Empty petrol tank

[UrsulaBursula]

My refuel light came on earlier when driving home from work (about 1 mile away from home). I need to collect something urgently from the shop this evening but worried if I would have enough petrol to get me there and back?

Car is a Ford ecosport 2018 and the shop is roughly 2 miles there and 2 miles back (down hill going and coming back up a steepish hill).
I don’t get paid until midnight but need to go out now. Nobody local to go can help.

I read before that cars usually have about 5 miles left once the light comes on- usually I refill before the light comes on but I can’t this time and I’m so worried. Would you chance it?

@Leftbutcameback

Try the end of the indicator for the info - it may scroll through milage, miles left, average speed etc

Omg I see now i get it! Thank you

Yes when I press the indicator it shows some figures and blocks. I will check the information now. Thank you

I feel quite embarrassed to say I didn’t know what these figures meant but this is a new car…I’m still learning

Thank you ladies so much. I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders

Mine usually has about 30 miles left when the light comes on. My favourite game is guess how far down the M25 I can get on one bar of petrol.

@WouldIBeATwat

it just has the Empty, Halfway and Full markers

Reset the mile counter the next time you fill it. See what number it is next time the light comes on. Divide by 2 and 4 for the approx mIleage per half/quarter tank.

THANK YOU! I’m so glad I came here to ask as I genuinely have learned something new today.

It will totally be fine. The light comes on to warn you it's running low (but not empty as it gives you time to get to a fuel station)

My light comes on when it has about 50 miles left and I often end up forgetting and letting it run down to zero. I think it has about another 20 miles once it's showing zero.

You can Google your car and find this out, I was in the same position some years ago and although it said 34 miles whilst on empty I only did 19 miles and no problems.
It's not recommended but it can help.

Divide by 2 and 4 for the approx mIleage per half/quarter tank.

How useful this is will depend on the shape of your fuel tank and whether the sending unit takes the shape into account. Many fuel tanks narrow towards the bottom, I get two thirds of my mileage out of the first half a tank. My fuel gauge is essentially decorative because the car gives a digital reading of how many miles worth of fuel I have left.

Hahaha you can go miles on red light, I do it on a regular. I like to play fuel roulette!

Google it, there's tables based on what kind of car it is.

This was on the RAC website.

@WouldIBeATwat

Is there no petrol gauge on the dashboard?!

Yep, and it'll be pointing pretty much at empty. Not a helpful comment.

www.fordownersclub.com/forums/topic/110188-how-much-left-in-tank-after-0-miles-left-appears/

[quote RhythmOfTheLight]www.fordownersclub.com/forums/topic/110188-how-much-left-in-tank-after-0-miles-left-appears/[/quote]
Figures. I’ve actually gone in to negative figures preens. Someone told me it’d be off with their heads at BMW if the car conked out on zero - apparently “a bit more left”.

I don't suggest you try this. But I got 12 miles out of my Ford once it had hit 0. You'll be fine if your light has just come on

Does the dash not tell you roughly how far you can go you press the end of the stalk on the left of the steering column in?

@torquewench

Does the dash not tell you roughly how far you can go you press the end of the stalk on the left of the steering column in?

That really isn't a feature on every single car

Not a helpful post I know, but I need to know if you made it to the shop and back again OP

Blimey. I thought the question was going to be how far can you drive once the indicator shows 0 miles left! Because I’ve pushed that one many times…usually on the morning after I couldn’t be bothered to stop on the way home 🤦🏻‍♀️

@WhatIsThisPlease

I've got a ford eco boost fiesta. I don't often let it get empty enough for the light to come on, but when it does, the amount of miles left goes down REALLY quickly. Did a two mile journey the other day which was nearly all downhill but it went from 28 miles to 16 for a two mile journey

Going uphill or downhill messes with the gauge so you won't have had an exact reading.

@torquewench

Does the dash not tell you roughly how far you can go you press the end of the stalk on the left of the steering column in?

Mine doesn’t have any electronic info on the dash. #OldStyleRacer

@Peanutssuck

Not a helpful post I know, but I need to know if you made it to the shop and back again OP

I made it to the shop and back. Thank you again for the helpful comments

Yep, and it'll be pointing pretty much at empty. Not a helpful comment.

Look at the question I was answering.

I read before that cars usually have about 5 miles left once the light comes on-

That would be insane. Insanely stupid.

My Fiat 500 has about 80 left in tank after light comes on -- as in I have driven at least 55 & other owners say they went 75/80 & didn't actually run out. The Range-number stop reporting about 5 miles after light comes on, but the range is typically reading about 90-95 when light comes on.

I live in Leeds and I've tested the theory many times that as long as I've passed Manchester, Sheffield or Wetherby before the light comes on, I'll get home on the fuel I've got. Never even come close to running out.

I use Wetherby services to get back to Leeds too!

Also OP, if you have £1 in your account you can use pay at the pump at Tesco and the money doesn’t come out for a couple of days. It checks with £1 first though so you need at least that in!

And the OPs car is a 2018 Ford. Not a Model T 😂