Just out of curiosity, what is the approximate amount of fuel that is left in the tank when the "fuel low" warning light comes on? I realize that is it damaging to the engine electronics to run out of gas, and I would never get close to running the tank dry, but I was just wondering what your experiences have been. It seems that there is at least 3 or 4 gallons (15 liters) left when the warnings come on and the car's range is dwindling down. The warnings lights and bells make the situation seem more "urgent" than any other car that I've owned so I always dive into a service station ASAP even though I know that there is plenty of fuel left.

 

I thought it was 2 gallons - but I am not entirely sure.

 

Warning.....geek alert response to follow:

This is something I usually try to figure out shortly after purchasing a new car. My experience with the RL indicates that there is approximately 2.5 gallons of fuel remaining when the warning light goes on. Assuming the stated 19.4 gallon capacity in the tank, on more than one occasion, I pulled in for gas right as the light went on and on both occasions it took about 17 gallons. Now, that all depends on how much a person wants to squeeze into the tank. If you go by when the nozzle automatically clicks off the first time, then it will show about 16.5 gallons going into the tank. However, "topping off" the tank(although frowned upon by Acura) could squeeze 17.5 gallons into the tank when the warning light goes on. So my thinking would be, on average, about 2.5 gallons remaining when the warning light goes on.

 

Nothing "geek" about it - thanks for the info. Since the range still reads around 20 km (12 miles) when the low fuel warning first appears, both of you are probably correct. The light comes on with 2.5 gallons left as JSakaBuck calculated and the range reading reaches 0 when there is about a 2 gallon reserve left as Vik mentioned. I believe my overestimation of the reserve was based on my habit of "topping off" the tank as full as I can. What is Acura's rationale for frowning upon this practice?

 

Probably the same as everybody else - they don't want you to cause a gas spill. But maybe there is another reason.

 

Because there is a charcoal cannister that filters gas fumes in this closed vent (positive pressure system). Overfilling could saturate this cannister and render it ineffective. This cause a MIL (malfunction of pollution system to light). It also may cause you to have to replace the cannister if enough fuel saturates it.

 

Thanks for the info Rich, I'll short fill the tank from now on.

 

my light comes on with about 10 litres left which after conversion seems to be about 2.5 or so gallons.

I also notcied quite early on how the distance left in the range display only goes to basically when the light is on. I have had mine say like 15kms left right before the light comes on yet I still have 10 litres left in the tank which can get me farther than 15. I always take this into account when looking at how many KMs I get on a tank.