Dummkopf

My wife drives this Mercedes 90% of the time - and she deserves it! I'm still driving a 1979 Toyota Celica and I don't deserve it. But that's another story. Nevertheless, the other day she was driving on an S.C. freeway and the reserve indicator light came on. She figured, no big deal - still 2 gallons left - enough to drive around an another 50 miles or so.

Wrong! After another 10 miles or so, the car died right on the freeway - not a very funny picture on a Southern California freeway. A call to 1-800- mercedes brought a tow truck with some spare fuel. This took around 45 minutes - but for my wife it seemed like an eternity. The Mercedes was given a gallon or so of fuel, and started right up.

So my question is: What are the experiences of members of this board regarding the reserve fuel indicator light - was it just a glitch - or is it another of the indicator lights that can't be trusted?

jrct9454

Personally, I've NEVER driven any car to the point where the fuel warning comes on. ALL fuel gauges are to be distrusted on their face - the whole system [and this applies to all car makers] is a vast set of approximations....right up to the moment there is none left.

Rule of thumb - when you are down to the last hash on the gauge, get into a station, pronto.

On the only occasion I have seen this light on an MB [a friend's E-class], it appeared that there were somewhere between 1.5 and 2.5 gallons left. The manual implies at least a couple of gallons, but I simply do not trust it, period.

Dema

ok, let me tell you something. I owned a Ford without even warning light, so it died several times so I kept a spare tank with a gallon in it. Then, I had a Chrysler with miles to die indicator. It seems to be working wrong because when it displays something like -2 miles to day I still can drive around 5 miles to a gas station, so it looked good from that side. Lexus' indicator was completely distracted me, and made me very nervous, it showed like zero miles, and I still had 2 gallons in tank. MB's indicator is most accurate, it shows exact remaining fuel, because when I do fill up it doesn't compromise it. So, actually it's bad for me, because I used to use other cars when the gage is completely pessimistic.

MJ50

i normally fill up the gas when there's about 1/3 or 1/4 left.
if indicator is on, it's good idea to find a gas station w/i 5-10 miles...

MB-BOB

I regularly run my tank past the appearance of the low fuel light in my C320.

At highway speeds, I generally get about 25 miles after the light comes on. I use the "miles remaining" display on the MFD as the final call, rather than go by the light. I can get a good 5 miles after the display reads "0"

I carry a gallon of fuel in a 1.2Gal container in the trunk, just in case. I've never had to use it.

Geoff

I also habitually drive it down to fumes. I drive just over a mile to work so I'm usually able to go several days after I hit the warning light. I've also had the miles "remaining" down to 0 a few times and was able to get at least another 3 miles out of it. Never once ran out. Not to point out the obvious, but you're going a much shorter distance if you're doing city driving than vs highway on the same amt of gas. I left for a 45 mile trip to Jersey a few weeks back and the MFD said I had about 25 miles left when I pulled out of the driveway. After driving about 10 or so miles to get on I-95 it said I had 50 miles left. Made it to Jersey no problem and filled up there for alot less then I would have at home.

It can be trusted, you just have to understand a few things about the way it's calculating the number.

mctwin2kman

It is not good to let your fuel run that low for multiple reasons. You let it run low enough the sediment in your tank gets sucked up and could possibly clog the lines and is not good for your engine either. Also moisture will form more easily in an empty or almost empty tank and of course if there is moisture and less fuel to mix with then you suck it up and spit and sputter. In colder months this could also freexe in the lines and cause all kinds of crap, like a tow needed to a garage so the water will melt and allow fuel to flow again. Not a good idea but in no way will it destroy anything.

mctwin2kman

It is not good to let your fuel run that low for multiple reasons. You let it run low enough the sediment in your tank gets sucked up and could possibly clog the lines and is not good for your engine either. Also moisture will form more easily in an empty or almost empty tank and of course if there is moisture and less fuel to mix with then you suck it up and spit and sputter. In colder months this could also freexe in the lines and cause all kinds of crap, like a tow needed to a garage so the water will melt and allow fuel to flow again. Not a good idea but in no way will it destroy anything.

mctwin2kman

It is not good to let your fuel run that low for multiple reasons. You let it run low enough the sediment in your tank gets sucked up and could possibly clog the lines and is not good for your engine either. Also moisture will form more easily in an empty or almost empty tank and of course if there is moisture and less fuel to mix with then you suck it up and spit and sputter. In colder months this could also freexe in the lines and cause all kinds of crap, like a tow needed to a garage so the water will melt and allow fuel to flow again. Not a good idea but in no way will it destroy anything.

mleskovar

Mine comes on with about 2 gallons remaining.......

