narnia

Because of Sandy and gas rationing I haven't used my car in 2 weeks. The last time I got in the car I had about 3 gallons with 93 miles to empty. This morning I got in my car and had only 75 mte. Then I put 10 gallons in and it says 167 mte.

The gauge had always been accurate up to now, do you think it's gone haywire because the car wasn't used in so long?

Can I reset something so mte is more accurate? I really need that feature now with gas rationing.

I anticipate that I'll only be able to use regular gas for the next few weeks. Should I use an octane booster?

THEReeM718

iTrader: (2)

You will be fine with regular gas.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

since your state is in a state of emergency, it is fine if you use regular gas for the short term.
stay out of vtec!

and I dont believe the MTE gets lazy over time, as I dont drive my car for weeks.

be safe and watch how much fuel you use!

Jesstzn

I don't know if you can reset that feature but its based on recent current useage so a little short trip will sque the mte. Mine will drop dramaticcally in just a mile short trip home because its all steep hills and switch backs so the lower gears are in play.

87 won't hurt a thing .. the ECU and knock sensors will take care of the lower octane.

LaCostaRacer

Check your average MPH data- you were probably idling at a gas station for a long time waiting to get those 10 gallons. Did you reset your MID? If not, the MID is factoring in all that idle time. If you reset your MID after filling up you'll have a more accurate MTE estimate based on real driving and not queuing up for gas.

TVL65

I appreciate your post, however I inquired about this for my 07' TLS, I receieved 99.99% positive, helpful comments all but one particular member who resorted to calling me a ^&*$% I'm hoping I run into him one day in a dark alley to see if he'll run his mouth in person.
You can add octane booster, but NOT with every tank, frequent use can be damaging. I would use it every 3 or 4 tank fulls. You'll be fine.

narnia

Thanks for your responses!

I have to tell you what happened today. I was able to get some gas after waiting on line for an hour, which was a minor wait compared to what the lines have been like. While I was waiting on line, I let someone pull out of a garage. Instead of going through the line, he turned his car around and cut into line in front of me. The people behind me started screaming and honking at him. Then someone way in back came over to MY car because he thought I had cut the line, and started punching my window and screaming at me. It was a really ugly scene. He finally realized it was the guy in front of me who cut in, but he didn't bother apologizing. I guess I'm lucky he didn't pull out a gun, because I did hear about that happening already.

Then I drove out to eastern Long Island and passed two gas stations which I thought were closed. But as I drove past I saw a few cars were filling up. It was like a ghost town, 2 or 3 cars with a dozen bays empty! So I pulled in and topped off the tank with premium. Now I'll just fill up whenever I'm out there. I had an empty gas container in my car, so I filled it up with 5 gallons and brought it back for a very grateful neighbor.

I drove a total of 150 miles today, and I was watching the mte gauge. After a while instead of counting down it started correcting itself and counting up, adding the miles I had left to empty. By the time I returned home, the gauge was accurate.

My driving routine has been the same for years, traveling 150 miles 4 times a week. Not driving for 2 weeks and changing my routine seems to have confused the MID!

LaCostaRacer

^ Wow some story. People do get pissed when they think somebody is trying to cheat.

The reason your gauge appears inaccurate is that you have been waiting in line to buy gas for hours at a time. That factors into your MPG and will ultimately change your MTE calculation too. Make a note of the average MPH that is also displayed with the MPG calculation- that is bound to be very low.

If you haven't tried this yet- try 'cutting' your motor while you're in those long lines. It takes probably 5-10 minutes per fill up for those cars ahead of you so you should be able to safely not idle for a few minutes to as long as 10 minutes- that will greatly improve your MPG and ultimately the MTE too.