What's with the fuel light?

[HockeyNut30]

OK so i hit 400km (248.5mi) on my tank and the fuel light comes on cuz its by the red. i drive for about another 30-40km (18.6-24.8mi)before heading to a gas station. once im there i fill up. but the tank only takes 38.5L (10.17g) ! its a 50L (13.2g) tank. cuz the handle shut off, i kept squeezing it a few times till i got 40L (10.5g) in. most i think its ever taken on a single fill. but im wondering. why would the light come on if theres another 10L (2.6g) of fuel left? am i able to get another 50km (31mi)on the low fuel light plus the 35 (21.7mi) i already got? gimme a minute and ill repost the conversions for all the american readers.

* http://www.onlineconversion.com

[EtherGhost]

The fuel light is very inconsistent. When the car was brand new, I used to hit it all the time, then go to the gas station and put 9 some gallons into the tank. :confused: But now it has settled down quite a bit, haven't hit the gas light in a while. I drive an average of 232.5 miles on each tank (according to my Excel mileage chart):)

[Ep3 No.2]

235 full to empty ? that doesnt look very good mpg
i get around 270 mpg with about 1/8 tank left (till hitting reserve)
but making a microsoft excel chart seems pretty smart.

[EtherGhost]

232.5 between fills, not 232.5 to empty....

[freidaddy]

I hit 270-280 til I hit the light.

[dchu]

My fuel light is pretty consistent, going on at ~10.5 gallons and 1/8 above red mark. My last tank though was way off though. I was running late for school so I didn't have time to get gas, and the light was on. I drove about 15 miles with the light on in stop and go traffic on the freeway. By the time I got to school the needle was slightly below the red mark. When I got out I went to the ghetto gas station near school to fill up and it only filled 10.3 gal.

[Mr.02BlackSIguY]

when i first bought my car.. the light came on when i was at 270 or so.. now its comes on at 250, but i still have like 3 gallons left

[Mugen Power]

It seems that when the light's about to turn on or already has turned on, my car takes longer to start. And like some of the others here, I've only used about 10.5 gallons! Does this happen to anyone else?

[Tenacious G]

yes, the EP has a very pessimistic gas tank. the low-fuel indicator comes on with about 3 gallons left. there is nothing wrong with your car.

[Si3]

Generally i get about 270-280 on about 11.5 gallons (these are average #'s)

My personal best is 365 miles on 12.2 gallons (just a shade under 30mpg)

-Aj-

[Jay H]

I've been consistantly getting about 30 mpg since the weather warmed up in April... Even hard driving nets me 28 mpg. I've got 3000 miles on my EP now. The best was 31.5 mpg, but I was driving conservatively to see if I could obtain a really good mpg number. (I drive about 30 % in heavy in town traffic and then 70+ mph for the remainder of the time)

Jay
03 Si

[VBSI]

I don't even bother with the light. I live 26 miles from work, and on many mornings, the orange light will come on as I am leaving and I drive the whole way and gas up after work. It is not as scary as my old hatch, that's for sure.

[HockeyNut30]

bah. so much talk of miles. i feel alone being canadian and only understanding metric... anyways, the honda site says my 03 should get 555km per tank in city. thats f'n impossible i say. i think im able to get away with 50km once the light is one...

[972BlackSi]

don't worry, our ep3s just have retarded gas gauges. i even had honda replace it under warranty and it still reads empty with about 2 gallons left.

[Ep3 No.2]

1 quick question...
how the heck do u guys get such high mpg !

[Mugen Power]

Try to use your gas pedal with moderation, i.e. use the range between fully down and fully up. :D

[Jay H]

Originally posted by Ep3 No.2
1 quick question...
how the heck do u guys get such high mpg !

Honestly, use the rev's sparingly in town. Shift at moderate levels (2500 to 3500 rpms) and use partial throttle inputs verses wide open inputs. Stay under 75 mph on the freeway. You don't have to dog the car either though.

Of course none of that is very fun, but you asked how!

Jay
03 Si

[seattlecivic]

I was scaring my girlfriend when I was closing in at 290 gallons on one tank. I granny drove it pretty much everywhere not reving past 3000rpms or using A/C. I hit 288 and she told me to go to the next gas station. I forget how much I filled up, but I think there was still like a gallon left?

[dmpslc]

Originally posted by EtherGhost
I drive an average of 232.5 miles on each tank (according to my Excel mileage chart):)

I thought I was the only one using excel to track my mileage:D

[ranivus]

Originally posted by Ep3 No.2
235 full to empty ? that doesnt look very good mpg
i get around 270 mpg with about 1/8 tank left (till hitting reserve)
but making a microsoft excel chart seems pretty smart.

Same here i get about 275-300 mpg on a topped tank.
All depends if i drive on the hwy or take the surface streets. i thought my mileage was bad. now that i think of it its not TOO bad.

Stop driving so hard on it and you'll definitely save an extra 40-50 miles cause when i hit 235mpg when my light hit i started driving alot lighter and badda bing. Saved me an extra 5 bucks at the gas station.

