Distance to Empty=0. how many litres left

[brad]

This is on a Skoda but I figure I'll get more answers here (same fuel tank, etc)

My Distance To Empty readout says 30km left. I have a 50km drive to the service station.

So in general, when the DTE reads 0km, how many litres are left in the tank?

Alternatley, when the fuel gauge needle gets to the bottom of the red zone, how much is left? (My Liberty used to have 15L when it read empty)

[gtimk5]

I havent let my car get that low in fuel and never would.
I was on a looong drive and got to a town that was nearly 190 kms to home. The DTE read 90kms so I drove very conservatively and when I wasnt in windy Targa sections and manage to get home ok. It read 50-60 kms to empty when I refilled. A customers Audi S3 ran out with 100 kms reading on the MFA.
Cheers, Andrew

[gareth_oau]

I understand that the distance to empty reading is based upon your most recent driving syle and how much fuel is left. Changing yr style will change the actual result, and of course, people always tend to driver more gently when the warning is flashing.

both my cars have shown 0, but on refill I find there's still 8 - 10L left in the tanks.

If its an older car, (with the prospect of dirt/sludge in the tank) then perhaps it might be prudent (for the sake of yr filters) not to use those dregs.

however, a newer car/always run on clean fuel, it mightnt be an issue

[Greg Roles]

Get a mate to drop you a jerry can of diesel, put it in your boot, and see how you go. Christ we all wanna know what's possible!

Be the VWW diesel Mk V hero!

[LiFers]

If its an older car, (with the prospect of dirt/sludge in the tank) then perhaps it might be prudent (for the sake of yr filters) not to use those dregs.

Where does sludge in a fuel tank collect? On the bottom?

Where is the fuel pump and it's intake? On the very bottom.

Fuel is lighter than water, so almost everything sinks to the bottom and is inhaled by the fuel pump FIRST, not last.

[brad]

So Distance to Empty is actually Distance to Reserve (I hope).

The car only has 4000km on it so fuel tank cleanliness isn't an issue.

I've actually inspected the fuel tanks in my last 3 cars and there has never been any visible contaminants. Even the fuel filter backflushes clean fuel after 30,000km. Possibly something to do with adding a litre of Metho to the mix every 5,000km?

As for running it so low - It's a weeks running & I was waiting till tightarse Tuesday to fill up.

The other thing I noticed is that once you are under 100km to empty the DTE reduces much quicker than normal.

[brad]

Get a mate to drop you a jerry can of diesel, put it in your boot, and see how you go. Christ we all wanna know what's possible!

Be the VWW diesel Mk V hero!

Mines a 1.8T petrol engine. I get about 750km out of a tank. If the motorway is running slow but constant at about 70-80kmh I average 5.5l/100km but mostly I get 7L/100km

Where does sludge in a fuel tank collect? On the bottom?

Where is the fuel pump and it's intake? On the very bottom.

Fuel is lighter than water, so almost everything sinks to the bottom and is inhaled by the fuel pump FIRST, not last.

I'm not sure about this generation of VW but my Mk3 Golf & my Liberty & my U13 Bluebird all had the inlet attached to the float arm of the fuel sender. They pull the fuel from about 50mm below the top of the fuel level (until of course it hits the bottom which is way earlier than the last few litres). I realy don't think fuel is that dirty these days.

[Golf Houso]

Isn't it a bad idea to run your car to empty on a diesel? Correct me if I'm wrong but don't truck motors need to be taken apart and the diesel bled once they go to empty?

[McCosker]

We have had a few of our diesel trucks run dry, Its just a case of put some fuel in, then manually prime the pump/bleed the air and its good to go.
these fancy new VWs may be different, but i wouldnt be surprised if they still have the manual pump prime.

[VW Convert]

We have had a few of our diesel trucks run dry, Its just a case of put some fuel in, then manually prime the pump/bleed the air and its good to go.
these fancy new VWs may be different, but i wouldnt be surprised if they still have the manual pump prime.

Not sure how this affects modern engines but going back some time certain truck engines with unit type injectors could be quite badly affected by running out of fuel. Apparently the lubricating properties of diesel were quite important and running out of fuel whilst the engine was working hard could cause the injectors to run dry and cause some damage. My guess is that this could be the case with dub engines but purely speculating.

Cheers

George

[benough]

So in general, when the DTE reads 0km, how many litres are left in the tank?

I have once gotten to 0 DTE and drove another 20km. I ended up putting about 57 litres in the tank so I don't imagine there was much left.

At the consumption rate I had, it was about 5.5 at the time, so 1 litre?

We have had a few of our diesel trucks run dry, Its just a case of put some fuel in, then manually prime the pump/bleed the air and its good to go.
these fancy new VWs may be different, but i wouldnt be surprised if they still have the manual pump prime.

As for the diesel golfs going empty the manual says that they re-prime themselves and takes about 2 minutes.

Don't know if I am game enough though

[brad]

I made it!

The DTE is reasonably accurate; as is the fuel gauge.

Chronology:
Yesterday
DTE was 110km when I arrived home. home-work-home is 95km so I figured I'd buy some on the way to work.

This Morning
DTE reads 100km
The tanker was filling the tanks & I don't like buying when they are there because it stirs up all the rubbish in the tanks.
Drive 45km to work, DTE reads 30km.

This Afternoon
DTE reads 20km and within 10 minutes of starting the journey is down to zero. It briefly reads 10km about half-way through the journey & slips back to zero again. I cruise towards home in the slow lane doing 70-90kmh keeping pace with all the other sheep instead of battling it out in the overtaking lane doing 90-110. Avg fuel consumption is 6.1L/100km. I get to the servo & the 55L tank takes 55.59L using the 3 click method.

Conclusion: Distance to Empty fairly accurate

[gareth_oau]

Where does sludge in a fuel tank collect? On the bottom?

Where is the fuel pump and it's intake? On the very bottom.

Fuel is lighter than water, so almost everything sinks to the bottom and is inhaled by the fuel pump FIRST, not last.

Perhaps, but the outlet wont be located right at the bottom, will be just above that. However, as the fuel moves around, the lower you go, the more concentrated dose of 'sludge' you are getting

[Maverick]

I'm not sure about this generation of VW but my Mk3 Golf & my Liberty & my U13 Bluebird all had the inlet attached to the float arm of the fuel sender. They pull the fuel from about 50mm below the top of the fuel level (until of course it hits the bottom which is way earlier than the last few litres). I realy don't think fuel is that dirty these days.

Fuel pumps nowadays are pretty much all the type which are immersed in the fuel tank and use the fuel to cool them. They don't have floats but the pickup is fixed close to the bottom of the tank and there is a small "sump" around the pickup to keep fuel there when you corner, brake etc.

It only takes one bad batch of fuel to contaminate your tank which is why I prefer to use high volume sites and avoid small servos in regional areas where possible.

[dangerous_daveo]

I've had mine with even driving at 30kms, and it took 52L or something. So for me, thats a tad close. Especially with the FSI engines that run high pressure, I would feel the potential of a fuel surge could be quite high, more so on the turbos.

I dunno, for the sake of it, I dont like risking it. And hey, with a full tank its what $5 tops the difference between filling up on the exxy day, and the 'cheap' day.