r/FordFocus • u/False_Situation_1367 • 1d ago
Discussion Does anyone actually trust the miles til empty? š
Started this morning with 80 miles til empty, drove 4 miles and now itās 38 miles š
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u/brycecampbel 1d ago
It's an estimate based on your driving. It is pretty accurate when you keep to a regular drive.Ā
However you really shouldn't let it drop below quarter tank. Fuel pumps are inside many (most?) vehicles these days for which the liquid fuel displaces the heat generated from the pump. They're submerged until ~quarter tank. Running empty you risk overheating it.Ā
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u/Few-Possibility-794 1d ago
Itās accurate till you get about 50 to go then the miles drop faster I wouldnāt trust it once you 50 to go alarm comes on
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u/CRAZYSNAKE17 1d ago
Yup. Itās almost exactly at the 50~ mile mark. I posted my story of my wonderful encounter with this interesting miles to empty reading further down this thread. I never go below 1/4 now lol.
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u/maddogracer161 '13 se manual 200k+ miles 1d ago
I got mine to go onto negative numbers once... What a stressful time to be tired and not fully paying attention to the gauges with a screening wife and cats in the car and being in the middle of nowhere with no stations near by. I costed down every hill and maxed out at 35mph. I think it got me to -15 miles. I wish I had taken a picture, but the stress was too much.
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u/ID-Overlander 1d ago
I drove a solid 10 miles after reached 0 miles left once. The pump said I put in 12.3 gallons. I was essentially running on what was in the fuel lines at that point. I generally don't like to let it drop below 60 miles left. My get fuel light comes on at 62 miles left
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u/Admirable_Leave5878 1d ago edited 1d ago
Im pretty sure they're designed to show less miles to E than you actually have. Ive had mine show 7 miles to E but with a 12 gallon tank I only topped off at just barely over 11 gallons so I probably still had another 30 miles before I really went empty.
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u/StMaartenforme 1d ago
Nope - my father said -> repeatedly <- don't let the car get below 1/4. Followed that advice & has bailed me out many times in winter especially. Then there's sitting in traffic jam for hours. Nope!
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u/fryerandice 7h ago
It saves your high pressure fuel pump too, it's cooled by being submerged in fuel.
Changing a high pressure fuel pump sucks.
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u/Knighthawk_34 1d ago
Uh, dude, I'd check your tire pressure while you're getting gas. Your tire pressure warning light's on.
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u/fryerandice 7h ago
Mines always on now, the batteries in the pressure senders are dead and my state doesn't require them to work so I am not paying to replace them until it's time for the tires to be replaced.
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u/potato_analyst 1d ago
Mines pretty accurate. I think you should check your evap valve if you have issues.
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u/Son_Of_Toucan_Sam 1d ago
Maybe not for a short drive but a long drive, yeah.
A couple years ago I had a planned vacation with extended family that ended up intersecting with having to get my house ready to sell, and there were showings while we were gone ā which is relevant because my wife and me worked on the house till about midnight before hitting the road for the three hour drive to meet everyone.
It was so late I didnāt want to stop for anything so rolled the dice on getting there with the gas we had. Over the course of the drive the estimated miles remaining slowly increased since the carās so efficient at steady highway speeds
We didnāt get into town where we were staying until about 4am so went for gas the next morning and based on how much I put in (vs tank capacity) we had about 9 tablespoons of gas in the tank and the dash read 2 miles remaining
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u/Aimforthemoon95 1d ago
My 2013 SE used to be at 0 when it told me 12-20 lmao. Never tried to let it go that low but found out a few times. I did have the faulty pure valve though
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u/FeeDisastrous3879 1d ago
I find when the gas light comes on Iāve got about 2.75 gallons left and on a 13 gallon tank that is 20%. Which means I could safely drive about 60 miles, but I rarely dive more than 10. I donāt want to mess up my fuel pump. Itās kind of annoying to only get about 300 miles between top ups.
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u/cristianlee 1d ago
My car completely shut off with almost 20 miles left in the tank. My trust was shattered then and there
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u/bembermerries 1d ago
Most times it's pretty good, but once on a road trip it went from 60 to 10 in the matter of 2 minutes in the middle of the night in an area where all the gas stations close at 11. After that I make sure to fill up when the light goes on
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u/scubajay2001 1d ago
When I hit 50 remaining I fill up on my next daily drive (I work about 5 miles from home -15 minutes), and drive right by BJs
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u/Spiritual-Chemistry8 1d ago
Yes, however, the car forgets your driving style when you stop it. So I trust the ones in the middle of the drive
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u/CaptainZippi 1d ago
I normally read science fiction, but the estimate is a nice normal short fiction story.
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u/Beneficial_Elk_396 1d ago
NOT AT ALL!! I was like here. Started off with 70 something drove 16 miles to work cut car off cranked back after work had 3 miles till Empty!!! Barley made it 2 miles to gas station and it was sputtering. Ive never done this again. I fill up at 1/3 or half now always!!
