Fuel Range

[fordyski100]

A word of caution
I have always been able to rely on modern vehicle fuel Range as indicated on Display .
However last week on A6 french motorway 8 miles from Calais on return from superb trip in the Cali to Spain ,disaster struck !
Calais 8 miles , fuel range 35 miles plenty of fuel until Dover i thinks.......engine cuts out with engine management coil light showing, at exact moment i am thinking this!
VW assist can't help as i am on French Motorway
Call 112 (French police/ recovery) . 40 Minutes later 1 gallon approx of fuel supplied by excellent recovery driver .(Who incidentally said in perfect English ...you are Stupid to rely on VW Fuel gauge .....i agreed i was stupid, full stop, at this point , to which their was a definite agreement from my better half!)

Cost ....202 euros including the 50% surcharge for recovery on a saturday!

I thought fuel was expensive in france + 1.66 euros per ltr , well hind-sight is a great thing but let me assure you, my very sensible better half who should be obeyed at all times ,was quite right on this occasion when she warned me not to rely on fuel range as we passed the last fuel station on A26 towards calais and i exclaimed "don't worry we have plenty of fuel left according to the computer".
Well 202 euros per gallon was slightly more than 1.66 euros per litre she has advised me.

Moral of story
Dont trust VW fuel Range and listen to those that should be obeyed .
I have tried to explain .....Its a bloke thing to run fuel as near to empty as possible and yes dear you can have those £250 pair of shoes now ........they are cheap compared to MY Fuel costs in France.

 

[Sad]

Similar story here too:

https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/what-happens-when-you-run-out-of-diesel.26106/#post-298464

 

[Velma's Dad]

Bad luck, but I bet Mrs Fordyski100's new Laboutins will look quite lovely. Can we have a picture?

 

[Gary&Heather]

I have tried to explain .....Its a bloke thing to run fuel as near to empty as possible and yes dear you can have those £250 pair of shoes now ........they are cheap compared to MY Fuel costs in France.

I bet she's enjoying those new shoes now....

 

[AlisonF]

Sorry to hear that.
The powers that be must have been looking after me a few weeks ago as I hadn’t refuelled before my 90 mile round trip to weekly dog agility class and the gauge was reading a range of 5 miles when I hit a queue of traffic a mile from the garage... I don’t think I breathed for the nexf few minutes. Needless to say both van and car have been kept topped up ever since...

 

[Max-Felix]

Wow, that's unusual - always thought these were very conservative - I too ran the SE down to 5 miles but lived to tell the tale.

 

[WelshGas]

A word of caution
I have always been able to rely on modern vehicle fuel Range as indicated on Display .
However last week on A6 french motorway 8 miles from Calais on return from superb trip in the Cali to Spain ,disaster struck !
Calais 8 miles , fuel range 35 miles plenty of fuel until Dover i thinks.......engine cuts out with engine management coil light showing, at exact moment i am thinking this!
VW assist can't help as i am on French Motorway
Call 112 (French police/ recovery) . 40 Minutes later 1 gallon approx of fuel supplied by excellent recovery driver .(Who incidentally said in perfect English ...you are Stupid to rely on VW Fuel gauge .....i agreed i was stupid, full stop, at this point , to which their was a definite agreement from my better half!)

Cost ....202 euros including the 50% surcharge for recovery on a saturday!

I thought fuel was expensive in france + 1.66 euros per ltr , well hind-sight is a great thing but let me assure you, my very sensible better half who should be obeyed at all times ,was quite right on this occasion when she warned me not to rely on fuel range as we passed the last fuel station on A26 towards calais and i exclaimed "don't worry we have plenty of fuel left according to the computer".
Well 202 euros per gallon was slightly more than 1.66 euros per litre she has advised me.

Moral of story
Dont trust VW fuel Range and listen to those that should be obeyed .
I have tried to explain .....Its a bloke thing to run fuel as near to empty as possible and yes dear you can have those £250 pair of shoes now ........they are cheap compared to MY Fuel costs in France.

Did it start a Regen of the DPF?

