drhodous

Has anyone had issues where your fuel guage comes on with a warning of 28miles until empty, but you run out of gas in less than 10 miles? This happened in January on my way to a gas station, we thought there may be water in the fuel. My RDX is always garaged at night and I only run top gear gas, normally Chevron premium. It happened again last night on the way home from Shelton in the middle of no where! When I called the dealer this morning, the person speaking led me to believe there was no big deal. This frustrated me and I made an appointment for tomorrow anyway. I have never ran out of gas my entire life of driving and have owned a Camero, Pontiac, Honda Accord, BMW, Infinity, Honda motorcycles and I know there is a problem. Growing up with four brothers has also taught me to take care of my cars with oil changes and routine maintenance. Normally, I always fill up before the fuel light comes on for I watch the trip, but for some stupid reason I didn't catch it.

The RDX tank I believe is 18 gallons, the info gauge reads about 300 miles on a tank, yet I run out of gas around 250 miles. It normally takes about 14-16 gallons when I re-fuel. If there is water in the fuel, I believe there is an additive that may work. I have switched gas stations and avoided the one potential where water could have leached into the tanks. This is also the first turbo I have ever owned, so I am baffled and any information you may have would help when discussing this with the dealer. Thanks.

MMike1981

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...hlight=RDX+cat
* something to watch out for if you are routinely running your tank till close to empty - refer towards the bottom of this linked thread (posts 31-33)
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not sure what exactly you are talking about here if you main gripe is the computer telling you one thing and something else happening - i would think common sense should take over at some point instead of looking at hte computer #'s - you know how much gas youve put in the car & know how many miles youve rolled per tank - so who cares if the comp is telling you you may get 300 (that is a predetermined calc based on when you fill up - actual MPG and miles to tank obviously fluctuates for the entire drive) if you are running out of gas @ 250 miles...there is nothing uncommon about clocking 250 per tank, that just means your MPG avg is low, and very similar to mine as well....ill be lucky if i push 275 on a full tank...but i usually refuel around 250 regardless with a little more than 1/4 of a tank remaining.

drhodous

My guess is the computer system in which we'll run some dianogstics or water in the fuel. It has been awefully wet here in Washington State. I normally always fuel around the quarter tank mark and my other cars with the technology were very accuate. I'm averaging about 21-22 mpg and driving patterns consistant. This past year I choose to move into a smaller SUV and love the RDX. It has the technology, comfortable, power, and is fun to drive, my choice after looking at all the competitors. I can reason that the mileage estimates are just that, estimates. However, it makes no sense to have a discrepancy of 2-3 gallons. Thanks for your input, I know it wasn't very smart and I simply didn't pay attention. Hopefully, they'll resolve it tomorrow for it is under warranty and I'm tired of paying those huge repair bills like on my BMW. Still miss my Infinity G35S, what a fun car to drive. But time to move on, we have the Honda S2000 and something had to give.

BigHatch

don't let skynet take over...maintain the human element.


...you're right though... you should get a better reading.

mrgold35

I have a 06 TSX and 08 RDX. I sometimes run the "distance till empty" meter down to single digits in both cars. I’ve never been able to refill the gas tanks close to the max amount in either car. I’m usually about 2-2.5 gallons short of max capacity. I’ve always assumed there was a reserve of at least 2 gallons when the fuel indicator light starts flashing.

Have you tried comparing your M.I.D. mpg average to actual to see maybe the M.I.D. might be out of calibration? I think they updated the navi for the 2010 RDX, maybe you discovered a problem that might require a quick fix from Acura.

drhodous

Yes, my mpg has actually improved. But then again, I have only had it six months. The dealer today ran full dianostics and reset the computer, took it for a test drive and asked lots of questions. This last situation, it took a little under 12 gallons to fill after Chris put 2-3 gallons in. At best, the tank holds 18 gallons and I have never pumped more than 16 gallons while filling. They think it may be a design flaw in the tank. I only use top tier gas, predominately Chrevon premium, but my husband was with me and swears it is still water in the tank the way it chugged and slowly died. Since we have never owned a turbo, I think I was more afraid of damaging the engine. The Acura dealer I must say was awesome and as a woman felt they respected my concerns, needless to say I was highly embarrassed that I even ran it out of gas to begin with. But I have been around enough cars to know when something is not right. I will also say that since they reset the computer, it is even running better. Maybe that is in my hear, but the next time I fuel up will be test. Thank you for your input.

