First i want to say that my first mini (07 MCS) i once drove it until there were no lights on. Empty circle when i pulled into the gas station and the car said i could go 2 more miles...It took 14 gallans to fill.

So now my new 09 MCS that i got in may: About a month after i got it the gas gauge was at 2 ticks on my way to work, but by the time i got to work it was just one light. No big deal i will get gas on the way home first thing. The runs out of gas 2 miles from work (1/2 mile from gas station) w/ 30+ miles to empy on OBC. Wierd but i figured the car was new and still figuring out "Miles to empty".

Now today. I had my mom's car yesterday and today so we needed to switch. They met me at work and gave me a $20 to fill up cause they didn't do it for me. They said i have 3 lights left. More than enough for me to get home 22miles from work. So i leave work a few hours later 3 ticks on the dash. By the time i get on the high way (3 miles) i am down to two ticks. about 2 miles later in stop and go traffic i run out of gas in the middle lane. It was horribly embarrassing. State tropper had to push me off to the side of the road. OBC still said i could drive 32 miles! But once AAA (MINI Roadside won't cover limited access roads like the Garden State Parkway) got me to a gas station the car tool 14.2 gallons!!!

Now i am thinking something might actually be wrong with the way my car is reading the tank.

Thoughts?

-Will

 

Um Fill up and stop making your car suck the stuff off the bottom of your talk

 

But isn't it wierd that it went from 3 ticks ont he dash to bone dry empty in about 10 miles?

 

It is a little wierd I guess, but then again I saw an episode of Top Gear once where they had a Toyota Prius driven hard around a track and got the same gas milage as a BMW M3 that simply had to keep up to it.

Your OBC is saying 30 miles, if you drive it hard it could easily go down to 10.

Those things are meant as guides not indicators to rely on - if it says 30 miles, I wouldn't take the risk of going somewhere that's 20 miles away.

 

Don't you pass any Gas Stations on the way to work or on the way home?? C'mon they are EVERYWHERE...just STOP and put some gas in the tank. Don't rely on your car which is a mechanical machine and has no brain. I would have thought you'd have learned your lesson the first time!!

 

Why do you wait until the gas runs dry to fill up your tank? I have never seen any perfect gas gage and I have owned a lot of cars & Motorcycles. I can slightly see you running out the first time but the second time is not really justified because you already knew your gas gage was off a little.
Ronnie948

 

Not really related, but I'm amazed how many people here are from LI. It seems like MINI's are everywhere here

 

I've driven mine a few times below "0 miles to go" on the OBC... actually just dashed lines. However, I know my average mpg and tank capacity, so I'm not too worried when it gets down that low. The only reason I do this is, occasionally, I am very low Thursday night and the station I buy gas at has Premium for the same price as Plus on Friday. Saves me $1.30 when I fill up.

 

3 ticks should never = 30 miles, 3 ticks is a quarter of a tank. I usually have at least 50 miles to go on the last tick. I'd say there's a glitch somewhere.

But when it says 30 miles to empty, that means hurry the **** up and get to a gas station. If you push it all it could go from 30 miles to 15 miles in no time.

 

If the car had two ticks i would of gotten gas before i got on the highway home, but it had 3 and then dropped to 1 in less than 10 miles. (GSP South to 80 west to 95 south to 495E to Hoboken so there are no gas stations once i am on the highway)

 

At least it's consistent, when your OBC says 30 miles to go it's time to get gas! If you still have 2 lights on, it's time to get gas! Not all cars are the same...

 

If you would have read your owners manual, you would know that when the OBC reads less than 35 miles, it cannot accurately estimate miles to empty, and you should stop to refuel.

 

Mine is right one when it's nearing empty. I made a trip to the Jersey shore on Tuesday, I'm actually there right now. I left CT and filled at the first rest stop on the GSP(Garden State Parkway) it said 510 miles till empty. It went up 2 miles to 512 once I started driving and the lights have not gone out yet. i have driven about 130 miles since i filled. Sweet....

 

What does that have to do anything relating to this topic?