 

[Alan Andrews]

It is not recommended that you let a diesel tank get this low, as it can be very expensive fix.

I always apply the 100 miles rule with my diesels.

If the gauge says that I have 100 miles fuel left then I find the nearest station and fill up.

 

[fordyski100]

Did it start a Regen of the DPF?

No regen of DPF as far as i recalll

 

[GillianC]

A word of caution
I have always been able to rely on modern vehicle fuel Range as indicated on Display .
However last week on A6 french motorway 8 miles from Calais on return from superb trip in the Cali to Spain ,disaster struck !
Calais 8 miles , fuel range 35 miles plenty of fuel until Dover i thinks.......engine cuts out with engine management coil light showing, at exact moment i am thinking this!
VW assist can't help as i am on French Motorway
Call 112 (French police/ recovery) . 40 Minutes later 1 gallon approx of fuel supplied by excellent recovery driver .(Who incidentally said in perfect English ...you are Stupid to rely on VW Fuel gauge .....i agreed i was stupid, full stop, at this point , to which their was a definite agreement from my better half!)

Cost ....202 euros including the 50% surcharge for recovery on a saturday!

I thought fuel was expensive in france + 1.66 euros per ltr , well hind-sight is a great thing but let me assure you, my very sensible better half who should be obeyed at all times ,was quite right on this occasion when she warned me not to rely on fuel range as we passed the last fuel station on A26 towards calais and i exclaimed "don't worry we have plenty of fuel left according to the computer".
Well 202 euros per gallon was slightly more than 1.66 euros per litre she has advised me.

Moral of story
Dont trust VW fuel Range and listen to those that should be obeyed .
I have tried to explain .....Its a bloke thing to run fuel as near to empty as possible and yes dear you can have those £250 pair of shoes now ........they are cheap compared to MY Fuel costs in France.

You are quite right I think it is a bloke thing! The first time my husband took me on a date he ran out of petrol just as we got to the pub and my mum had to come and pick us up to get a can of fuel. Why????
Wheels also seem to be more a bloke thing.

 

[soulstyledevon]

It is not recommended that you let a diesel tank get this low, as it can be very expensive fix.

I always apply the 100 miles rule with my diesels.

If the gauge says that I have 100 miles fuel left then I find the nearest station and fill up.

Going by my refills lately, 300miles a tank.
I would have to fill up every 200 miles
ALWAYS tick the 80l fuel tank option...

 

[fordyski100]

You are quite right I think it is a bloke thing! The first time my husband took me on a date he ran out of petrol just as we got to the pub and my mum had to come and pick us up to get a can of fuel. Why????
Wheels also seem to be more a bloke thing.

Lol ......What a smashing guy......he got you to the pub..........and you married him .........and i am sure you get a lot of "mileage " out of that story

 

[EddieEagle]

You are quite right I think it is a bloke thing! The first time my husband took me on a date he ran out of petrol just as we got to the pub

I thought the "oh dear we've run out of petrol " game was to run out in a quiet lay-by !

 

[Elmo3]

Last week I thought I had plenty of range to get from Chinon to Rouen, to the Esso station which is €1.43 (well, it’s better than supermarket stuff). 100 mile surplus range according to the computer. As I was proceeding at 130kph, the range starting dropping quickly, to the point where I would apparently make it with a margin of 15 miles. I bottled it and filled up at €1.60. Sounds like it was a bargain!

 

[fordyski100]

Last week I thought I had plenty of range to get from Chinon to Rouen, to the Esso station which is €1.43 (well, it’s better than supermarket stuff). 100 mile surplus range according to the computer. As I was proceeding at 130kph, the range starting dropping quickly, to the point where I would apparently make it with a margin of 15 miles. I bottled it and filled up at €1.60. Sounds like it was a bargain!

Good desciscion .......Sometimes i wish i could be sensible .........however i draw the line now with 'she who IS now obeyed ', as part of the penance for not 'topping up 'with fuel in france she has utterred the word that shouldn't be mentioned .



MOTORHOME!!!!


