by my personal experience, my M40i went extra 21 miles after reach subzero range shown on dash.

A nervy experience, two of the gas stations back then showed as open on Map but they were not, glad the third one works.

Those extra 21 miles was driven at around 70 mph in comfort mode FYI.

[509er]

Originally Posted by Q1968

Pretty sure the Rams from that generation have the same fuel level sender whether it's a 26 or 32 gallon tank. My 2015 is absurdly pessimistic; I have driven it 60 miles after getting the "Fuel Low" message on the range indicator. Still only took about 31 gallons after that. I know from experience that the MPG estimate is typically 1 MPG high, so I calculate my true range based on that.

Interesting - I did not know that about the sending unit. Thanks!

Originally Posted by Iamthespeed

Confirmed by my personal experience, my M40i went extra 21 miles after reach subzero range shown on dash.

A nervy experience, two of the gas stations back then showed as open on Map but they were not, glad the third one works.

Those extra 21 miles was driven at around 70 mph in comfort mode FYI.

Holy cow! You've trumped my experiment! I was going 62 mph indicated (actual 60 mph) for the most part when I was that low on fuel - and in eco pro, to try and somewhat reduce the risk of actually running out. It's amazing how quickly the computer recalcs range based on current consumption (uphill/downhill/accel/etc.) vs. prior gens.

Cheers~

[aubs]

Originally Posted by Iamthespeed

Those extra 21 miles was driven at around 70 mph in comfort mode FYI.

That's impressive! I'd definitely have been driving at 50mph in eco pro if that was me!

[g11hoonigan]

Originally Posted by 509er

I totally get where you are coming from. I did this mainly as a test at a time and place I could "afford" the extra time if I got stranded. It's nice to know going fwd that the accuracy is pretty spot on. OTOH, when my Ram shows minimal miles left on a 32 gal tank the most I've filled it is like 28 gals. So 16.89 on a 17.2 tank is surprisingly accurate. I won't be doing this again unless in emergency - I don't know if it's a wives tale (can you still say that?) but had understood it is hard on a fuel pump (heating up) to let the tank get really low. Not sure if that applies to our vehicles or not.

Cheers~

Just messing with you there. Manufacturers these days use saddle type fuel tanks which may potentially cause issue when driven with fuel too low.

[2022X3]

Most cars have at least a gallon usable after miles till empty goes to zero.
Just be aware, as mentioned, that your fuel pump can also be sucking air at times when it's that low which could damage it.

[abbike18]

Because I'm in the process of tuning my car, I have to switch from E30 to 91 to get the tune right. The easiest way to do this is to run the tank to as close to zero as possible and then add a little fuel, repeat.

I've added a gallon when the miles remaining was 3, and saw the ethanol content go from E30 to E19. That means that the gallon of fuel was 11/20 of the remaining capacity (given E30 was in the tank and E10 is prom the 91 pump), meaning there was about a gallon of fuel in the tank. I have an ECA on the car so can accurately read ethanol.

So...you have about a gallon (maybe a little less) when the readout says 0.

[X3rd Time Is a Charm]

Me personally I don’t like to go less then a 1/2 of a tank. Not for any other reason than I always run 93 octane and don’t want to see the price on the gas pump be a crazy number . Seems when I do this it’s just a mental thing I guess, so it looks like I’m not spending as much money . . That’s just me .

[DonSylver]

. . . and here I am, panicking to find a gas station once I see 70miles left
I am never filling up again until I see 10miles left

[Dilbert2402]

Yesterday I arrived at the filling station with 1 mile range displayed but only managed to put in 49 litres, not sure how far I would have got on the last remaining litre. I’ve been monitoring my fuel purchases since the car was new and although the car thinks it’s achieved 44mpg dividing fuel used by the mileage I’ve covered it works out at 42.3.

[COM40]

Originally Posted by X3rd Time Is a Charm

Me personally I don’t like to go less then a 1/2 of a tank. Not for any other reason than I always run 93 octane and don’t want to see the price on the gas pump be a crazy number . Seems when I do this it’s just a mental thing I guess, so it look like I’m not spending as much money . . That’s just me .

The plus of having a truck or SUV with a 30+ gal tank (Suburban in my case) is it makes the X3 seem like a bargain to fill up, even with premium.

I've started tracking every tank with Fuelly and my max fillup was 16.4 gal. Unless we're going on a longer trip, I generally wait as long as possible to refuel. I think that fillup said ~20 miles to empty. Avg is 24.9 mpg so I guess the range is pretty accurate.

[bouchy]

From my XP, when the fuel range says 0 km, it is possible to drive like 50 more km (safety feature). Don't do that, especially in case of diesel engine, the refuel would be costly.
I drive the reserve regularly, since I like my fuel fresh, not a mix.

[Q1968]

Filling up with something like 5 to 30 miles showing on the range estimator, I routinely put 17.3-17.4 gallons in my M40i. Maximum to date was 17.499. Given that the tank is supposed to hold 17.2 gallons, I'm not optimistic that I could stretch much past "0", if at all.

[Opie55]

Tests of remaining range like this don't prove too much because the remaining range is recalculated every few minutes based on how you have been driving recently. If I have been doing all in-town driving and fill up, my car might say that my range is only 250 miles. But I could easily drive to a gas station 400 miles away so long as the drive was mostly highway.