Trust me, I don't. There is a mandatory tow law if you break down on a Houston freeway. The freeways are just too dangerous--high speed, very crowded--to do something stupid like run out of gas. And as a woman who usually travels alone, it's not such a hot idea, either.

 

I always fill up with a quarter tank left. Whatever that really means in a BMW (and maybe MINI inherited their whacked out gas guage behavior). It takes 50 miles for the gas needle to even move, and then each 'quarter tank' gets progressively less and less mileage.

 

IMHO, your lower gas mileage now is due to winter fuel blends (more ethanol content). Here's a another post on the subject Clicky

BTW, my OBC quite accurate, usually within 0.7 mpg, when measured against a calculator.

 

I've gotten down to 11 miles until empty... no idea how I got into the station.

I don't typically do this, there was just no gas station for miles.

Check air filter, tire pressure is a big one, unload any junk you don't need in your car... weight hurts MPG as well. 21.8 MPG does seem a bit low.

 

This is not an E85 compatible car. All gas should be E10 now as far as I know.

 

That was me who ran out of gas when it said I had 34 miles left. I was, to say the least, very suprised. It was the first time I have ever run out of gas in a car. It had just gone down to one light and about 5 miles later ran out of gas. I now do what everyone else has suggested, I fill up between 1/4 to 1/2 tank left.