I've had my 08 TSX for about a month now, and I've noticed something odd with the low fuel light. The first time it came on, I was out at my Mom's, which is about a half hour from the nearest gas station. Well, I had just left and my low fuel light came on. I was kind of sweating it all the way into town. Not just because I was afraid of running out of gas on the way (which isn't uncommon on that stretch) but because I though my gas mileage was horrible. Like V8 horrible. Well, I got into town and filled up. Much to my surprise, I only put about a little less than 13 gallons in the tank. So, with a 17.1 tank, I still had over 4 gallons left. Seems a bit early for the light to come on, doesn't it? So, the next tank I let go down to the light as well. Same story. Is everybody's calibrated like this? Or is my gas guage off?

 

That's correct. Honda always provides plenty of reserve with the low fuel warnings in it's cars. I typically drive it right down to when the warning light comes on, knowing I still have about 1/4 tank left.

 

yup the light comes on when you only have 4 gallons left. when my light comes on, i just tell myself that i can go atleast 80 miles more until i have to fill up.

 

that can't be ride... 4 Gal is almost 1/4 of the tank...last time my light came on was with 1.2Gal left. weird...

 

Some might think that's a good thing but I was low on gas as I was leaving a friend's house in a bad part of town after midnight and didn't want to stop at a gas station until I was well away from that area. A more realistic idea of how far I could travel before stall out would have been helpful.

 

on the trip computer thing it, it usually says ~65-70 miles to go when the light comes up

 

Okay, I was worried that my gas guage was calibrated incorrectly. On my Mazda, the fuel light came on at about 2-3 gallons (14.5 gallon tank) and if the fuel light came on in my Neon and you weren't already at the gas station, you were pretty much screwed. I pride myself on the fact that I've never run out of gas. I'd hate to see an incorrectly calibrated guage break my streak

 

When the notices comes up on my 08, the fuel range on the MID lists about 25 miles. I had mine go down to 0 miles remaining today before I got to the gas station without a problem. My question is whether or not the Range on the MID also means that there is roughly 75-90 miles remaining in the tank even when it reads 0 miles. Has anyone tested this?

 

I looked at my diagnostic screen last time I filled up, and apparently the car is only aware that there are 16.1 gallons... So You have the 20 mile safety on the MID or Nav + an extra gallon the car doesn't even know is there.

 

This is nothing new. I had 50 miles range or better in my 1987 Accord LX Hatchback when the little "(E)" light came on solid, 2.3 gallons, if I recall. (It would play peek-a-boo for a gallon or so before that.)

 

my MID says my range is about 27-30 miles when the low fuel light comes on. when i go to fill up i only put in about 12-13 gallons... *shrugs*

 

I let my MID go to zero before I fill up. Even then I still have about 2 gallons left.

 

I'm curious if there's any truth to a recent news story about the fuel pump using the gasoline as a coolant, thus if you're running low in very hot conditions, it is likely to contribute to a fuel pump failure from overheating... can anyone confirm or refute this?

I used to drive all the way down past empty (or "R" in my first car, a 66 VW Bug) and when they replaced the gas tank, it was a gallon smaller and I found out within a week of having the new tank after walking to get gas.. I'm a little more cautious now -- I figure if I wind up sitting in an unexpected traffic jam for 30-45 minutes, at least I'm not worrying about running out of gas while I'm sitting there frustrated.

 

My Jeep's gas gauge was highly inaccurate (would linger in the first 1/2 tank forEVER, then zoom down to E within about 90 miles, roughly 3.6 gallons of a 20 gallon tank), so I used the trip odometer as my "gauge."

I likewise use the B trip odometer in my 2006 when the E light comes on. I don't trust the MID "range" indicator, since the odometers were proven to be inaccurate, and this effects the MPG and other computations. I find a simple trip odometer less error prone than "gallons car thinks it has left x MPG car thinks I'm getting (gas consumed over mileage)." Too much room for error there for my money.

 

same here. did it this morning. fuel light as soon as i left my parking lot, 25min drive to work (95% hwy), filled up across the street from work and put in 13.6 gal.

also cost $57

 

Yes it is truth. That is why the gas gauge seems to be off so you do not burn the fule pump up. A very expensive repair my friend

 

when the light goes on i also fill up from 13 to 14 gallons.