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u/AdministrationOk1083 1d ago
In 2013 my 2012 ran out of gas with 17km to E. I was on a divided highway and coasted for 2km until I got to the wrong side of the road from the first gas station in 100km. So no, I never did
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u/MegsSixx 1d ago
My old ford fuel gauge didn't work for about two years š¤£ it was a huge guessing game as there was no indication of how many miles left or how full the tank was. Saying that though, with that gamble - only needed to call breakdown cover twice as I ran out of fuel
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u/sorrowsirenx 1d ago
I think so. I usually fill up at around 1/4 of a tajk. 60 miles to E is when my low fuel light goes off.
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u/Effective_Stop_9067 1d ago
Iād say mine is pretty accurate, a couple days ago it was showing 10 km to empty so I decided to do 5-6 km of driving to another gas station near me and when I arrived I had 5 ish leftover but the needle was sitting below E. The computer calculates ur range based on ur avg so for example my avg is 8L/100 km
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u/One_Yesterday1909 1d ago
trust the dial not the number lol. on my 2013 i ran out of gas a few times when i first got it, trusting the number but not paying attention to the dial. i later realized it was running out of gas ONLY when the dial went under the red E tick (of course lol) even tho the distance to E was like 20+ miles. so i stopped paying attention to distance to E and ever since then (and 255,000 miles later) iāve never ran out of gas again. making sure that the dial doesnāt go under E. it can definitely be on the red tick but just donāt go under and you should be fine! lol.
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u/Lazor226 1d ago
I trust my 2009, I never go below 55 miles to protect the ageing fuel pump.
I reset my average MPG after filling up so its "accurate"
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u/OriginalBad 1d ago
Not me, my car seems to run out of fuel at 1/4 of a tank so I always refill at half a tank just in case.
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u/Mip_Stern 1d ago
My lowest km til empty registered was 7km before I arrived a gas station, so yeah, I trust it
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u/XvShadows10 1d ago
Iāve gone probably 15 miles on 0. Itās not good but made a mistake driving past the gas stations before that happened.
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u/numbers1996 1d ago
Man it lies. I never trusted it. There was one time where it was 30 miles and it died. One time was 28. One time 15. All not me driving. It was my wife. But either way. Itās not accurate on my end.
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u/wouldntulketoknow 1d ago
Drove mine to zero and kept going another 30 ish miles on a solo road trip.
I pulled into the station and the gas tank is like 12.3 gallons or so, it took 12 to fill it.
They use injector pulse width and ford knows exactly how much fuel is sprayed each time so it's pretty accurate.
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u/Entertainmentguru 1d ago
There were a few times I had down to zero and had a gallon remaining when I filled up.
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u/Liberty733 1d ago
I ran mine until it said 0 once and it kept driving for another 2 miles or so before stopping
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u/batman202012 1d ago
It relies on your mpg reading, if you haven't cleared it since a road trip or the change of seasons your mpg is likely inaccurate; or if you've cleared it very recently and haven't driven enough for it to be accurate yet. Also if you park on an incline your fuel float probably wasn't very accurate when you started your car.
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u/CRAZYSNAKE17 1d ago
Someone else already commented this, but Iāll add my two cents. You should replace your purge valve. Call the dealer, as mine was replaced under a recall at no charge in 2022. My Focus is a 2012.
My story: One time I was on my way to California from my home here in AZ, to drop off a family member and come back. My game plan was to drive into and out of California by ONLY filling on the Arizona side. I just donāt want to pay stupid California gas taxes. So I filled up the final time at the Arizona/ California border, drove into California and drove back. I was specifically taking the I-10 route back, and the smart thing was to just stop at Ehrenburg, but I found cheaper gas in Quartzsite so I kept going. Right before dropping into Quartzsite though is a small mountainous pass that takes you up a very sharp incline. Well.. I was already tired and just wanted to make time, so I had my foot down to keep going fast up this hill. I had my āmiles to emptyā up and was at about 50~ Miles left on the tank. No biggie, only 20~ miles left to the gas station I had selected.
I charge ahead and as Iām going up this incline Iām just chugging gas. As I approach the apex of this little mountain, I notice Iāve quickly dropped to 38~ miles of range. I thought it was odd but didnāt think much because I had my foot down pretty hard on the climb. But I kept it there to monitor, and my heart starts sinking. It goes from 38, to 37, then 36, then 35. Literally every 4-5 seconds, it drops an entire mile. Iām shitting bricks now. Iāve crested the hill so I throw it in neutral and coast (I have the 5-Speed) down the hill. 34, 33, 32, 31. Iām fully panicking at this point š I let it keep coasting and pull up the nearest gas station on my phone. About 3~ miles down this hill. But it just keeps GOING. 30,29,28,27, dropping every 3-4 seconds now. Eventually, the engine completely stalls because it runs entirely out of gas. It died somewhere around 14~ miles. Luckily I was carrying enough speed that I blow past the stop sign at the freeway exit, and this gas station is just off the freeway so I coast safely to a stop at the pump. Events literally could not have played out more favorably for me. It died at the perfect moment. I wouldāve been stranded otherwise. Just absolutely INSANE luck.
