I’m definitely more cautious when snow is in the forecast. About 15 years ago there was a snowstorm that started right before evening rush hour and accumulated so rapidly that it paralyzed traffic in the Boston area. I was stuck in the same spot for hours. My normally 40 minute commute was 4 hours. My gas needle had been between 1/4 and 1/2 tank when I left work. I ended up turning off my car so I wouldn’t run out of gas but I was freezing. I remember finally seeing state troopers walking through the traffic because there was no way to get their cruisers through and sometime after that they finally got the road moving. So I always fill up if snow is coming.
My H tends to my car about once every 7-10 days. He shakes out the floor mats, fills up the tank, tops off fluids if needed etc. It's usually at about 1/2 tank when he fills it up. I never asked him to do this, he just wants to.
I have a Prius and get 50+ mpg so I let it get as low as 50 miles to empty (1/10 tank)before I refill. I also plan it according to my schedule and when it’s easy to fill up.
Before the Prius I got gas at 1/4 tank religiously.
Dh is a gaslight person and has pulled in to a station on literal fumes more than once and has run out of gas once.
Post by hannahgruen on Feb 5, 2023 17:26:57 GMT -5
I have never had the gas light come on, because I worry about running out while I'm on a busy street (I live in a busy city). I fill up between 1/2 and 1/3 tank.
Post by steamboat185 on Feb 5, 2023 18:15:46 GMT -5
If we are just driving around town I often let the gaslight turn on, but if I’m out camping or far from the city we are a bit more cautious and try to stay closer to 1/4 tank.
I fill up at 1/4 tank. If it's winter and very cold/bad weather, I try to keep it to a 1/2 tank. When I was commuting 2 hours a day round trip to work the last 14 years, I tried to keep it to a half tank because it was a rural route with not a ton of gas stops on the way. Now I mainly WFH and my car gets driven a lot less and usually in a city with plenty of gas stops.
Post by penguingrrl on Feb 5, 2023 18:28:21 GMT -5
I usually fill it when it’s down to 1/4 tank. That habit started with my first car because the gas gauge in that car was unreliable below 1/4 tank and sometimes it would say 1/4 tank but when I went to get gas it will fill a full 10 gallons (it was like a 10 gallon tank). I never changed away from that. The handful of times in my life the gas gauge has come on I got panicky and rushed to the first station available lol!
H proudly announced that when his car got down to 0 miles he once made it another 2 to the nearest station and I nearly died.
I fill it at 1/2 tank. I got in the habit when I was pregnant and continued ever since. It’s oddly stress free to pump my gas a bit more often, only in good weather (relatively), and only when convenient.
Years ago, I did help a young driver when she was stranded on a poorly lit road after she ran out of gas. It was nighttime and dark and she waited in my car until her boyfriend brought her some gas. She seemed fine but I wasn’t in a rush and we both figured it was safer than waiting alone. She said it was the third time she’d run out of gas and she was a bit afraid that his family was going to think of her as “the girl who runs out of gas”.
Three times? Oh, girl, you are definitely going to be nicknamed the girlfriend who runs out of gas. I told her not to worry about it.
I usually wait until the gas light comes on, unless I'm at Costco and then I'll usually fill up if I'm under 3/4 of a tank.
I can see two gas stations from my condo and probably pass 10+ on my 15 minute commute, so I'm not worried about not being able to make it to the station.
When I was the primary driver of our gas SUV , I put gas in once it was below 1/4 tank. Amount depended on how much cash I had on me. Usually I would just put $20 in. If we were going on a road trip, the tank would get filled if there was less than 3/4 of tank.
Now DH works from home and the gas vehicle basically goes on a 5 mile round trip mon-Friday(DH drives younger kid to school) and sits in the driveway all weekend. I rarely drive it. I drive the electric car to work daily. It is also our main family vehicle. We only use the gas SUV if we plan on driving more than 200 miles round trip(range of electric is about 250) or if we need the extra cargo space or 3rd row.
When DH was commuting, he had a 120 mile round trip. His work had free charging stations which is why we decided an electric car was worth the money. Now that we basically only charge at home, we plug in once we have less than 100 miles. The charging infrastructure isn’t the greatest here if you do not have a Tesla(we have a Chevy bolt) so we play it safe.
My car is strange, it only has a 10.6 gallon tank. The low fuel indicator comes on when there is exactly 2 gallons left, and my car gets on average 28+ miles to the gallon, so I know I can go at least 50 miles before I'm on E. I get gas soon after the indicator comes on (it's not a light, it's a colored bar on the fuel indicator); I drive maybe 20 miles per weekday.
I usually fill at 1/2 tank and always on Sundays and Fridays to keep topped off for the week/weekend. I try to park my car 1-2 days/week to conserve gas.
