Post by starburst604 on Feb 5, 2023 10:40:38 GMT -5
This post brought to you by this morning, when I was driving to teach kickboxing and I realized my gas light was on. I had enough to get there but knew I’d have to hit a gas station for the ride home. Somehow totally forgot and didn’t notice the gas light until I was almost home. Quickly put the car into eco mode and crossed my fingers I’d make it to the nearest gas station. My car is funny, when it gets to the 10 mile warning, it doesn’t go any lower. You could have 9 miles left or .5. It’s a guessing game.
I have a friend that gets stressed anytime she gets below a 1/2 gallon and has to fill it immediately. I usually wait until the gas light comes on, plus I use grocery points for a gas discount so I like to maximize what I’m pumping. Sometimes I send her pics of my near empty tank light to tease her.
So do you keep your tank full always or do you like the thrill of pulling up to the pump on fumes? I wonder if when I get an EV I’ll be the same about not charging it until I absolutely have to.
Oh, my gas light always comes on. I think I have a good 30 miles from that point so I usually do try to stop and get it almost right away once it's on, but sometimes if I'm just running an errand or two in my immediate vicinity I'll let it go longer. There are a lot of places within 2 miles of my house so I probably could get by for several days with my gas light on if I'm not leaving town!
Most of my life I’ve played Russian roulette with the gas light. With this car I have now I’ve been a bit better, usually never going below 1/4 of a tank. The app for it tells me exactly how many miles I have left. It also makes a fuss when you’re “low” - more than a light. Bells and messages etc. I feel shamed so I try to avoid it.
Once it gets to 1/3-1/4 of a tank I have to fill it. I do have a lot of anxiety around driving and running out of gas is one of them.
My dad is a let the gas light on kind of guy so when I shared a car with him as a teenager he'd say oh the light just came on, you have a good 40 miles of driving left. Uh, no dad. I'll be putting some gas in the car while I'm out. My mom is more like me so when I used her car when I was a teenager the gas light was never on.
My car displays how many miles until empty, and I once got down to zero (still made it to the gas station, which was thankfully downhill). And have been in the single digits a lot.
I don't drive that much and I hate getting gas, so I tend to put it off as long as possible.
I usually fill at 1/4. Right after hurricane Sandy when we couldn’t get gas scared me enough to fill up just below half for a while. Now I’ve relaxed a bit, lol.
Not to say the gas light never comes on but 1/4 is what I try for.
I can always see how many miles I have to go. My car forces me to acknowledge at 35 miles by clicking ok. I usually fill up anywhere under 100 miles to go and that number has been as low as 2.
Post by thebreakfastclub on Feb 5, 2023 11:09:15 GMT -5
I never, ever let that gas light come on. The lowest I go is generally 1/8 of a tank, if I know exactly where I can get gas, like near my office. If I'm somewhere unfamiliar I would fill up at 1/4 of a tank.
Also. I HATE pumping gas. I am a Very Spoiled Person and spent most of my life with a minute or two of gas. Now I am a bit farther (like 5-7 minutes) and the closest is Costco which, while inexpensive is a SHIT SHOW of epic proportions filled with people who have no sense of living in a society and it’s constantly busy like The End of Times. I try to go as infrequently as possible.
I drive 60 miles a day usually. I fill up once a week or so. I hate getting gas. I normally let the light come on or right up until the light comes on. I like to fill up at Sam’s because it’s cheaper but I hate waiting so it depends.
For daily local driving, at 1/4 tank I think ok I need gas soon, and get it whenever. Sometimes that’s the next day, sometimes it’s not until the light comes on. Sometimes I push it for a day past the gas light but I’ve never run out!
We also do the grocery rewards, so when the discount gets higher, it pays to wait a bit and maximize how much gas I can get at a low price.
If I’m going a longer distance, all that goes out the window and I fill up as needed.
My car displays how many miles until empty, and I once got down to zero (still made it to the gas station, which was thankfully downhill). And have been in the single digits a lot.
I don't drive that much and I hate getting gas, so I tend to put it off as long as possible.
Mine is the same with displaying the miles, but I usually fill up when it is just under 100 miles left. Mine is hybrid so the miles left can change quickly -- like drop 10 miles range even if I have only gone a mile. I am not used to that so I don't want to chance it!
The amount of fuel in my gas tank is directly related to the amount in my bank account. I don't have a commute which makes it easier. I start to stress when the light comes on, so I usually run it down to 50 miles left before I add gas to the tank.
I almost never fill up before that. And it's rare that I spring for a full tank.
Post by chilerellanos on Feb 5, 2023 11:25:28 GMT -5
I almost always fill back up when I get to about half.
I don’t have much of a commute. But my bf lives about 40 miles away, so I just tend to keep it full usually. Especially during the winter if it’s a nicer day, I’ll make sure it’s full, so I don’t have to pump gas when it’s really cold and gross out.
Often the light goes on, but depending on what kind of driving we have coming up (weekend trip, long drive to sports), I’ll fill up sooner to make sure we have a full tank.
As soon as the gas light comes on I have three gallons in the tank. Conservatively, I have 60 miles to fill up. I'm usually driving about 10-15 miles a day, but once the light comes on I'll try to time out a trip within the next 24 hours to get gas, which is usually at the grocery store for the reward points.
Post by lilypad1126 on Feb 5, 2023 11:40:25 GMT -5
I almost always fill up when I’m at 1/4 of a tank left. If I don’t have any long trips planned, I’ll let it go a little longer. I do a lot of driving on busy freeways and I’m always paranoid I’ll have only a few miles left and then get stuck in traffic for hours.
we use grocery store fuel points for discounts, so we always try to fill up together to maximize those points. So the loser to empty we are, the better. And my H lets his car get basically to empty before he’ll fill up. So stressful!
My husband is your friend. His butt clenches if the gauge reads under 1/4 tank; he saw the light come on once and wasn't quite sure what it was. He once had the vapor freeze in his car during a cold snap which is an experience he didn't want to repeat.
There was a time when this was a massive bone of contention in our marriage as it his fussing made him so unattractive to me that I had to tell him to knock it TFO or I was going anywhere by car with him. The car in question was mine, btw. He rarely drove his because it was a stupid choice that annoyed him. My parents were both fume-riders which was irksome to me.
That said, we share a car now but I do most of the driving and almost all of the gassing up. Normally I top the tank off at Costco when I go there for my weekly run. I don't bother if I'm around 3/4 of a tank but will for 1/2 a tank because gas is $$$ where I live and I only go to Costco once a week usually. (In PA gas prices are set by zip code and mine is higher than most)
Ha! My husband and I are completely opposite with this. He’s a fill it up at half tank. I’m a “ooh 60 miles I can definitely go a few days!”
Lowest I’ve ever got was single digits and at that point I did stop at the closest to put a few bucks in. Like others we use grocery rewards so I try to fill up at the store
I fill up when the notification pops up. I do check my miles to empty before any sort of longer early morning drive. I may fill up before hitting the road for a trip, but that depends where I'm going since gas is much cheaper about an hour east over the mountain.
I lived and commuted in metro Atlanta during a major gas shortages (2008ish?) and for a while after that I felt a need to stay above half a tank. That fear faded after a while and I went back to filling up with the light. Now most of my driving is within a 5 mile radius and we don't have traffic here, so I worry less when I get low. Sometimes I wait a bit longer, like yesterday the light came on but I'm not getting gas when it's -10 degrees. I'll get it today instead.