I have an 05 civic lx sedan. When the gas warning light comes on does anybody actually know how much gas is left in the tank? The tank itself holds 13.2 Gallons, but i'm not sure how much is in the reserves.

 

i believe you have about 2 gallons left but dont quote me on it. have you checked the manual yet?

 

I don't have the manual unfortunately. If nobody knows, i'm planning on carrying a gallon of gas and letting her run till she's dry. Any downsides to that other being stuck on the side and driving with a flammable liquid?

 

i wouldn't drive under the 1/4 tank mark. it will decrease the life of your fuel pump since it isn't submerged in fuel which keeps the pump cool.

 

I believe the manual says 2.2 something...

The gas gauges in our cars are kinda unreliable though. I've had the gas light come on, drove 10-15 miles(hwy) with it on. Then the next day when I'd get in and drive, the gas light wouldn't be on and I'd drive like 20-30 miles (hwy and city) and then it came on.

I almost always drive my car till the light comes on...I know it's not the best thing for it, but I don't drive it hard when it's low on gas.

One time I drove around 60 miles with the gas light on, but I was on the interstate doing 60 drafting a semi...

I wouldn't drive it till it was dry though...the fuel flowing through your fuel pump cools and lubricates it, so driving it until it's dry of fuel "COULD" burn up your fuel pump.

 

The dealer told me 10 liters, basicly 1/5 tank.
Which matches everytime i filled up at gas light, theres a 50 liter tank in these cars, the gas light comes on and i pump approx 40L everytime.

 

The tank uses a floating circuit, so while the capacity may be 13.2 gallons, the fuel pump is only able to access around 11 gallons of it.

 

thanks for the info everybody.

Since its appears that it is not a good idea to leave the gas low, I have another question. How long does gas have to sit for it to degrade? I don't do much driving at all and heard that there is an fuel additive which prevents gas from losing its octanes.

 

It'd take at least six months before I gave it any concern, but the truth is modern gasoline is a lot more resilient against time than it used to be.

If you're truly concerned, leave your tank as full as possible as that will reduce any potential moisture buildup.

 

just wanted to clarify... it doesnt matter if you are driving the car hard or babying it. the fuel pump doesnt care. fuel pumps only job is to supply fuel and it cant tell how much to supply at a certain rpm or whatever. think of the fuel pump as an on or off switch. it sees no inbetween. its all the other components that are linked to the ecu which give you more fuel when you floor it.. injectors, fuel psi regulator.

unless of course you mean cornering hard which might starve the pump of lubrication (fuel)

 

not true, I've actually filled up for 13.4 gallons before, so it had to have used 13 or so...

Honestly I'm not 100% on this, and the fuel pump might not care in terms of hardness on the pump. But our cars have a non returning fuel system. The fuel pressure regulator holds a constant pressure, but you're engine isn't consuming a constant amount of fuel. Therefore, the fuel pump delivers more fuel to the engine at higher demands. I would speculate that the fuel pump delivering more fuel to the engine would be harder on the pump, but again...I'm not a fuel pump specialist or expert.

 

my 2002 coupe only has 12.9...

 

I said may be 13.2 gallons