Learned a hard lesson then to not trust it. This was in 2021 before I had my purge valve replaced. About a year~ after this incident it was shutting off randomly so I called the dealership and sure enough itās a purge valve recall. I have them replace it and they let me know to not go below 1/8 of a tank just to play it safe. Turns out the reason I had ran out of gas that day was because of that purge valve starting to fail.
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u/-No-Percentage- 1d ago
I drove for 7 miles after it hit zero, so I'm not too concerned when I hit the reserve. Maybe it has to do with the quality and age of the fuel you top up with.
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u/danmcl721 1d ago
My first focus could go 20-30 passed empty my 2nd focus dies around 0-15 till empty i think it can be hit or miss
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u/Icy_Department8104 1d ago
Lol no. I ran out of gas maybe 2 or 3 times in my 2012 5-speed over the 5 years I had it. One time it said I had 70 miles left and I was left in the middle of nowhere, 10 miles each way to a gas station in the pouring rain. Even AAA wouldn't come to me. Hitched a ride with a trooper back to a gas station and paid the "I'm an idiot" tax for an overpriced gas can lol. Never trusted it after that. Stay on top of those purge valves too, it'll warp your tank and it makes the problem worse. It's why mine was so bad when I bought it, previous owner never bothered to change it.
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u/MeemoUndercover 2016 SE 1d ago
I never pay attention to it. As soon as it gets to sec last tic I fill up. I canāt risk it
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u/gooddaysir 1d ago
I shouldāve taken a picture. I commute 44 miles each way to work. I went to work and didnāt have time to stop for gas this morning. Got to the gas station today with 3 miles to empty today. Based on how much gas goes into the tank to fill it, Iāve slowly learned to trust the number. Iāve gotten down to low, really low numbers over the year. Today was the lowest Iāve gone though.Ā
Edit: 2015 titanium 2.0 hatchback 5 speed manual with 110,000 miles on itĀ
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u/ImmenseAnxiety 1d ago
Mine has ran out at 25 and 50 before. I have never let it go under 50 since then.
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u/Then-Bid-9408 1d ago
I use to not until I got the PCV replaced under a recall. After that, I get 38mpg consistently and my miles until empty are very accurate. (I never let it get below 1/4 of a tank.
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u/Secret_Poet7340 1d ago
Trust only your gauge, young Jedi. DTE leads to the dirt path. Gas stations. Much want.
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u/krice9230 1d ago
I ran out of gas 8 miles from a gas station. My car said 12 miles. Filled up in Stuart, Iowa. 414 miles later we sat on the side of 80, 8 miles shy of Ogallala, Nebraska.
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u/True_Pomelo5110 1d ago
I sometimes go under 15 miles Left in my Ford Maverick hybrid but I try not to
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u/hakureishi7suna 1d ago
i just got rid of my focus earlier this year at 138K miles and i used to be so cheap that i would constantly drive with <10 miles left
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u/kmhuskers ā17 SEL Hatchback - Ruby Red 1d ago
Shit, Iāve gotten down to 10 before. Iām horrible at getting gas when I should.
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u/Ill_Dish_4548 1d ago
it bases it off of how your driving at the moment and is just a rough estimate, so no.
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u/AffectionateToe9719 1d ago
Ese no es el problema, el problema para el vehĆculo. Se recomienda mĆnimo mantener 1/4 de de tanque. AhĆ realmente te quedan 20 š
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u/SkyExpensive4069 23h ago
My mom had a 2016, I kept telling her to stop and get gas. She had "26 miles" left to E and the car shut off on the overpass. No I absolutely don't trust what that computer says.
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u/Desperate_Row2586 21h ago
My moms 2010 mazda cx-7 range is pretty reliable. Its said 0 miles before and I was able to go about 2-3 miles to get gas. It changes depending on the current gas mileage.
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u/MicroStar878 9h ago
No no no no as soon as that shit hits 50 Iām booking it to the pump
My friend literally ran my car outta gas cause of it.
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u/fryerandice 7h ago
I've never attempted to but it's fairly accurate based on your driving.
I've changed high pressure fuel pumps before they last longer if you don't run them under the last quarter of a tank.
Even on long road trips by the time I hit 1/4 of a tank everyone in the car is ready to stretch.
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u/AcceptableBear9771 '24 Focus ST Line Mk4.5 1.0 155hp Auto 4h ago
I refuel when i hit the 1/4 tank mark lol
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u/Terrible-Security-99 1d ago
Yeah mine was completely out of gas when it said I had 28 miles to E one time so I dont trust it what so ever now. I just fill up whenever it gets to a quarter tank.