Trip computer

[umbertob]

Does this happen to you? Distance to Empty has got some real bad news for you... but there is still plenty of gas in the tank, it's not even in Reserve yet. In this day and age, the electronics should be smarter than this, no? It didn't reset on the next ignition recycle either, it kept saying I had 0 miles to go until I eventually filled up 50 miles or so later.

 

[Surfrider77]

Haven't seen that on my 2013. Been down to 0 miles and nothing showing on my bar guage once! Nothing like your scenario.

 

[NASdiesel]

Doesn't the trip/miles to empty base itself on historical data from prior trips?

 

[PeterA]

I have got down to 0 twice and below 10 miles remaining a few times and in those instances the bar gauge was in sync with the computer. I've concluded that when the trip computer miles to empty reaches 0 there are 1.5 gallons remaining in the tank.

 

[waltzonice]

I've gone down to single digits several times on the DTE. Sometimes with a very thin bar of gas left, sometimes with no bars. Each time I was only able to fill up between 18 and 19 gallons. So almost 3 gallons left in the tank.

 

[danrhiggins]

Doesn't the trip/miles to empty base itself on historical data from prior trips?

I was going to make a similar comment - in jest. You've said before that you are not an aggressive driver.

Or maybe you were idling at 0 MPG for, like, hours?

How many gals did you put in when you filled it. Just curious.

 

[rja3]

Has happened to me more than once. I eventually concluded that the fuel level sensor is susceptible to parking on an incline. It would go from just less than a quarter tank to none. Fortunately the fuel pump was not fooled and she ran for miles. Parking the other way on the hill, turning off, and then turning on the ignition, the fuel sensor found new gas.

 

[umbertob]

Yeah, I was parked downhill when my range went down to 0... Still, you'd think that after a few more stops and driving around the trip computer would figure out what happened and bump the DTE back up to a more realistic level. It stayed stubbornly on zero until I filled up, hours and 50+ miles later. Oh well, I guess it would be worse if it was the other way around.

 

[rja3]

Yes, annoying and really freaked me out first time. I can imagine that the computer is told to never increase the displayed fuel level while engine is on. One way to test this would be to fill it up with the engine running and see if the level responds in real time.... but I'm pretty sure thats a horrible idea and you should never test it. Like the bezel on a dive watch that can only be moved to show that you have been underwater longer than you actually have been, the one way fuel level movement may be "on purpose" to help prevent running out while driving up a large incline?? Pure speculation.

 

[Surfrider77]

I leave my engine running while fuelling up every time. My guage will rise as it's filled and the trip computer also increase distance to empty as filled.

(In the Middle East, it's a thousand degrees and you sit in your AC'd car while attendants fill. Actually, you are not even allowed to pump your own fuel.)