I'm all over the place with this. I'd say about 80% of the time I fill up around 1/4 of a tank. Another 15% of the time I fill it up when the light is on but I'm not riding E. Then there is the 5% of the time when I underestimate how much driving I have to do/keep forgetting to get gas and I'm praying and swearing and only accelerating strategically, in order to get to a gas station.
I WFH, so sometimes a tank lasts me a long time and other weeks I go through it fast if I'm doing a lot of running around, doctors' appointments, etc. I'm another born-and-raised Midwesterner, so the tank gets filled up no matter what if there is weather coming.
Post by SusanBAnthony on Feb 5, 2023 20:42:42 GMT -5
I've been a "drive 40 more miles after the light comes on" person my whole life, but I recently have been trying to become a "fills the tank up every Sunday" kind of person, because it's ridiculous how inconvenient waiting until the last minute is compared to doing it in the weekend.
I tried to convince my H that he should be called to do that for me but it was a failure.
I usually get gas around 1/4 to 1/8 of a tank, but I pass multiple gas stations a day so I am never really too concerned if the light would come on, I can get to one quickly. But if the light DOES come on, like someone else said I'll stop whatever I'm doing and get gas first.
Usually quarter full. My gas light comes on when I have 65 miles left, so I sometimes see it. Usually I’ll fill up before then, but sometimes if I know I don’t have anywhere to go for a few days I’ll just wait until the next time I have a drive to fill up.
Post by basilosaurus on Feb 5, 2023 22:07:03 GMT -5
Back when I had lights, I'd let it come on and then try to get to a station soonish. That was usually about a quarter tank. It allowed me to plan for costco.
I now have such a POS there are no lights. Often the speedometer doesn't even register. But I rarely go more than a few kms, so I've lost the ohshit I might be stuck fear. People will literally bring me a liter in a water bottle (trust, I've been shocked at how normal this dangerous practice is), so I can always limp to a pump.
In high school my sister had driven home from about a 30 minute drive, much of which was freeway. My mom moved the car out of the driveway the next morning whereupon it died immediately. This 17yo kid took a fairly long trip with no fuel. She was in super big trouble. Enough so they told me about it even though I was out of state in college.
I honestly couldn't tell you the last time I was given miles estimate.
In the winter, I fill up when it’s not windy or ridiculously cold. (And I choose my stations accordingly. Some are warmer than others because of sun/location/wind blocks). If I’m below 3/4 of a tank and have a few seconds on a “nice” day, I’ll top it off. If snow is coming, I’ll also top off, even if it’s already miserable outside.
In the summer, I usually push the limits. (I Can reset my “miles remaining” portion after 50…but need to keep resetting every 5 miles.) We were VERY lucky when we got hit by a Derecho that we had gas in our vehicles. There was ONE gas station in town that had gas, and the wait was hours long. We had enough gas to get out of the damage (30 miles) comfortably. I swore I had learned my lesson and would never let it go below 1/2 tank again. There was nothing like that peace of knowing that we weren’t limited on our ability to get to safety by gas. Unfortunately, that didn’t last…though if we have predicted severe storms, I do think about it.
I never fill before the light comes on, and even then I know I can go 30 miles or so. But my 8 yo hounds me as soon as the light is on and starts stressing on my behalf, so I do go to the gas station ASAP if he's in the car so he'll leave me alone about it.
I have never run out of gas.
ETA, we also don't work outside the home anymore, so mostly drive locally and not when it's blizzarding. I used to have a hellish commute and was more careful in winter.
Post by polarbearfans on Feb 5, 2023 22:41:11 GMT -5
I usually ride the gas light for a few days. It comes on with like 70 miles left and does a countdown. I fill when it only shows —- instead of remaining miles. I press my luck more the colder it is because I don’t like to be out. I fill up no matter the cost so I don’t have to get gas again until it runs out.
Post by UMaineTeach on Feb 5, 2023 23:26:25 GMT -5
I try to catch it at a quarter tank, because the level drops like a rock from there. The gas light also comes in with a gallon left, so when it comes on, it’s pretty much an emergency.
I have terrible anxiety but my gas tank couldn’t bother me less. I always wait for the light to come on, unless it’s close to that and I’m near Costco already. There are so many gas stations nearby that unless I’m on a road trip and not sure of the gas station situation, I don’t want to spend extra time filling up.
I usually fill up at Costco or Sam’s so if I am already at one and at a half or lower I will fill up. I have gone longer periods of time without hitting one or just driving more ‘other places’ than normal and have gone down to basically less than 5 miles. My car just goes to ‘—‘ on the gas gauge around 30 miles so then I have to keep track which is highly annoying and also there can be a few miles between stations in suburbia so I try not to go too low because DH will never let me live that down. Even though he once ran out in our driveway.