Has anyone actually ran out of petrol?

[1wokeuplikethis]

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?

Yep, in my old beloved Tigra. It just stopped dead as I was literally turning into the petrol station. Assistant had to come out and push it to the petrol pump.

I'd been playing the 'lets see how far I can get on the red light' game (back before cars had the 'xx miles left' function).

Someone I worked with did. Borrowed her dads car and he told her to top it up, she thought the 1 gallon would be enough to get to the boyfriends and back. She had to call home for her dad to pick her up.

Then a few months ago we went out on a test drive. The salesman said as we left the office “I won’t top up the fuel now, don’t want to keep you waiting.”

30 minutes later DH and I were standing on the grass verge beside the A303, on a bend at the bottom of a hill, waiting for someone else from the office to pick us up.

Both DH and I prefer not to let the fuel go down a quarter of a tank.

Once, years ago, in my old VW Bora, the petrol gauge was dodgy and still showed 1/4 of a tank. The car stopped right at the entrance to a roundabout in peak morning traffic.

I was stuck there for 20 mins waiting for recovery, other drivers blasting their horns going past even though I had my hazards on and obviously broken down, until some kind lads pulled over and pushed me round the roundabout, into the side of the road, tried to start the car, worked out no fuel and went and got me some.

If I see someone broken down and think I can help/it is safe, I do. Usually there isn't much I can do but I once took a mum, child and baby home while her dp waited for a recovery.

Yes in a 1970s VW camper with a broken fuel gauge. We had to call the AA and we had no idea where we were. Ended up sitting in a field of sheep for 4 hours whilst they found us.

I've crawled in to a petrol station with my car coughing on the last fumes in the tank because I've not believed what the fuel gauge said. I could park my car & it would say 25 miles, next morning it would say 32 miles. I've driven on 0 miles without a problem, a mechanic told me that when the fuel gauge says empty, there is usually at least half a gallon of fuel in the tank, sometimes nearly a gallon depending on the make of car.

@Bunnybigears, that sounds like you were on Craggy Island

When I was 9 months pregnant I ran out on the way to a hospital appointment, but I was just outside a motorbike repair shop. I waddled in, had no cash on me, but just my credit card. They didn’t take cards, and weren’t a petrol station, but they had a can of petrol, poured it in, refused my money and looked very scared.
Bless them all.

Took money + chocolate round on the way back.

I am old enough to remember when garages filled up for you, and took the cash through the window, so you didn’t need to haul your pregnant arse in and out to fill up.
I miss those days

Yes, while driving from Dubai to Abu Dhabi. We knew we were running low, and drove past several petrol stations that hadn't finished being built. It took hours to be rescued as no company in either Emirate wanted to come out as it was too far.

Yes when driving through Wales back home from a car show in an jaguar x j s convertible v12 that did usually 7 Mlles to the gallon. We got 4 miles from home and came to a holt. The a a came filled it up with a gallon and insisted on following us home as he was sure that gallon wouldn't do it!

If I drop to less than 100 miles range I stick £20 worth in.
My car runs better with more petrol in it (I think it does anyway)

Yes in my fairly brand new car! Which is small! I can’t reme how far I want on 0 miles but I just totally forgot it was empty 🤣

My husbands says 0 and yet he can still drive 30 miles home and make it to the garage in the morning.
When my car says refuel I obey the car and refuel immediately.

I know several people who have done with modern cars with faulty fuel gauges - the into the red bit.

It's a common thing with modern cars - the into the red bit not being accurate.

I did with an ex many years ago. We had driven up to London in his terrible old car. Petrol guage in the red and no idea where a petrol station was. Car was coughing and jumping and we were aware we were about to be the cause of a much bigger jam. We finally saw a petrol station and got on to it as the car came to a stop.

My parents did once.
I believe the conversation when getting in the car went along the lines of;
"You've remembered the petrol gauge is broken. Do we need to fill up?"

"It's fine, it'll easily do there and back."

It nearly did.

11:30pm running out of petrol in the middle of nowhere is not fun. By a fluke my grandparents were also driving and saw us apparently stopped and thought they'd just say "hello". The (non-24 hour) petrol station a couple of miles away had owners on site, who hadn't quite gone to bed and kindly came down and filled a can.

When I was at uni I had a h reg Astra. A couple of bulbs went in the dashboard so my dad kindly changed them for me, which was great as I could now see the fuel gauge at night without having to switch on the interior light.

What he failed to mention was that in the process of changing the bulbs he knocked the arm off the fuel guage, and then placed it back on roughly where he thought it had been pointing.

I ran out of fuel on a country road with no phone signal!

Used to be we would call it ‘driving on dregs’ - damaged engines.

Yes!
Many years ago, first car - a rust bucket fiesta with a non working fuel gauge.
Ran out on a side street in a very dodgy part of south London. Before mobile phones of course. I was with a friend (luckily) - we stood by the car with its hazards on, not really knowing what to do when a guy pulled up in a white transit van and offered to take us to the nearest petrol station - and we got in! So trusting in the early 90s!

Said guy took us to the garage, helped us fill a Jerry can and took us back and filled it for us. Two very grateful 18 year olds and a solemn vow to put a fiver of petrol in every week - it only cost a tenner to fill it up 😁

Yes in my last car on the motorway. My dad had to come and rescue me and I got the bollocking off my life of him. I'm a middle aged married mother of two.