Why do people wait for the empty light to fill up?
Discussion
My wife does this, annoys me intensely. Rather than on 1/4, when she's on her own, ehe waits until really needing the car for an urgent journey. Then fills it, with passengers in the car, wasting everyones time. No amount of suggesting seems to work! anyone else notice this of their partner?
I hate going to the petrol station it's such a boring process, so I generally put it off as long as possible. However only getting 200 miles between empty lights might be a factor, if it did more miles and tehrefore needed more visits, I might be arsed to do it earlier 
To the point that on a racing w/e I often need to fill up all the jerry cans, race car tank, and tow car tank, as I leave for testing!
To the point that on a racing w/e I often need to fill up all the jerry cans, race car tank, and tow car tank, as I leave for testing!
The Crack Fox said:
It's not an empty light, it is a 'fuel low' light, which to me means 'you still have fuel', when the trip computer says 'range=zero', that's when you do it. I once did 40 miles on 'range=zero' once. Filling up is tedious, brim the tank, run it low, and avoid the stink of the forecourt say I.
Agreed. My Octavia will do 90-100 miles after the low fuel light comes on, why on earth would I want to go to a fuel station before then?I always have a full tank of fuel, even carry a can in the boot just in case. I'll brim the tank and then drive directly to the next petrol station and top up with about a cupful then onto the next filling station and get some more. It makes my journey time a bit longer, but you can never be too careful about such trivial matters.
GKP said:
I always have a full tank of fuel, even carry a can in the boot just in case. I'll brim the tank and then drive directly to the next petrol station and top up with about a cupful then onto the next filling station and get some more. It makes my journey time a bit longer, but you can never be too careful about such trivial matters.
Like the OP this irritates me profusely, I always fill up at quarter, sometimes half,
My OH is ironically just off the phone on her way to work with 30 miles left showing on the range computer, so she stopped off at the petrol station and pulled in behind a Range Rover with a passenger in the car, parked at the pump, so assumes that the driver is inside paying for fuel they have drawn. Wrong, now bearing in mind it's rush hour there is queues around 3 deep at each pump forming so she waits, and waits, for blokey to come out then pull on one of those plastic gloves, fill the Rangie of fuel, jump inside the car, chat with his wife and then prick about inside the shop for around 10 minutes, so she has to give up after waiting 18 minutes for this clown to fuel his car and prat about in the shop,
Slightly off topic but this is another thing that REALLY grates me.
My OH is ironically just off the phone on her way to work with 30 miles left showing on the range computer, so she stopped off at the petrol station and pulled in behind a Range Rover with a passenger in the car, parked at the pump, so assumes that the driver is inside paying for fuel they have drawn. Wrong, now bearing in mind it's rush hour there is queues around 3 deep at each pump forming so she waits, and waits, for blokey to come out then pull on one of those plastic gloves, fill the Rangie of fuel, jump inside the car, chat with his wife and then prick about inside the shop for around 10 minutes, so she has to give up after waiting 18 minutes for this clown to fuel his car and prat about in the shop,
Slightly off topic but this is another thing that REALLY grates me.
If my OH was to fill up when the light was on it'd be luxury, absolute luxury I tell you.
What she does is runs the car til it's on absolute fumes by the time she gets home. I then have to follow her to the petrol station in case she runs out.
The other thing she does is always be running late. So car empty, needs fuel. She will stop, put about 3 quid in and be on her way. Same on the return trip. Ad infinitum. She doesn't seem to understand that the bulk of the time spent is not the actual filling - it's the stopping, getting out, paying blah blah!
Drives me mad.
What she does is runs the car til it's on absolute fumes by the time she gets home. I then have to follow her to the petrol station in case she runs out.
The other thing she does is always be running late. So car empty, needs fuel. She will stop, put about 3 quid in and be on her way. Same on the return trip. Ad infinitum. She doesn't seem to understand that the bulk of the time spent is not the actual filling - it's the stopping, getting out, paying blah blah!
Drives me mad.
Jasandjules said:
The reason I don't fill up at the fuel light is the urban myth (I hope it's true though) that the cr*p sediment is at the bottom of the tank and so to prevent that being sucked through the engines I fill up before the tank gets too low.
Awaits the ridicule.
I think that might have been true in the 60's but with modern plastic tanks and the amount of filtering fuels go through before hand, I don't even know where the sediment would come from? Awaits the ridicule.
Also, thats what fuel filters are for, backup.
For the same reason it's madness to fill up when you get to the 3/4 mark?
I get 250 miles from a tank and the low fuel light comes on with 50 miles before the trip computer says the tank's empty. I have just less than 50 miles round trip to work, so if I filled up when the petrol gauge says it's got 1/4 left I'd be filling up having only driven 150 miles, and having to fill up twice a week instead of once.
That would be mental.
I get 250 miles from a tank and the low fuel light comes on with 50 miles before the trip computer says the tank's empty. I have just less than 50 miles round trip to work, so if I filled up when the petrol gauge says it's got 1/4 left I'd be filling up having only driven 150 miles, and having to fill up twice a week instead of once.
That would be mental.
HertsBiker said:
My wife does this, annoys me intensely. Rather than on 1/4, when she's on her own, ehe waits until really needing the car for an urgent journey. Then fills it, with passengers in the car, wasting everyones time. No amount of suggesting seems to work! anyone else notice this of their partner?
What's the point of the last quarter of the tank if you don't use some of it?I'm constantly surprised how tediously long the whole process of putting petrol in a car can take, to the point that I sometimes get bored after putting in 25 litres and need to get out of there. That doesn't help me spend less time overall at service stations though
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