on my e350 once the gas sign comes on it does not display how many more miles until empty, is there a way to show this until the car essentially runs out of gas or miles left until empty goes to 0?

 

did you try scrolling through the main menu (trip computer, mph, distance till empty?)

Pretty sure that when the light just turns on, it will give you a mileage number...

once you get to about 15 miles to empty, it stops displaying mileage to empty.

hope this helps.

 

IIRC once you get to a certain point the computer stops displaying miles to empty and just shows an icon.My BMW showed DTE right up to zero but with diesels it's very unwise to run out of fuel (very different fuel delivery system) so I never even let it get close.The relative lack of stations that sell diesel and the added trouble caused by running out of fuel are about the only disadvantages of diesel that I can think of.

 

Many stations in my area carry diesel. One of the main reasons to not let a diesel "run dry" is that diesel fuel attracts water and this water tends to settle at the bottom of the tank. It is a good idea to run something like Power Service Diesel Kleen every once and a while as it bonds to the water and keeps it out of your tank.

 

When you have 30 miles worth of gas left in the car (about a gallon and half) the low fuel light indicator will come on. Once you drop down to 15 miles worth of gas left in the car the "miles till empty" count down with be replaced with a picture of a car being gassed up. Unfortunately there is no way to tell how many more miles to go until you run out of gas. John Stosel from 20/20 did a segment on this in his minivan and he was able to drive for an aditionaly 40 miles while his onboard computer was saying 0 miles till empty. A friend of mine drove 30 additional miles while his BMW was showing 0 miles left on his iDrive but ended up chickening out. The truth is it is really, really hard to tell exactly how much fuel is left in the car before it grids to a halt because of lack of fuel.
Its also not a good idea to let your fuel tank drain completely. You can have residual sediment from within the fuel tank be transferred into your engine and the lack of fuel also puts extra strain on the fuel pump. If you run out of fuel on a car that uses regular gasoline its not too big of a deal of filling it up with gas again and getting it to run. For Diesels it a huge pain in the butt because you have to bleed the system of air first and then try to fire the engine up again.

 

Good points!!! Also the angle of the car uphill down hill, etc. When the fuel level is really low, even the crown of the road can come into play. I am not sure about modern diesels needing to be bled. I had a VW PD diesel and I did run it dry once. It took a few on/off cycles to 're-prime" the fuel pump, but it recovered without much fanfare. Not sure if Common Rail systems can recover, but, I would have to think that they would not become crippled simply because they ran out of fuel. Would love for someone that know for sure to chime in.

 

Hahaha I remember seeing that episode too many years back. I recall telling my friend "this is , there's no way he made an extra 40 miles" but I guess I was wrong.

 

Good to know, wondered about this too

 

I do agree with you, but...I ALWAYS, soon after I purchase a car, run it down as far as I'm comfortable with doing (well past the car icon for low fuel). The reason I do this (for me) is a matter of security and to ensure that my needle is working properly.

Hubby and I took a trip, and his SUV was showing a quarter of a tank. Immediately when the low fuel light came on, we started searching for gas. About 5 miles after the light came on, the car came to a stop. It had completely run out of gas. It was a nightmare. When we returned home from the trip, we took the SUV to the dealership and they found that the needle wasn't calibrated properly, thus indicating more gas than actual. They fixed it but we've never felt safe with any car since then.

Incidentally, I'm going to have them look at my E soon because I think the needle isn't calibrated right.

 

Yes,there are many stations that sell diesel but most (in areas where I travel,at least) don't.I've seen figures of anywhere from a third to 40% of stations nationwide selling diesel.As for the other issue I was aware of the water at the bottom of the tank (I owned a house with oil heat for 20+ years) but I've also read that when current-day diesels run dry the fuel pump has to be manually "primed" which,it was said,requires a mechanic with special equipment.

Oh well....I've never run out of gas (fuel) in my life,let's see if I can keep it that way!

 

That is actually a very good practice to do. I do it also but for a different reason. After picking the car up from the dealer or filling it up with anything other then my favorite brand of gas I tend to try to run the tank dry to get rid of the sketchy fuel that was in the tank before. But I do see your point with the needle calibration. I was on a road trip with my wife and we almost got stranded in her C-Class. The gas gauge is pretty weird in that car. One minute you are fine and you have enough gas for 30 miles the next your XX miles till empty warning disappears and you see the picture of the car being fueled up at the gas station. Kinda makes your heart beat faster. The first and only time that happened the car took in 15.5 gallons of gas at the nearest station. Mind you the C-Class's gas tank can hold 16 gallons. That is the closest I've ever been to ever running out of gas. It was not a good feeling...

 

When the gas sign comes up, just hit OK on the steering. Miles left will come up again. Keep hitting OK if it ever comes up. This is true for a lot of warning signs that you want to get rid of.

 

press OK on the steering wheel and it will go back to miles to empty

 

On my CLK I many times run it down to 2-3 miles, it will continue to show to that point. Thats only as I'm always rushing. I keep telling my wife to keep her car at ~ 50% and no less then 25% just so she has a good buffer when she is out and about with the kids. Did not know that the E would stop displaying miles after it gets too low.