Fuel reserve

[paulious]

Hi Guys and Girls,

Really just a post of interest not a problem.

I wanted to find out just how much fuel you have left once the red light comes on. With the model I have there is no computer read out for MPG etc however i drove the car well past the red light (gauge didn't move when turned on) I like to call it red light lottery. Stupid thing to do I know as it sucks up rubbish from the bottom of the tank but hey ho. So then I filled it to the brim with petrol, even pressing the pump after the auto shut off. The read out said 48 litres at the petrol pump, now i know the tank to be 55 litres so that means even when the fuel gauge doesn't move i still have 7 litres left?! That isn't even accounting for the fact the fuel filler pipe was filled with petrol.

What have you guys experianced with this.. Would just be interested to know.

Cheers

[NickPicks]

I think it's usually about 5 litres left. My A6 has a DIS which is usually on 35mile range when it beeps.

[JimC64]

Has to be in that sort of range as mine comes on showing 50 miles to go before empty.
I very rarely ever let it go this far unless I'm really in a hurry or trying to work out fuel mpg etc .

Didn't the A8 on Top Gear from London - Edinburgh and back run showing zero miles for around another 20+ miles? I'm almost sure it did.

To my mind there's 2 safety fetaures. The first is to let you know you have around 50 miles to go before empty. The second is that thats a lie ( on the presumption that some will run it dry ) and you actually have maybe around the same again as proved by top Gear again when Jeremy Clarkson ran the Jag XJ from Belgium? to Blackpool to turn the lights on!

Personally I don't play that particualar lottery

[rinupanu]

I wanted to know this as well, in previous cars that i've had (Corsa and Skoda Fabia) it means 5 litres left which i would normally get 30-40 miles out of, but in the Audi A3 1.6 the light comes on just after the two little red notches, then after about 10 miles its on the thick red line with R below it?

[dandam]

The DIS on the A3 beep's first of all at 50 miles, and will run to zero without any issues, though normally I fill up before that.

[Adam_A3]

The Audi A3 96-03 definitley has 7 litres left when the fuel pump sign comes on. I know this as I bought an A3 on Monday and read the booklet! lol

[rinupanu]

So about 35-40 litres in my 1.6

Bravo sir!

[Zenerdiode]

...Stupid thing to do I know as it sucks up rubbish from the bottom of the tank...

That's a common misnomer I'm afraid. The fuel pick-up is at the bottom of the tank. Think also when you fill up. That amount of fuel flushing in would whip up any silt into a cloud of 'rubbish'. No, the pastic tanks are very clean inside.