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how much fuel is left when the fuel light comes on?

Posted: Sun Dec 12, 2010 5:18 pm
by jann
Hi.
how much fuel is left when the fuel light comes on?
cheers
jann

Re: how much fuel is left when the fuel light comes on?

Posted: Sun Dec 12, 2010 5:27 pm
by pac1982
not alot, but i have covered about 20+ motorway miles when mine came on before stopping at the services

Re: how much fuel is left when the fuel light comes on?

Posted: Sun Dec 12, 2010 5:38 pm
by e30-EVN
Been covered a few times this 1...
Mine goes into the red and the light comes on when it hits the lower line, fill a jerry can with a fiver and when the light comes on reset your trip and drive till she juders. Then you will know how far you can go on it. Mine is roughly 20-25 miles
Well that was when it was an m20 winkeye

Re: how much fuel is left when the fuel light comes on?

Posted: Sun Dec 12, 2010 5:56 pm
by DanThe
About a gallon

Re: how much fuel is left when the fuel light comes on?

Posted: Sun Dec 12, 2010 6:09 pm
by adit
forty miles


(that'll teach him to run it so low and i'm a fine one to talk :snigger: )

Re: how much fuel is left when the fuel light comes on?

Posted: Sun Dec 12, 2010 6:18 pm
by e30-EVN
LOL ^ :)

Re: how much fuel is left when the fuel light comes on?

Posted: Sun Dec 12, 2010 6:54 pm
by rancido64
I managed to make a large distance on the motorway (not sure what the exact distance was) across wales and then onto the ferry back to ireland earlier in the year. Was low on petrol already and had lost my wallet somewhere the day before, so getting more fuel was out of the question.
I hypermiled more carefully than i ever had before or after and managed to make it onto the ferry, and then off again when i arrived in ireland. I then managed to get to the nearest petrol station where i decided to stop of my own accord and call a friend to come and lend me some money so i could make it the rest of the way home :roll:

Yup... that'll teach me to be losing my wallet.

Posted: Sun Dec 12, 2010 8:16 pm
by StuBeeDoo
I haven't got my owners handbook nearby at the moment, but 7ltrs seems to ring a bell. :D

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Posted: Sun Dec 12, 2010 9:06 pm
by leeparkes
I thought it was 6 ltrs :)

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Posted: Sun Dec 12, 2010 9:40 pm
by clipper
When mine was parked up after being stolen / recovered it had no cap on the filler and it dried out completely.
With a 5l can brimmed full, maybe 5.5l at the most the light would go off, but after a few minutes at idle it would come back on.

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Posted: Sun Dec 12, 2010 9:45 pm
by torquey
m20/m25 tank holds 62 litres, according to spec reserve is approx 15%, so about 7.7 litres

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Posted: Sun Dec 12, 2010 10:20 pm
by bpowell555
Most I've ever put in the tank is 50 litres and its never had the red light on. Slightly alarming because the guage is well below the last white line at this point well through the red 8O

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Posted: Mon Dec 13, 2010 1:12 am
by daimlerman
Seems to vary from tank to tank!

I have swapped several tanks,now,and pouring 5 litres in puts some lights out,but others demand 7+litres to go out.

The touring once took 62 litres on Morrisons forecourt,that was a close one,previous touring ran out (twice...)on the way home from work at 3am after only 25 miles with the light on....once(through gritted teeth)8 miles from the only open petrol place,and I had to walk both ways....second time I was only(!) a mile away!

Cabbie's light goes out at about 6 litres...I think... :cry:

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Posted: Mon Dec 13, 2010 9:24 am
by Morat
I'm pretty sure that the GSF replacement tank I have now holds less than the original BMW one, or I was pumping directly out of the filler neck. Hmm, that's quite scary!

Re: how much fuel is left when the fuel light comes on?

Posted: Mon Dec 13, 2010 11:08 am
by BrewCity11
e30-dk wrote:fill a jerry can with a fiver and when the light comes on reset your trip and drive till she juders. Then you will know how far you can go on it.
This.

I do this with every new car I purchase for piece of mind.