Mine goes to one bar, 55 miles. and low fuel light comes on

 

Well I was curious also, so I did twice my own test, that way I know the limitations of my car should ever happen to reach that situation say on a long trip , once I get one bar left the range goes to ----,low fuel light goes on , drove 65-70 kilometers (40-43 miles) before the last bar begins to blink ,I believe once starts blinking look for a safe spot to stop if you ran out of gas or refuel ASAP .

 

Ok, so the last bar will blink at some point? My low fuel light was already on.

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so I fueled up.

So, how much did you put in.....compared to the advertised capacity ??

I don't think anyone here has actually run one completely OUT to see if the advertised capacity is the real capacity.....but a little searching might prove me wrong.

When mine reaches one bar AND the DTE blanks out AND the fuel warning light comes on.....the amount I put in would indicate that there is at least 2 gallons left. I don't intend to find out if that is true or not because, among other things, running it dry is hard on the fuel pump.

 

So, how much did you put in.....compared to the advertised capacity ??

Well, I only had $10 on me, so that's what I got. 7 cents more per gallon if you do credit or debit.

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Running it dry often is hard on the pump. I intentionally try to never let the gas get that low. The fuel pump is cooled by the gas flowing through it plus the gas it is submerged in. Lower fuel level means warmer pump, means less pump life. I expect that a properly treated fuel pump should last at least 150,000 miles or more.

 

Perfect reasoning for NOT letting it get that low on a consistent basis. Traveling on extended lengthy trips is one thing. Around town, day-to-day, I try to keep mine no lower than 1/4. The pump's longevity is the reason. Besides avoiding any "garbage" inadvertantly introduced and laying around the bottom of the tank getting into the pump and fuel lines. I know there's a fuel filter and trash screens. But why take a chance?

 

just to chime in here after using the Torque app I was able to pinpoint this exactly.

One bar + low fuel light = ~20% fuel remaining in tank
One bar flashing + low fuel light = ~5% fuel remaining in tank

Using canadian units:
considering that its a 48L tank
20% = 8 L remaining
@ ~7.5L/100km, you should easily get another 100km after the light comes on...
using an average of 7.5L/100kms from random people on the forum.

there are other threads about this on this forum as well though.

 

Tank Capacity: 12.68 US Gallons / 48 liters

My experiences on what it takes to fill given gauge status:

One Bar - Low Fuel Light Illuminated: 10.3 US gallons / 39 liters
Bar Blinking: 11.3 gallons / 42.8 liters
Most Ever Put In: 11.44 gallons / 43.3 liters

 

If you ever seen a fuel pump you would notice that it is a very tall device. It reaches the very top of the fuel tank and goes all the way down almost touching the bottom.

Why yes I have. I have replaced fuel pumps on my own cars and even built my own fuel tanks with internal pump assemblies. I am well versed in them as a matter of fact. The fuel pump "assembly" including the fuel level sensor reaches from top to bottom of the tank, but the pump itself is generally at the very bottom of the assembly and as such, at the bottom of the tank. I'd say to a "T", all cars that I have worked on have the pump located within about 1" of the bottom of the tank (need some space for the filter/sock and its fittings).

At least when it does fail, replacing the fuel pump on the Elantra does not require the complication and expense of removing the fuel tank like my other cars did (except for a VW Golf).

 

When mine hits 1 bar it takes 11+ gallons. 10+ gallons at 2 bars, and 9+ at 3 bars where I typically fill. The most fuel I have ever put in was around 11.7.

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I got down to one bar 30 miles.

 

the question is wrong.

Once can get 5 miles racing from one light to next one, using WOT and FB (floored brakes - my invention).
While some other can drive 80+ miles using hypermailing techniques.

Hence, the question is - how much FUEL is left with one bar?

Which is wrong again as not all fuel gauges are same and not all instrument clusters display same thing - it is all voltage dependent so that a slightly more voltage drop can cause completely different readings.


I suggest - take 1 gallon of fuel into whatever container (approved container) and keep driving with the one bar. Make a note when the one bar appeared, when it is gone, and when the car dies...

Even if it dies in the middle of nowhere - you GOT your one gallon of petrol. Saved you butt.

 

I suggest -

And I suggest filling it up as soon as it hits one bar.
If you are out in the boonies, do it at the 1/4 mark.

Easy. Simple.

 

The fuel light comes on on mine with about 10 gallons gone and one bar on the display. I like many things about this car but the fuel capacity isn't one of them. The tank is too small - OK for commuting but no good for touring where gas stations are few and far between.

 

OK for commuting but no good for touring where gas stations are few and far between.

Where is it that you "tour" that stations are more than 300 miles apart ??

 

I suggest - take 1 gallon of fuel into whatever container (approved container) and keep driving with the one bar. Make a note when the one bar appeared, when it is gone, and when the car dies...

Even if it dies in the middle of nowhere - you GOT your one gallon of petrol.

Not a good recommendation. The Owners Manual clearly states:

Avoid driving with a extremely low fuel
level. Running out of fuel could cause
the engine to misfire, damaging the
catalytic converter.
Failure to observe these precautions
could result in damage to the catalytic
converter and to your vehicle.
Additionally, such actions could void your warranties.​

You can bet that if this can cause damage, the ECU stores this info somewhere and the dealer can read it.

 

ECU would store so much info? Maybe... but in order to do so it would need to remember tons of information...

The Elantra does have a "black box". It stores gobs ( a technical term) of data such as pitch, yaw, engine conditions, throttle postition, brake pedal activation, antilock brake timing, etc. leading up to an accident. It would be no large feat to store the fuel/engine conditions leading up to a misfire.

I highly doubt it will damage CAT. And no, it will not misfire.

And what do you think happens as the fuel rail pressure drops because there is just not enough fuel for the pump to maintain pressure? The air/fuel mixture becomes lean. A too-lean mixture causes misfires. Misfires are detected by and stored in the ECU since the implementation of ODBII in 1996. For a background, read: Analyzing Ignition Misfires

When the fuel mixture becomes too lean, but not quite zero, then it does not ignite at all. What little fuel mixture there is, gets pumped out of the cylinder and can accumulate in the cat converter. When enough fuel accumulates, the heat of the converter can ignite it and BOOM, a backfire and a destroyed converter. It can happen.

because it will use LESS fuel comparing to ethanol blend.

If the fuel injection system in the Elantra is not most other car mfgr's, then the pump knows no difference between E10 and 100% gasoline. It pumps the same amount of fuel regardless of alcohol content. The regulator returns the excess fuel to the tank. This the same whether it is an in-tank regulator or fuel rail mounted regulator. Ford's system is different. It is PWM regulated and pumps only what is needed.

 

I think we've gone slightly off-topic here, folks.....

 

sorry to notice that, but it is very common in every forum...

 

I have gone as low as the blinking last bar several times only because I know I can and once in a while I like to fill'er up with non-ethanol and want to make the most of it. I have never run out of gas in 36 years of driving- did have a '77 Volvo that shuddered when the gauge got down to around 1/4 tank. Maybe she was scared to death of getting stranded... though the issue was solved when a new fuel pump was installed :shades:

 

Out of Gas

When my first free tank of gas got to the last bar and the light came on I was driving home from work and as I was going up a slight grade the car died! It did come right back on but if I had been on a highway I would have gotten rear-ended. I called Hyundai and the service dept. said as soon as the light comes on there is only 1-3 gallons of gas. I have never had this happen to me in any other car. It was extremely scary to think of the consequences had I been on a main road.