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Question about gas tank size in 2011 SHO


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I always thought when the digital read outs in cars says "0 miles to empty" there was a "reserve" tank of around 3 gallons to get you out of a pinch. I thought the 2011 SHO had a 19 gallon tank and my car said "1 mile to empty" when I pulled into the station and it took 18.4 gallons to fill???

 

Any help? Am I misunderstanding how the tank situation works?

 

Thanks

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It can vary from car to car a little. Here is how my 2013 works.

 

When the yellow warning comes on I have 3.5 gallons of gas left in the 19 gallon tank.

 

When the red ZERO MILES EMPTY comes on I have 2.5 gallons in the tanks.

 

These above numbers have been verified by using both the trip computer gallons used function, and stopping right away and filling the car.

 

My car at least is very conservative on fuel left. When my ZERO MILES EMPTY comes on, I am confident I can go another 40 miles. Possibly stretch it to 50.

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My car at least is very conservative on fuel left. When my ZERO MILES EMPTY comes on' date=' I am confident I can go another 40 miles. Possibly stretch it to 50.[/quote']

 

You can stretch it, but it's not good for the fuel pump. The pump's cooled by the gas in the tank and if there is none, or very little, they tend to overheat and burn out quicker.

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yeah. Thanks for the answer. Im fully aware that running the fuel to low can be bad news for the pump. I have replaced SEVERAL pumps for this reason at work. This is why I was shocked at my fuel gauage findings. I have had several other vehicles that when the low fuel light comes in or the dinger goes off I usually have about roughly 3 gallons. I know this car has a 19 gallon tank...and like I said it took over 18 and it just said 0 miles to empty. odd. Maybe I could have streached it out and got a few more miles out of it, but I dont think I will be trying that.

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You can stretch it' date=' but it's not good for the fuel pump. The pump's cooled by the gas in the tank and if there is none, or very little, they tend to overheat and burn out quicker.[/quote']

 

This was true in older vehicles, but on almost all newer vehicles the fuel pump sits in a bucket that uses some form of a venturi style system with fuel that the regulator has bypassed to keep the bucket full at all times. You can have 1/8" of fuel in the bottom of the tank, and the pump is still fully submerged, without this system you would have fuel starvation during turns, even with baffles.

 

I am not 100% that the SHO incorporates this technology, but most cars that I have worked on from 2004+ have had it in some form.

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