172 cup petrol guage/display

[jaf78]

Ive had my 172 cup for 8 weeks now, and up to now ive trusted the display which tells me how many miles i can get until empty. My petrol light usually comes on when theres about a gallon left which means i can usually do another 30 miles or so, but yesterday morning on the way to work my light came on, the display said 34 miles til empty, then half a mile along the road my car ran out of petrol

Am i being daft trusting the display or is there something wrong with it?

In 3 and a half years of having my 306 i never once ran out of petrol, but i got a few laughs at work when i went in 25 mins late. lol.

 

[Lagerlout]

Thats how I use mine. Never let me down yet. Mine goes to 32 miles left and then goes blank. Never done more than about 15 miles with the light on though.

 

[jaf78]

I was on my way to a shell garage a few miles away for some optimax. Maybe theres something wrong with the guage/display. Oh well, until i know im taking no chances.

 

[MickeyO]

right heres my experiences with the petrol lites etc.

The trip computer usual is around 33 miles left till fill up then the light comes on.

never ran out of petrol.

what i do find EXTREMLY annoying, is when the needle is like 1/4 of a tank left, the petrol light comes on???? it does this everynow and again.

highly annoying, cuz you never know which to beleive!

 

[jaf78]

My cup has been quite accurate when it comes to how much petrol is left, but when i had my 306 i caould floor it in 2nd gear and the lite would come on, then when you change to 4th gear and let the revs drop the lite goes off. It even did that when i went roun certain corners. lol.

 

[MarkCup]

Quote: Originally posted by jaf78 on 19 April 2005


Ive had my 172 cup for 8 weeks now, and up to now ive trusted the display which tells me how many miles i can get until empty. My petrol light usually comes on when theres about a gallon left which means i can usually do another 30 miles or so, but yesterday morning on the way to work my light came on, the display said 34 miles til empty, then half a mile along the road my car ran out of petrol

Am i being daft trusting the display or is there something wrong with it?

In 3 and a half years of having my 306 i never once ran out of petrol, but i got a few laughs at work when i went in 25 mins late. lol.

EXACTLY the same happened to me in the first few months of ownership...42 miles remaining...2 miles later I ground to a halt.

Its never done it since...and Ive run it for 30-40 miles after the lights come on.

Strange...?

 

[jaf78]

Very strange. Only thing is im not gonna be able to trust it from now on.

 

[Day]

Ive never allowed less than 80 miles worth of fuel left in the tank.

 

[jaf78]

Ill be doing that from now on. Its difficult working out how much fuel is left, as the needle on the petrol guage sits low when youre down to the last 2 gallon or so.

 

[Day]

Car runs like a dog with a low tank as well

 

[Fitz]

I know what you mean my 172 does the same, but out of interest how many miles do you get to a full tank? As i struggle to get above 230 miles to a full tank and thats not raggin it all the time

 

[SOOTY]

Im the same, i only get about 230, the most ive ever managed out of my 172 is 250 and that was pushing the orange light to the limit!. About the light coming on on quarter of a tank, mines done that once before but i found the reason was that my car was reversed onto my drive which is on a bit of a slant. I sometimes find that if your car is on an angle on a low tank for a certain amount of time it thinks that there is less petrol than there is. Just my thought but the petrol guages are sh*te mind, although im yet to find a cars which isnt. Ive had a Saxo, CTR, Impreza, they have all been iffy.

 

[Lagerlout]

Most Ive ever had is about 420 miles. Average is around 280-300.... which is how I know the mpg computer is a little generous. I calculate my MPG to be about 29 MPG..... My computer says 31.2.

 

[SOOTY]

Lager - So youve had 420 Miles out of your 172? or is it a 1.2?

 

[Day]

420 seems totaly unrealistic to me...

I do roughly 300 miles a week and fill up at least twice!

Thats with cheap fuel mind, optimax gets me 50 miles further

 

[SOOTY]

Day, you find that Optimax gets you extra miles? mind ive never tried Optimax in my Clio. I tried Ultimate Unleaded from Esso which was sh*te. I might try some optimax this week. I would say that 420 miles was totally unrealistic to me unless you have a Diesel or a 1.0ltr.. My girlfriend has a Dynamique and she can only get 370 miles or something and she drives like an old lady!.

 

[Day]

I find that with optimax I dont need to use the throttle so much.

I can then coast n burn on the motorway and dual carigeway sections and still maintain a decent speed.

But lets not start an Optimax vs Others debate - lol

 

[CHRIS172CUP]

Youre being lazy (lol) plus its not very nice to drag all the sh*t up from the bottom of the tank when its near empty. Try and fill up when it says more than 60-80 miles left on the computer.

I dont know about yours but the needle on mine goes down by 2 nothces from a fill up within 45 miles

 

[SOOTY]

Mine 2, must be a Vase shaped tank on these with a bottle neck which goes down quick.

 

[SOOTY]

Before i get any sarcastic comments, you know what i meant by Vase shaped... not as thin but the way the top is narrow and then goes fat through the middle.

 

[CHRIS172CUP]

lol

 

[SOOTY]

See i dont know you all but im just thinking what i would do if someone came out with a stupid Metaphor like that!. LOL.

 

[Fitz]

Well i am glad my 172 isnt the only one that drops two knotches after 50 miles, i thought the fuelling was wrong, plus there is more chance of winning the national lottery jackpot on a wednesday and saturday in the same week than getting 420 miles out of a 172 tank, lol

 

[SOOTY]

Theres probably more chance of winning the lottery jackpot without a ticket i would say!.

 

[Dave H]

1st week l had mine computer read 45 miles left then went blank.Did another 8 or so and it cut out......WHILST I WAS IN THE OUTSIDE LANE OF THE M60 !!!

I coasted across to the hard shoulder...just.It had read about 35 mpg.I just make sure l fill up a soon as the light comes on....thats what its there for l suppose.
I think that the MPG should be reset when the light comes on as this will give a more accurate reading of how you are burning up the remaining fuel.If you drive carefully for 220 miles at a rate of,say 40mpg then hammer the car to use up the remaining fuel lm sure the consumption rate will be inaccurate.
One for the maths students l guess

[Edited by RALLYPUG on 4/21/2005 8:20:41 AM]

[Edited by RALLYPUG on 4/21/2005 8:25:21 AM]

 

[Pete]

What youve got to remember is that the miles left to go are based on your average mpg and not current hence it cannot be relied upon.

 

[Leeshez]

Mine has been ok so far

 

[jaf78]

30 quid of optimax gets me about 250 miles. I usually get about 34mpg on average by the time i fill up. Not bad. I enjoy reseting the computer once ive filled up then driving like a grandad to see how high i can get it. Had it showing 43mpg for the first 10 mins once.