Miles to Empty
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 167
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Miles to Empty
I fill up the gas tank on my TL every monday morning. Usually, after the fill up, the Miles to Empty reads well over 400m. Today after the fill up, it read 374m, which was significantly less than the usual reading. I usually get 25mpg and the amount of fuel and distance travelled corroborated quite well with this mileage. So, it's not like I under-filled the tank today. I also reset all my trip computers after the fill up.
Later tonite, on my way back home from work, the miles to empty read 368m at my starting from work, although I had driven about 28m after the fill up (it should have read something like 374-28=346m). And while I was driving, the Miles to Empty reading kept on INCREASING! The reading peaked at 389m and then slowly came down. By the time I reached home, it had come down to 382m. BTW, most of my driving is on the highway.
Is this something totally wrong? Any idea what algorithm is used to calculate "Miles to Empty"? I'd guess that the trip computer would just take the amount of fuel and multiply by the average mileage that I've been getting. Would resetting the trip computer affect this calculation somehow?
Later tonite, on my way back home from work, the miles to empty read 368m at my starting from work, although I had driven about 28m after the fill up (it should have read something like 374-28=346m). And while I was driving, the Miles to Empty reading kept on INCREASING! The reading peaked at 389m and then slowly came down. By the time I reached home, it had come down to 382m. BTW, most of my driving is on the highway.
Is this something totally wrong? Any idea what algorithm is used to calculate "Miles to Empty"? I'd guess that the trip computer would just take the amount of fuel and multiply by the average mileage that I've been getting. Would resetting the trip computer affect this calculation somehow?
.:KCCO:.
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 2,174
Likes: 4
From: Irvine
the most i have ever seen after filling the tank up and topping it off plus more =X is a figure that looks like this.... its like high school math all over again
>374
after that it drops down and reads only a mileage and no more
>
so ya... and there is no way id get 374 miles on a tank
my driving is mostly city and i average about 20mpg (sucks)
>374
after that it drops down and reads only a mileage and no more
>
so ya... and there is no way id get 374 miles on a tank
my driving is mostly city and i average about 20mpg (sucks)
Intermediate
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 39
Likes: 0
From: Miramar, FL
On my previous car, an '02 Altima 3.5SE, I never took the DTE reading too seriously. I considered it more of a ballpark estimation. Another reason are my driving habits. One minute I'm doing 40mph in a residential area, the next minute I'm doing 110mph on the highway. 
Administrator
Joined: Feb 2004
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Likes: 1,043
The miles to empty is computed based on the amount of fuel in the tank multiplied by the average miles per gallon.
The average mpg readout is in whole numbers, so if you start out with 17 gallons of fuel in the tank after a fillup, and get 24.6 mpg, the readout would read 25 and your miles to empty would read 418, but if you were getting 25.4 mpg, the readout would still read 25 but your miles to empty would be 432.
Also, the average miles per gallon is continuously being updated. Watch your MID after you fill up, and it will start out somewhere around 10-15 mpg, and then increase gradually to a more realistic figure.
Resetting the trip computers has no effect on the MID, since they are not linked to the MID, and resetting the MID will have no effect since the numbers are continuously updated based on current conditions.
You didn’t ask, but here is some information on your fuel tank regarding capacities and quantities.
This info is excerpted from a very long thread I started about fuel tank capacities, etc. and is based on actual and precise testing
a. When the low fuel warning light comes on, if you are getting 25 mpg you can go 94 miles, but if you are only getting 20 mpg, you can only go 74 miles. Of course, other miles per gallon figures will result in different results. This means you have approximately 3.7 gallons remaining.
b. When miles to empty reads zero, that is time to fill up, but you can still go 57 miles at 25mpg, but only 45 miles at 20mpg. This means you have approximately 2.3 gallons remaining.
c. When filling the tank, if you stop at the first shutoff, you will have about 17 gallons in the tank.
d. The tank will actually hold about 19 gallons, but it is not recommended to fill the tank to capacity, so stop at the first shutoff.
If you want to read the whole thread, go here http://www.acura-tl.com/forums/showt...threadid=71425
The average mpg readout is in whole numbers, so if you start out with 17 gallons of fuel in the tank after a fillup, and get 24.6 mpg, the readout would read 25 and your miles to empty would read 418, but if you were getting 25.4 mpg, the readout would still read 25 but your miles to empty would be 432.
Also, the average miles per gallon is continuously being updated. Watch your MID after you fill up, and it will start out somewhere around 10-15 mpg, and then increase gradually to a more realistic figure.