The indicator should adjust accordingly by the way you drive. It shouldn't run out when it's still reading over 30 miles. And regardless, the gas gauge is still showing a decent amount of gas without the gas light illuminated. Sounds like the cars problem and not the owners.

Seriously? I think your being unreasonable. It's not the guys fault that the car is showing inaccurate information. Are you saying that you would be okay with the fact that you keep getting stranded with no gas, when your car is showing 3 ticks left? What's the point of a gas gauge if its inaccurate?

 

Its possible that the suction tube is higher off the bottom of the tank in your car or maybe has a slight leak. Now that you know that the gauge can't be trusted use the trip meter and fill up at a known safe interval (maybe 300 miles?) until you can get it into the shop. I've been burnt by inaccurate and broken gas gauges a couple of times.

 

My gas gage and miles to empty seem to track accurately. I will usually fill up when I have about 80 miles or so to go and that usually coincides with 2 lights on.

For those that are having issues with accuracy of the lights, etc would it not be a good idea to also be estimating what you have left in the tank by the trip meter reading. If above 330 miles...about ready to fill up.

 

The once constant between my 07 and my 09 is that one take of gas would equal 400 miles. Sure enough my trip odometer was at 405 last night when i emptied out. But i don't think i should have to be using the trip odometer to know when i am out of gas. the gas meter should be somewhat accurate. 3 ticks should get me 30 to 40 miles.

 

No its not wierd cause if you are driving in stop and go traffic your car will guzzle gas. So it might think that it can drive that far but, in reality it runs out of gas. When my gas gauge starts lto hit 3 bars or less I am hitting up a gas station not worth dragging it out.

 

Yeah but think about it. His gauge was still saying that he wasn't empty even though he was. Even though it's not accurate below 30 miles, that doesn't mean that he should completely run out of gas with it still saying he had 15 left to go.

 

And i was only in stop and go traffic for maybe a half mile or less. I got on the GSP just a bit north of Rt 17 (near paramus park mall) and my car died right before i went over 208/4/century rd.

 

When my car gets down to 2 candy corns, the obc says I have at least 80 miles left. I dunno if it's accurate, but that's when I refuel and it usually takes just about 12 gallons.

 

And not only that, the owner's manual SAYS not to rely on it under 35mi.

Just fill up the d#$* tank before you're running on fumes, man.

 

I don't really think you should ever rely completely on your gas gauge. It can change drastically in any driving situation.

But, with your recent engine start problems, maybe something's wrong with your car? I know you got that fixed but maybe there are just more weird problems to come.

Good luck.

 

I've noticed the gas gauge "clicks" are not proportional.. i can travel 120miles from Full to 'one click off" Full driving normal at constant 70mph. And the 2nd click might get me another 60 miles or so. At one point, i refilled the tank will "2" clicks off of FULL and it took almost 6 gallons... this is about right b/c the car is getting approx 30 MPG.

So if u do the math: first 2 clicks good for 180 miles (approx. 6 gallons).
The remaining 8 clicks is ~ 220-240 miles (approx. 8 gallons).

That's assuming you don't drive it hard or do hard accelerations, or get stuck in traffic etc...

I always fill up the gas at 5 clicks from empty just to be safe. C'mon, you might save a couple of dollars, but is it worth the embarrasement of getting stuck on the road blocking traffic? or waste a few hours of your time (not to mention everybody's else's time) to save a buck or two (literally). ?!?!

I know we live in a ProcrastiNATION, but seriously... look at ther risk and reward. Running your tank dry can't be good for your car either... you may or may not disagree, but i will never do that to my JCW. If i did, then i should go and drive a car that i don't care... like a $500 dollar clunker LOL

 

Here is what I do to get an accurate estimate of how much gas is left in the tank: Every time I fill up, I reset my trip odometer and the MPG number given by the car's computer. I found out that the MPG number calculated by the computer is usually 1 MPG optimistic. To estimate how many gallons I have used at any time, I subtract 1 from the MPG number given by the car's computer and then divide the number of miles shown on the trip odometer by this number. Then, assuming 14 gallons for a full tank, I subtract that number from 14 to see how many gallons are left in the tank. It's simple math and works for me.