[SLOazzEPhatch]

one many trips that i made between Austin and Dallas i could easily stretch a tank to about 400miles. BOO-YAH got you all beat! haha just playing. Of course while just driving back and forth to work i only about 250 around town.

[HockeyNut30]

i try not to drive it really hard. occasionally ill put it up over 4000 but i try to avoid that. i use 4th a lot and i use neutral a lot too. gas is up to 98.5 cents/litre here in victoria, im not gonna convert it this time tho haha.

[ecsahs3]

i use to get 270 miles btw fill up too. now i get around 300 miles since i switched from 91 to 87 octane. not sure why. maybe it has something to do with complete combustion or not. anyone know? but, i usually fill up a bit after the light goes on and i'm on that empty line.

[seattlecivic]

YOU WIN FOR MOST MILES ON A TANK! You have lots of kahoona's to drive it to the line :-) I'm scared... unless I had an extra tank of gas in my back seat to fill up when my car starts to putter. Someone should see how far you can go until it stops :-)

$5 to the winner! HOnest! :-)

[SLOazzEPhatch]

Originally posted by seattlecivic
YOU WIN FOR MOST MILES ON A TANK! You have lots of kahoona's to drive it to the line :-) I'm scared... unless I had an extra tank of gas in my back seat to fill up when my car starts to putter. Someone should see how far you can go until it stops :-)

$5 to the winner! HOnest! :-)

hmmm 5 bux uh? i have never backed down from a challenge. although that hurts your fuel pump running it to empty....

[beechstreet]

Originally posted by seattlecivic
YOU WIN FOR MOST MILES ON A TANK! You have lots of kahoona's to drive it to the line :-) I'm scared... unless I had an extra tank of gas in my back seat to fill up when my car starts to putter. Someone should see how far you can go until it stops :-)

$5 to the winner! HOnest! :-)

i remember reading a recent post in a gas-related thread of someone running to empty and only getting to like 300 miles. He then had to call a tow-company to bring him a couple gallons of gas.

[seattlecivic]

Well, please tell me who that champ is that ran it dry! He just won 5 dollars :-) j/k

He should have brought a spare gallon or two in the hatch. Then, he would have won 5 bucks.



hmmm 5 bux uh? i have never backed down from a challenge. although that hurts your fuel pump running it to empty....

well, its your loss! :cool:

[anjapower]

i've ran out of gas twice in my car. both times it was b/w 290 and 300. I wasn't trying to go for gas mileage either time...

[seattlecivic]

well, you shouldn't have admitted to not trying or you would have won the $5!! Better luck next time ;)

[NemesisITR]

Shifting around 4500k keeps me around 30mpg. Most of my driving is city driving and on the hwy I do around 80 to 90. Having a six speed is really nice!!:D

[SLOazzEPhatch]

Originally posted by NemesisITR
Shifting around 4500k keeps me around 30mpg. Most of my driving is city driving and on the hwy I do around 80 to 90. Having a six speed is really nice!!:D

quit bragging.

[Sirone]

I have noticed that the light is a bit vague... generally if you happen to be on an incline... or accelerate or brake a bit... it will trigger the light... It is programmed to not go off for a while.. or atleast if it recieves another low signel every minute or so... Generally I ignore the red light... its just a reminder to get gas in the next hour of driving... I typically hit the light... and have driven another 40 or so miles and still only hit 11.5 gallons at the pump... I would say.. as long as you are driving at a reasonable efficency level. You should attain 50 miles after red light.

[seattlecivic]

Dude,

My light is orange... does it go red too if it goes even lower?

[goy091]

I hit a personal best in my EP this weekend, all freeway driving, helping my bro move some stuff out of his dorm. 315 miles on 9.8 gallons. I filled up before I got home though because the light came on about 25mi from my house, but when I filled up I realized I could have made it! The whole time on the freeway I was under 70 with the AC on a little. I was amazed becuase usually i get maybe 260 miles till the light comes on, and average about 24-25 mpg.

[HockeyNut30]

ya my lights orange too. ive never seen it red. which would make sense because the entire contrast to the white gauge face is orange.

[Mugen Power]

Shh!!! Maybe he's colorblind and thinks that it's red. J/K :D

My car doesn't like to start when the gas light is on. It seems like it takes an extra punch from the starter to get going. Does this happen to anyone else?

[seattlecivic]

My car is at 10,000 miles so I havn't experienced that problem with an empty tank. It sounds pretty common though. :-)

[enecks]

isn't that last few gallons the "fuel reserve"? so when the light comes on, you're into the reserve? i usually assume i have about 3 gallons left when the light comes on...so that's almost 90 more miles.

[Japakazol]

Originally posted by Ep3 No.2
1 quick question...
how the heck do u guys get such high mpg !

Yeah sometimes I drive nothing but highway and I get about 270-280 mixed I get about 240 before light goes on!! THen again I do gun it often =)

[portugeetex]

Originally posted by Mugen Power
Shh!!! Maybe he's colorblind and thinks that it's red. J/K :D

My car doesn't like to start when the gas light is on. It seems like it takes an extra punch from the starter to get going. Does this happen to anyone else?


i have the same problem, glad to hear it aint just me, but does anybody know if its gonna harm the car or not?