Resetting the trip computers has no effect on the MID, since they are not linked to the MID, and resetting the MID will have no effect since the numbers are continuously updated based on current conditions.
You didn’t ask, but here is some information on your fuel tank regarding capacities and quantities.
This info is excerpted from a very long thread I started about fuel tank capacities, etc. and is based on actual and precise testing
a. When the low fuel warning light comes on, if you are getting 25 mpg you can go 94 miles, but if you are only getting 20 mpg, you can only go 74 miles. Of course, other miles per gallon figures will result in different results. This means you have approximately 3.7 gallons remaining.
b. When miles to empty reads zero, that is time to fill up, but you can still go 57 miles at 25mpg, but only 45 miles at 20mpg. This means you have approximately 2.3 gallons remaining.
c. When filling the tank, if you stop at the first shutoff, you will have about 17 gallons in the tank.
d. The tank will actually hold about 19 gallons, but it is not recommended to fill the tank to capacity, so stop at the first shutoff.
If you want to read the whole thread, go here http://www.acura-tl.com/forums/showt...threadid=71425
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 167
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Originally Posted by Ron A
The miles to empty is computed based on the amount of fuel in the tank multiplied by the average miles per gallon.
The average mpg readout is in whole numbers, so if you start out with 17 gallons of fuel in the tank after a fillup, and get 24.6 mpg, the readout would read 25 and your miles to empty would read 418, but if you were getting 25.4 mpg, the readout would still read 25 but your miles to empty would be 432.
Also, the average miles per gallon is continuously being updated. Watch your MID after you fill up, and it will start out somewhere around 10-15 mpg, and then increase gradually to a more realistic figure.
Resetting the trip computers has no effect on the MID, since they are not linked to the MID, and resetting the MID will have no effect since the numbers are continuously updated based on current conditions.
You didn’t ask, but here is some information on your fuel tank regarding capacities and quantities.
This info is excerpted from a very long thread I started about fuel tank capacities, etc. and is based on actual and precise testing
a. When the low fuel warning light comes on, if you are getting 25 mpg you can go 94 miles, but if you are only getting 20 mpg, you can only go 74 miles. Of course, other miles per gallon figures will result in different results. This means you have approximately 3.7 gallons remaining.
b. When miles to empty reads zero, that is time to fill up, but you can still go 57 miles at 25mpg, but only 45 miles at 20mpg. This means you have approximately 2.3 gallons remaining.
c. When filling the tank, if you stop at the first shutoff, you will have about 17 gallons in the tank.
d. The tank will actually hold about 19 gallons, but it is not recommended to fill the tank to capacity, so stop at the first shutoff.
If you want to read the whole thread, go here http://www.acura-tl.com/forums/showt...threadid=71425
The average mpg readout is in whole numbers, so if you start out with 17 gallons of fuel in the tank after a fillup, and get 24.6 mpg, the readout would read 25 and your miles to empty would read 418, but if you were getting 25.4 mpg, the readout would still read 25 but your miles to empty would be 432.
Also, the average miles per gallon is continuously being updated. Watch your MID after you fill up, and it will start out somewhere around 10-15 mpg, and then increase gradually to a more realistic figure.
Resetting the trip computers has no effect on the MID, since they are not linked to the MID, and resetting the MID will have no effect since the numbers are continuously updated based on current conditions.
You didn’t ask, but here is some information on your fuel tank regarding capacities and quantities.
This info is excerpted from a very long thread I started about fuel tank capacities, etc. and is based on actual and precise testing
a. When the low fuel warning light comes on, if you are getting 25 mpg you can go 94 miles, but if you are only getting 20 mpg, you can only go 74 miles. Of course, other miles per gallon figures will result in different results. This means you have approximately 3.7 gallons remaining.
b. When miles to empty reads zero, that is time to fill up, but you can still go 57 miles at 25mpg, but only 45 miles at 20mpg. This means you have approximately 2.3 gallons remaining.
c. When filling the tank, if you stop at the first shutoff, you will have about 17 gallons in the tank.
d. The tank will actually hold about 19 gallons, but it is not recommended to fill the tank to capacity, so stop at the first shutoff.
If you want to read the whole thread, go here http://www.acura-tl.com/forums/showt...threadid=71425
thanx very much ron. I had read your previous posts about miles to empty, but I was not sure if what happenned yesterday on my TL was normal or not, since it behaved differently until yesterday. anyways, i'll watch out how it behaves and update forum if i find any quirks.
THanx.
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