I have a 2005 MINI Cooper (R50)

My car ran out of gas the other day with a range of 52 miles left.
The gas light went on and within 20 miles I ran out.

Any ideas of why this is happening?

 

I would only use the meter as an approximation. I would also suggest never running your gas below a quarter tank.

 

I usually do...but I wasn't near a gas station. I should be able to count on not running out of gas at 52 miles. I also hardly ever run my car less then a half tank. I get better gas mileage if I fill up at half or more.

 

my guess is that no matter what, the computer will never give 100% accurate info. I am not sure how it operates, but it is the fumes that are flammable, and the gas, by weight may be deceiving. Better to error on the side of caution.

 

Yah... makes me wonder if something else is up. When my car was first delivered to me I ran out of gas and it showed well over a quarter tank on the gauge (again, this was literally the first tank from the dealer). It turned out to be a problem with the tank-side fuel pump. I would keep an eye on it and see if develops into a regular problem, you may have a sensor problem or something along those lines.

 

W/ me no matter what car I've driven I've rarely let it run down to the wire like that. The best way to avoid it is when it gets to last notch on the gas gauge before the Empty Notch (or at latest between them), go to a gas station

 

Maybe you need to get your fuel gauge recalibrated. This has been happening on the Newer Mini's as well

 

My recollection goes back to the '51 DeSoto and continues thru many cars long past to our current funmobile. Every one of them used the bottom half of the tank faster than the top half. Take if from an old pilot; it is far better to burn the top half than the bottom half. At the 1/4 mark, I trust the gauge like I would a pet rattlesnake.

 

The fuel gauges are about as useful as no fuel at all in the wings...