Anything below half a tank and I will probably fill up if I pass a convenient in & out gas station while I’m out. At 1/4 tank, I’m making it a priority to fill up. It might sound paranoid, but I feel like there have been a few times in recent years where there’s been a rush on gas for one reason or another and I feel better (esp living in TX) knowing that we could get in the car and get the fuck out of here if necessary.
You know, it’s funny, I’m a huge procrastinator, my house is usually a wreck, I put things off and it screws me up on the regular. But, when it comes to gas, I usually fill up when I’m around 1/4 tank. My gas light comes on when I have about 60 miles left and I always fill it up by then. Having less than that freaks me out. Having 5 miles left would put me into a fetal position.
Post by whattheheck on Feb 5, 2023 12:04:44 GMT -5
Gas wise - always before 1/4 tank. It’s better for the fuel pump and fuel filter if you don’t let it get below that.
Time wise - if I’m at half and I know it won’t be convenient to stop in the next few days and I’m passing a gas station. I’m pretty rural so I don’t pass a gas station on a daily basis.
Trip wise: before a big road trip or before I’m heading into NYC (because I don’t know off-hand where the gas stations are in Manhattan or Brooklyn. I’ll often stop at the last exit on the Palisades in NJ just to be certain bc that stresses me the fuck out.)
I fill up every Saturday because my kids have a class right near Costco gas. Usually I’m close to empty so it works out. I think I have over two gallons when it hits empty (when it says 10 miles or less). When I have a quarter tank my car tells me I should fill up.
When it’s fire or storm season and are on evacuation watch I usually do try and have at least a 1/2 tank so if we have to evacuate we don’t need to worry about gas.
I lost my (completely filled up) car in a hurricane and gas stations were inoperable for months. When I replaced my car and found a station with gas that took cards, I would fill up. I would start looking at 3/4 tank and usually not go much below 1/2 tank. I gradually calmed and got down to looking at 1/2 tank. Now that everything is normal (4 years later), I refill at 1/4 or every Friday, whichever comes first.
Pre-hurricane, I lived on the edge and filled up with the light.
Post by mrsukyankee on Feb 5, 2023 12:20:21 GMT -5
We only drive every several weeks, so a tank of petrol lasts a very long time. We'll usually fill up when we're below 1/4 tank and we drive by a gas station (which isn't necessarily something that will happen in many of our drives to places in London). I don't think we've gotten much below 1/8 of a tank for a very long time.
My habits depend on where I'm driving and what season it is.
Around town - the gas light comes on at 50km. I usually fill up around 70, but am nonplussed if the light comes on.
On a road trip through a mountain pass with no station for hundreds of km and no cell service? Fill up at home and top off twice more on the way. Especially if it's poor weather and there is any chance of being stopped on the highway for a while and needed to idle to keep warm.
I try to fill up once I'm just under a 1/4 tank. I have seen the light come on, but it's usually on the way to the station.
The other adult in my house lives on the edge. The light will come on and he will still be driving around town, NBD. Insists there is an "emergency tank." Yah, ok. I don't care but in the rare occasion I have to take his car, it's usually a last minute or emergency situation when I don't want to add "find gas station" to the list.
I usually fill up once it's down to a 1/4 tank or immediately after the gas light comes on. It's just a habit my parents instilled in me when I first started driving.
My car also counts down the mileage, and I usually fill up when I have about 60 miles remaining, and the gas light comes on around 20 or 25 I think? I don't know exactly because I do everything in my power to not let that light come on.
It's hyper aggressive in my car and startling AF. The light comes on with an incredibly loud bing, it flashes a please refuel message in the driving console space (where the speed, time, etc, is displayed), and then also starts popping messages in the nav unit about, "would you like to drive to the nearest station?" I find it incredibly stressful, and want to avoid it at all costs.
I usually fill up when I go to Kroger because of fuel points. So if I'm picking up or shopping myself, I just go ahead and fill up. That could be 1/2 or 1/4.
I have let the light come on, but it's such a PITA to get it on the way home from work, that I've just decided that if I'm near a 1/2 and I'm by Kroger, I'll fill up.
Gas becomes a big commodity before hurricanes, so it's one of those things that I don't want to be looking for it if we do evacuate.
I usually try to fill around a 1/4 tank or when my car tells me I have less than 100 miles. Do I actually fill then? Only sometimes 😂 I've been known to get it down to the point where I'm really pushing it to go into town (15ish miles one way) and H hates it. He fills up constantly, probably around a half tank. I do fill up if I'm going past Costco and under like 3/4 tank because it saves me money in the long run and we're not always in that area!
Post by arehopsveggies on Feb 5, 2023 13:14:40 GMT -5
Mine won’t count below 50 when the light comes on. So that’s annoying because if I’m only going to work and back I can go all week with the light on.
I use grocery store rewards to save $1 a gallon up to 25 gallons so I really want to be as empty as possible when I fill up. So usually once a month in town, or anytime we go out of town since everywhere else has cheaper gas
I’ve made friends nervous when we carpool to the pool an hour away in the summer. It’s all downhill and the gas is much cheaper there, so I will be on empty and just go anyway- Which the car saying “would you like help locating a gas station?!?!”
Post by expectantsteelerfan on Feb 5, 2023 13:17:32 GMT -5
I'm more like your friend. When it gets to 1/4 a tank, I fill up. Our grocery point program recently changed from a percentage off to a dollar amount off, which makes it even less of a reason to try to empty the tank before filling up, so any time that I am not in a hurry that I am passing that gas station and I'm near 1/4 a tank, I stop to fill up. I can count the number of times my gas light has come on with one hand.
In theory I fill up at a quarter tank. In reality, I wait until my husband drives my car (this happens at least 5 times a week) and have him do it. If the light is on and I don't forsee him driving, I fill up.
I once read that the less gas you have in your car the more it uses to run. I have no idea if this is true but it stuck with me. I almost never go below 1/4. Right now the cheapest gas is near my church so I fill up every Sunday whether I need to or not. Today it meant I filled up at over half full.
There’s a Costco right by work. Unless I have a big fuel discount on my grocery card, I typically go to Costco on my way to work when I’m in the 1/4-1/8 of a tank range. I like going early, there isn’t usually a big wait, and it’s one less thing to think about on my way home. I hate buying “full price” gas at the stations by my house which are typically about $0.30 more/gallon than Costco.
I definitely start stressing at 1/2 tank. Usually fill up around 1/4. On the rare occasion it has gotten to the point my light came on, it’s a full on panic.
I once read that the less gas you have in your car the more it uses to run. I have no idea if this is true but it stuck with me. I almost never go below 1/4. Right now the cheapest gas is near my church so I fill up every Sunday whether I need to or not. Today it meant I filled up at over half full.
My car runs differently on a full tank. It's obvious enough for even me to notice. Even giving her half a tank gives her more get up and go and I can tell when she's hungry 😅
I love driving on a full tank. It's a noticeable difference.
Post by midwestmama on Feb 5, 2023 15:24:16 GMT -5
I don't like to let it get below 1/2 tank. When I commuted full time to the office, it meant at least 2 fill-ups a week, but now that I WFH most days, I usually only need to fill up once a week.