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Original poster

Has anyone actually ran out of petrol?

94 replies

1wokeuplikethis · 16/05/2019 14:15

My car said I have 32 miles left of diesel this morn but I know that when I start it again this afternoon it will say ‘refuel now’ which always makes me a bit nervous! So even though I know it has 30 miles in it, to see the refuel now makes me panicky. I’ve only got to do the school run tomorrow which is about 6 miles but I’ll be too twitchy and will have to fill up tonight.

As an aside, I hate getting petrol. It’s smelly and messy and an inconvenience and I hate spending £60 in something I can’t see or hold!!!

But anyway, has anyone actually ran out of fuel on a journey?

OP posts:
Badabingbadabum · 16/05/2019 16:15

Very nearly. The car made a different bong for "really, you are definitely out of petrol now"!

Waterlemon · 16/05/2019 16:15

My first car had a broken fuel gauge so I couldn’t tell how much fuel I had! I would write down the mileage on a peace of paper when I filled up, then filled up again after so many miles.

Ran out of fuel in the middle of Kent countryside - in the days before smart phones! We had a mobile phone but no reception. We had to walk about a mile away to pick up a signal.

When the AA man came, he gave me such a telling off for not keeping a Jerry can of fuel in the boot - he was worse than my Dad!

YetAnotherUser · 16/05/2019 16:24

I've never run out of fuel, and I don't usually fill up until the range reads "0 miles"!

My old car wasn't so fancy and I used to wait for the light to come on, which didn't happen until it had been in the red for bloody ages.

I have been caught in a bit of a jam when I suddenly needed to be somewhere when I didn't have the fuel, and not enough time to fill up... I just emptied some veg oil into the tank and crossed my fingers. Did the trick Grin

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Driving & parking
FunnyHappyGirl · 16/05/2019 18:00

Yup, but in my defence my fuel gauge was faulty and told me I had a quarter of a tank!

Didn't realise that at the time and ended up being towed home by the RAC as they couldn't fix the "error code" that showed up on their diagnostics machine. The next day a nice mechanic found the empty fuel tank and I got rid of the car a few weeks later - I couldn't do with the stress of not knowing whether I could rely on the gauge!

bliminy · 16/05/2019 18:05

Yes, and in an almost brand new car. Turns out it has a fault that means the fuel guage is incorrect. It told me I had 17 miles left.

(Subaru Outback 2018 in case anyone else has one.)

Megsheeran · 16/05/2019 18:16

Yes- my first car had a broken fuel gage so It was a bit of a guessing game how empty it was. I used to have a top up can in the boot but when it was near pay day I sometimes put off filling it up again. Hitchhiking to the nearest garage and back was a fairly regular occurance.

amarante · 16/05/2019 18:31

I have run out of petrol while driving even though I knew that I had nearly 0 kms.... I just hoped that I would be able to make to the petrol station. But I did not. Just out of laziness.
Had to leave the car in the main road and called a friend who then drove me to the nearest station and then I got a 5 litre can. We returned to the car, fill the tank and drove again to the station to fill the tank completely. 😊😊😊

amarante · 16/05/2019 18:32

This was about four years ago when we lived abroad ...

Candace19 · 16/05/2019 18:34

Me! I had to get a policeman to take me & LO to the garage.

wonkylegs · 16/05/2019 18:36

My dad was and still is an expert at coasting into petrol stations with little or no fuel. He always carries a petrol can in his car just in case.
He even ran out of petrol when picking me & mum up from the hospital when I was born, breaking down in the snow with a newborn, is something that my gran always brought up when she was annoyed with him.

1tisILeClerc · 16/05/2019 18:39

Yes in the middle of Keithly on a Saturday morning.
Fuel tanks have a certain amount of 'crud' at the bottom and getting that sucked up into the pump is far more expensive than 'waiting to fill up' which of course you will have to do anyway.
Having a tank so empty that the engine stalls probably falls into a 'traffic offence' territory as it is your responsibility to ensure everything works as it should.

Original poster
1wokeuplikethis · 16/05/2019 21:49

I’ve learnt some useful things on here!

OP posts:
Persimmonn · 16/05/2019 21:54

I’m intrigued by these cars telling you how many miles you have left! I have a 2010 Toyota and my petrol level is in bars. When the bars finish, I refuel, but I’ve gone on for miles without. I wish my car told me how many miles are left 🤪

Fatted · 16/05/2019 21:58

Yes. Embarrassingly enough it was while at a petrol station! I had to get out and push my car to the pump.

You know you need to get it OP, just go. I do agree with the resentment on spending so much on fuel.

Also as an aside, it you only do short journeys every day, it's probably better to have a petrol car.

DorothyZbornak · 16/05/2019 21:59

DH has done it TWICE recently. It's entirely his own fault because he keeps being a wanker and sticking 'important' post it notes over the fuel gauge and speedometer.

Last time I drove his car (earlier on this week) I got in to it, removed the fucking post-it note and discovered there was 9 miles left. Went back in to ask him if he'd even realised this? Of course he bloody hadn't. So if I hadn't got in, it would have happened him a third time.

He could drive close on 1000+ miles a week with his job and doesn't have to pay for fuel in his company car, so he has absolutely no excuse for running out.

I'm just waiting for him to get done for speeding now because he was unable to see the speedometer due to having it covered with shite Angry

BarbaraofSevillle · 16/05/2019 22:02

I've been a VAG group (mostly Skoda but one golf and one very old Audi A4 estate) driver for the last 20 years and all cars have had a digital range indicator as far as I can recall and I've usually had basic to mid range models, so it's not a high end feature.

redspider1 · 16/05/2019 22:02

Yes once and on a dual carriageway! I hadn’t had the car long and the fuel needle wasn’t working properly. It just lost power but I managed to steer off as was passing a slip road.

WalkAwaySugarbear · 16/05/2019 22:04

Yes, DH drove us on empty and it conked out on the M62. Hmm He walked to the nearest petrol station, came back 3 hrs later. I was not best pleased.

redspider1 · 16/05/2019 22:07

Was before mobiles too. Had to walk to a garage and buy a canister with £5 worth of fuel!
If I’m low now I keep the revs around 3, turn heat off and drive economically until I find a station.

thankyourforthemusic · 16/05/2019 22:07

No never it's my biggest fear .
My car makes a loud beep when the light comes on so if I start my car I forget and I literally jump at the noise so try and fill up before the light comes on .

redspider1 · 16/05/2019 22:07

Revs around 2 not 3!

stucknoue · 16/05/2019 22:11

No, and I've driven on 0 miles for at least 20 miles! My petrol light comes on when the indicator says 10 miles left but I think you actually have a gallon (5 litres) of fuel left

birmanbaby · 16/05/2019 22:13

Repeatedly. Without exaggerating, probably 8-10 times.

Combination of being ridiculously busy/lazy/hate filling up

BlackcurrantJamontoast · 16/05/2019 22:15

Yes. Armed police arrived and moved it from the road.

FelicisWolf · 16/05/2019 22:20

I have run cars into the red many times and carried on driving for quite a while a little bit before going to a petrol station - the only time I actually ran out was when it had been in the red for a couple of days! (Short journeys, thought it would just last that little bit longer...) I was always told that there's about 25 miles of petrol left in a 'reserve' tank after it goes into the red that has always held true for me. It's not particularly good for the engine, but means you're not going to break down as soon as the needle hits the bottom of the red (or it says 0 miles left in digital)