2021 Toyota RAV4 - Fuel tank defect

Maintenance/Repairs
21

I bet you can do even less if you are not afraid to apply some foot pressure :slight_smile:

22

No, both get 25 mpg
 50 miles to empty, 2 gallons, 25 mpg. The second 2 gallons are blind reserve exactly like the OPs one gallon.

3 Likes
23

The way you drive? really? :wink:

1 Like
24

I think he meant they CAN get 25 mpg. LOL

1 Like
25

I had a new (at the time) Dodge work truck that would run completely out of gas when the gauge showed 1/4 to 1/3 of a tank left. I ran it out of gas twice, then began filling it up at 1/2 tank. That
was a problem! Lol

2 Likes
26

I HAVE had that 50 miles to empty go off with about 6 gallons left
 on track days
getting 8 mpg! :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

27

My sons 98 Jeep Wrangler low fuel light comes on @ 1/4 tank. I think the logic is if you are off roading in 4wd (sucks gas) and are deep in the woods, AAA ain’t coming with fuel.

1 Like
28

Good comments above, probably nothing of concern. But if the tank is actually spec’d 2.5 gallons more than you can fill, possibilities are

  • The tank has been dented, so it’s volume is reduced. Crawl under the car & look at the gas tank. See any big dents?

  • Or there’s a problem in the car’s evap emissions system. It is supposed to open & close various valves as you fill the tank, in order to direct the fumes above the level of the gas in the tank into the charcoal canister. Then by opening and closing different valves, the canister should be emptied during the next drive. Perhaps the canister isn’t being emptied and that’s causing the fumes to back up and shut off the pump. Or perhaps the fumes aren’t being directed to the canister properly during fill-ups. If the evap system is the problem, your shop might be able to modify the evap system temporily (as a test only) to prove that solves the fill-up problem.

29

Really bad advice on a 2021 vehicle that is under factory warranty. There is nothing to check here because there is nothing wrong with the silly vehicle.

8 Likes
30

This is a non-problem in search of a needless solution.

3 Likes
31

Hi @JonathanH
While I agree that this isn’t really a problem, it does leave one curious on how many miles a car can go once the low-fuel light comes on, or when the fuel remaining miles gets down to “0” miles.

The only true way to determine how many of your 14.5 gallons can be used to drive the car is to drive it till the car stops. Not recommended as it could shorten the life of your fuel pump.

If you’re interested, the next time your car is low on fuel:

  • Carry spare fuel in the car. Say 2 gallons.
  • Drive it till the car stops.
  • Add your 2 gallons.
  • Record the miles driven to a gas station. [You know you get ~30 mpg]
  • Record the number of gallons needed to fill the tank.

Between the amount of gas needed to fill the tank, plus the 2 gallons, minus the gas used driving to the gas station, you’ll have a more accurate understanding for how far you can drive before the car stops.

The above method works well. I did it once about 24 years ago. And although my fuel pump still worked fine for 200K miles, I’ve had no interest in doing it since.

32

Drive it till it stops ? What if that is while crossing railroad tracks or in front of a large truck ?

Joe , I hope you were being sacastic and this person does not do that .

2 Likes
33

Reread the post. He said it was a bad idea immediately after presenting it and gave one example of why it was ill-considered.

34

And then replace the fuel pump.

Tester

3 Likes
35

Are fuel pumps really so fragile that running out of gas one time, in a new car, will actually do so much damage that you’d have to replace it?

36

When You Run Out of Gas

The fuel pump could be damaged.

A fuel pump’s name is also its job–it sits in your fuel tank and pumps gas to the engine, so your car moves when you press the gas pedal. And since your fuel pump relies on gas to stay cool and well-lubricated, it can get overworked and even overheat when your gas tank is empty.

To make sure your fuel pump lasts as long as the vehicle manufacturer intended, try to never let your gas tank get below Πfull.

Tester

1 Like
37

Running your car with oil drained from the engine is also a very-very bad idea, yet if that happens once in a while and engine was stopped within few seconds - more likely than not no ill effects will be found for the entire useful life of the vehicle
 so while @Tester take on it is 100% correct, it does not answer @wentwest question really
 moreover, a little devil in my head says “unless owner keeps cranking and cranking and cranking the engine when the tank is dry, the whole thing will most likely be only a blip on the radar and will not cause substantial long-term effects”

1 Like
38

Not in my experience. But I wouldn’t want to test the theory. Besides, running out of gas kinda sucks for various other reasons anyway, right? Lol

1 Like
39

I ran out of gas maybe 10 times in my youth, in various vehicles, and my 1960 VW had no gas gauge, just a reserve operated by a foot switch. I routinely let the motor stumble before switching to reserve.
Replaced no fuel pumps.

40

If I really wanted to find out how much cas my car would take when empty I would just take one of my gas cans with a couple of gallons in the trunk and drive until the car quit. I have run out of gas and have never replaced an electric fuel pump on my car. I did have a 1992 Plymouth Voyager that the fuel pump got noisy on at 60,000 miles but it went to the junkyard at 14 years old and 140000 miles because of rust with the still noisy fuel pump on it.

When my low fuel light comes on in my 2012 Camry with a 17 gallon tank, I can only put in 12.5 gallons, so if I am on a trip and don’t feel like stopping 100 miles short of where we are eating and spending the night I know I can make the 100 miles and have done it, The most I have ever been able to get in the tank is 15.5 gallons.