Aristo82

I just experienced the same issue as yours today on a 10M RDX. MID said 3 miles remaining but I stalled out. I had to walk 2 minutes to a nearby gas station and buy a gallon of gas so I could get it to the pump.

My former 04M 3.5RL and 07M TL definitely did not do this. Maybe this is a common thing on RDX's?

LuvMyTSX

I've read it is not good to run your tank so low, as it pulls in the dirt and sediment on the bottom of the tank and can make your pump work harder, too. I rarely go past 1/4 tank left before filling up.

elcheapo

+1 on this. dunno if ol myth or not but i still follow it (until one time recently when i think my tank reflected ~1/8th and range = 50miles/80kms).

fyi, manual also recommends not running on extremely low fuel lest it damage engine parts (i think catalytic converter)

mau108

Its not the dirt or sediments as those are usually captured by one of the 2 filters in the fuel system, but its the fact that the fuel pump is cooled by the fuel in your tank, if you run it that low the fuel pump just begins to heat up, and we all know what kind of damage heat can do.

I usually fill up quite early but I do take the fuel level down to where the light shows up some times just to "calibrate" the gauge.

I have taken my 07 down to 0 before, it did not sputter or anything but it was as I was pulling in to the station.

To the OP, you may have water in your tank, try to find a fuel station that has fuel with Ethanol (hard not to) as the ethanol will help in getting rid of the water and always use Top Tier gas. Once you have your water in fuel issue fixed, use Shell Vpower! For those that want to find stations that have fuel without Ethanol this site is pretty cool http://pure-gas.org/

MMike1981

driving your cars down that low is absolutely, i dont even know what to say, loss for words. WHY? in some cases it may be unavoidable but wow

let me just say again - the RDX has documented and Acura has issued warnings about this and YOU WILL NOT BE COVERED if you burn out a cat due to running the tank to low (you will get ONLY one free repair) im just throwing that out there AGAIN...direct word from a district manager

MMike1981

additionally, if you are CONVINCED there is 'water' in the tank either 1. have the dealer drain it, or 2. put a bottle of 'dry gas' into your next tank and you should be fine - the fact that you are reporting recent problems usually are caused by winter effects/cold weather/water being retained in the fuel system ... the ethenol in gas should help, because its alcohol, but just put a bottle in and see what happens

elcheapo

interesting suggestions mau and mike. i actually was looking at this question in another thread and i guess there are some benefits to having 10% ethanol in gasoline fm time to time. thanks for the insights. seems like my thoughts (in the other thread of mixing 91 octane shell with no ethanol and 94 octane sunoco with 10% ethanol) may work yet LOL

corduroygt

I've run my 09 down to 2 miles to empty once and still didn't run out. However, a new Wawa gas station opened near my work, so whenever I have a quarter tank or less, I use it as an excuse to go there for lunch and get one of their delicious cheese steaks.

I'd notice some incredible discrepancies though, when the fuel gauge is near empty sometimes it says 25 miles and sometimes 5 miles. I don't trust the DTE, I always go by the fuel gauge.

frustratedowner

Has anyone else had battery issues or computer issues?
I loved my RDX turbo since day one until I've needed the following (all warranty) repairs.
4-New batteries
2- Auto starts
1- Air compressor Relay switch
1- Wiper Switch
1- Alternator

Any thoughts, suggestions or concerns? I am rather disappointed with my purchase.

poeycat

I have a 2012 RDX tech with about 20,000 miles on it and have noticed when driving on Interstate 79 in West Virginia I've had the gas gauge needle drop to "empty" and the orange light comes on for low fuel level. One minute it's showing halfway between a half tank and one quarter tank on the gauge and the next minute it goes to empty suddenly. This is very alarming as I thought I had a massive gas leak and I stopped at the nearest gas station and put gas in it and the RDX only took 11 gallons to fill tank so it actually had 7 gallons remaining when the low fuel light came on. It only does this when gas gauge gets below one-half. What could this be?
Doug

Tomtwtwtw

I'd recommend reading up here:

https://www.yourmechanic.com/article...l-gauge-sender

CSmoney28

A short on the electrical, bad gauge, or bad float in your gas ⛽️ tank.