Geoff

It's a lease that's up in 6 months. That last thing I'm worried about is long term issues.

tifosiv122

I've pulled into a gas station when my "range" said 0 miles.



Sometimes it just sneaks up on you...

Erik

Dummkopf

Well, it happened again. This time though it was very sudden. As soon as the reserve fuel warning came on, the car shut down immediately, no warning, no nothing. I did have 2 gallons in the trunk. After putting the 2 gallons in, the car started up without a problem. What's interesting is that the fuel gauge was at just a bit under 1/4 of a tank. So it looks like the gauge is reporting around 2 gallons too much.

I guess what I'll have to do, until I bring the car in for repair, is use the 1/4 of a tank indication as the reserve warning.

.elijah.

I believe that Mercedes has a Class Action Law Suit pending for the Gas Gauges in some of the older models. Some guy came up to me in a parking lot seeing that I drove a C-Class and told me to check it out. Never did.

When I see the MFD go off saying to get some fuel and that I have 50 miles left, I run it down to 0. I have done this multiple times. I also notice when I fill up, I end up gassing about 16.2 gallons and that's when I run at 0 miles remaining for a while. Like maybe another 10-15 miles. So that's about 1/2 gallon left right? Fun stuff really. I end up sweating and getting nervous, but what a rush! =)

mbtech208

Kinda funny that Mercedes still doesn't know how to make a reliable fuel level sending unit. How many decades have cars had gas gauges now?

Dummkopf

.elijah

You're right! See:

http://www.bergermontague.com/case-summary.cfm?id=65

Although, I must say that the gauge was not always like that. Until the car had around 30K miles, the gauge was always accurate. This problem just started within the last 5K miles.

I'll take the car in for repair, and I'm sure they'll "fix" it. But how do I prove it? I'll just have to carry that 2 gallon can, and rely on the gauge until the reserve warning comes on, and then see what happens.

mctwin2kman

Mine will go for more than 30 miles once the light comes on. Also it is supposed to be 1.5 gallon reserve. The one in my 190 is not so good. The gauge is on E before the light turns on and about 5 minutes after the light turns on you need to visit a station. I have a 2000 Dodge Neon that had a cool light. It came on at about an 1/8 of a tank. Then it flashed when there was 1/2 a gallon left. SO I always drove it til it started flashing before filling.

Dummkopf

"Mine will go for more than 30 miles once the light comes on. Also it is supposed to be 1.5 gallon reserve."

The C320 manual says that when the warning lamp comes on there's 2.1 US gal left. Could be that for your C230K, it's only 1.5 gal. Who knows? It's all black magic anyway!

mctwin2kman

No I thought I read that somewhere. But 2.1 could be right. I hope they do not change is from model to model within the same class. I was being nice because I really can go about 50-60 miles on the highway, but I did that to see how far she would go. After 50 miles I gave up and got gas.

yeloaw

I've been driving a toyota previa for the last 3 years (Great van btw) and that thing seemed like it never ran out of fuel. I actually filled it up when the fuel gauge goes below the E. Anyways, as bad as this habit was, the Mercedes fuel gauge is completely different. It is very accurate as I have experienced running out of gas. Right when the gauge hits the Empty line you are likely to run out within 10 minutes. So just remember when you get to a 1/4 tank fill it uP!

mbtech208

I drove a Previa All-Trac through a couple blizzards. those things are unstoppable in the snow. Awesome traction.

mctwin2kman

SO true. My 18 year old 190 has the same problem. You would think that in 18+ years MB would have fixed this problem. But think of all the money they have made by selling more parts to fix a bad design.....

samphel

I believe how far you can go also depends on the mileage or the mpg reading that you get. If you are on the highway when the warning light comes on, you should probably get at least 50 miles (approx 2 gallons left). If you're in the city, you probably should not drive more than 20 miles after the light comes on.

Sam

jigga619

I'd say that the fuel indicator is pretty accurate. One time it said that I had 10 miles left.. i was going over the Coronado bridge (in San Diego).. and I was pretty scared. Never again will I do that!!