NO not that ......please anything but that .........even 2 pairs of louboutins

I am beginning to think i made a bad descision trusting the VW fuel range ........not my fault honest

 

[Elmo3]

Good desciscion .......Sometimes i wish i could be sensible .........however i draw the line now with 'she who IS now obeyed ', as part of the penance for not 'topping up 'with fuel in france she has utterred the word that shouldn't be mentioned .



MOTORHOME!!!!


NO not that ......please anything but that .........even 2 pairs of louboutins

I am beginning to think i made a bad descision trusting the VW fuel range ........not my fault honest

Ha ha! I find it quite surprising in France that there can often be considerable distance between fuel stops. Of course, what I should have done was put in €10 at €1.60 then stopped again to fill up at €1.43. However, that would have caused a whole different world of pain and yes, the MH word has also been mentioned for 6 months in Europe...(hurry up, Grand Cali!).

 

[Amarillo]

Going by my refills lately, 300miles a tank.
I would have to fill up every 200 miles
ALWAYS tick the 80l fuel tank option...

I know I have done a lot of city driving if I get less than 500 miles from a tank. My MFD once promised a range of over 900 miles from a tank.

 

[Sad]

View attachment 38291 This was very close....thought I had 30 miles left.
It read zero when 2 miles away from nearest fuel station. Freewheeled downhill past the DVLA straight through traffic lights and put 78.36 litres in on first click.

 

[WelshGas]

I never rely on the Range information. Reasonably accurate if travelling on a motorway at a constant speed and flat, but once you bring into the equation changes in elevation and speed it becomes very iffy.
All it is doing is comparing the Fuel Consumption NOW with the amount of fuel left in the tank, - a small reserve to avoid running the High Pressure Fuel Pump dry. Not a good idea. I never run below 1/4 tank or 400 miles covered if possible.

 

[ArunAlec]

I never rely on the Range information. Reasonably accurate if travelling on a motorway at a constant speed and flat, but once you bring into the equation changes in elevation and speed it becomes very iffy.
All it is doing is comparing the Fuel Consumption NOW with the amount of fuel left in the tank, - a small reserve to avoid running the High Pressure Fuel Pump dry. Not a good idea. I never run below 1/4 tank or 400 miles covered if possible.

I love watching the range increase as you settle into a long motorway cruise after some town driving!

 

[Trev]

Ouch! Nearly had a similar experience on the autobahn this year. Range warning light came on. Decided to fill up at next petrol station as didn’t want to take any chances. No petrol stations for miles. Eventually pulled off and found a town with an automated petrol station at 5:00am cruising in on the vapours. It wasn’t my fault honest! Will adopt the 100 mile rule in future.

 

[AlisonF]

I had a similar experience again y’day. Took the ‘day car’ (not VW) for a service and was given a courtesy car with plenty of fuel... coasted into town on fumes and stopped breathing in traffic queues... it was definitely 25m less than it said it would do...
but on the plus side they said the service would take 4.5-5 hrs and called me back after less than 4 hrs asking for the courtesy van in 40 mins (I was out walking the dogs and it was still a 50min drive plus I needed to clean the internal windows as when I drove it from the garage I had to almost do an emergency stop when I turned into the evening sun as the internal windows were so greasy)...
A lot snappier than VW commercial in Scotland

 

[Guy/Louise]

I’m living life on the edge...20 miles to go... gulp!!!

 

[Ian S.]

When I first picked up my T6 purchased 2nd hand a few months ago, I wanted to get home and felt I just had enough range to do so. I limped into home fuel station with 0 on the range! Sounds like I was very lucky. I have always been very blokish and never listened to others in this situation and never had a problem working in the theory most cars do obviously under estimate what is left.

However this thread is a warning of the consequences esp. for diesels.

 

[Izzi]

I have tried to explain .....Its a bloke thing to run fuel as near to empty as possible and yes dear you can have those £250 pair of shoes now ........they are cheap compared to MY Fuel costs in France.

I bet she's enjoying those new shoes now....

Does she actually need your permission to buy a pair shoes from one who can't hear sense