I ran out of gas today

[DavidV]

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I had gone 2.5 months and 3900 miles since my last fill-up, but had to take a long trip today (140 miles). Just for grins, I ran the Volt out of gas on purpose. I put it in mountain mode, and just drove it until the engine died and the car switched back to electric with 14 miles range. I drove until I had 4 miles left and then filled up. The most interesting thing about the experience is that the trip odometer said I had used 9.6 gallons, and I put 9.753 gallons in the car. Pretty good for a 9.3 gallon tank! I'm still impressed with the highway mpg in gas mode. 40.9 MPG average at 67mph.

[Voltmeister]

YAY! I think it's cool we can actually play with our cars...when was the last time you did that?

Cheers

[BAZINGA]

I've read this is possible and will cause no harm to engine. That's pretty cool and thanks for showing us this is possible. I just completed a 900 mile trip and as I got down to 99 miles left on the tank I started feeling uneasy as I was on ruarl roads in Arkansas on a Sunday and hadn't seen a gas station in many miles.

Thanks for sharing.

[MVRacing]

Ummm, when that happens to me I always wonder about the calibration of the pump. One station in Oregon I put 73 gallons into a 68 gallon tank...go figure. Complained to the manager... no effect. I called the state office of weight & measures and reported them.

[mixedpixel]

Ummm, when that happens to me I always wonder about the calibration of the pump.

A few weeks ago when filling up at the local Costco, I stopped filling and pulled out the filler nozzle. When I looked over at the pump to see how much gas I had put in, the numbers were still going up! They weren't moving fast - probably a cent every couple of seconds. But not even a drop of gas was coming out of the nozzle, so it was not very reassuring that I didn't get ripped off.

[silvercorvette]

I did the same thing last Feb or March. I also used MM to make sure I could get to a station without gas. But some may not be aware of this, after you run out of battery power the car switches to gas (in normal mode) but when you run out of gas the car still has enough charge it holds in reserve to let you continue driving normally to a gas station. Then even after you run out of reserve battery power the car will continue in limp mode at reduced power to hopefully get you to a station.

The people that designed this car really thought of everything.

[Bob_Livonia]

Attachment 5611Attachment 5610
Just for grins, I ran the Volt out of gas on purpose. I put it in mountain mode, and just drove it until the engine died and the car switched back to electric with 14 miles range. I drove until I had 4 miles left and then filled up. The most interesting thing about the experience is that the trip odometer said I had used 9.6 gallons, and I put 9.753 gallons in the car. Pretty good for a 9.3 gallon tank!

Yeah, you are way too cool! There's already been a thread on this from a guy who got stranded by the side of the road thinking he would get 10 miles after he ran out of gas. (http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread....d-Your-Battery)

Yes, it won't hurt your engine, but what about your expensive in-tank fuel pump and the very expensive lithium-ion battery? The fuel pump is not designed to be run dry, and the limp-home mode is very stressful on the battery - the lower limit was set there for a reason; else GM could have advertised several more miles of range.

As far as the 9.753 gallons (you are very precise), do you stop at the first or second click, or are you one of the people who keep clicking the nozzle until you are putting gas on the ground? The tank is designed with a space for expansion (especially with the sealed tank). You can trick the shutoff and use this space, but are likely to damage the emissions system (including the charcoal cannister) if the fuel has to expand enough to send fuel out of the tank into the other plumbing in the fuel system.

Mountain mode will be producing high-cost electricity from gas, and unless you use all the electric range by the time you get to your destination, you are wasting money. There has been debate over whether it is more efficient to use MM on the highway and save battery miles for stop and go (normal CS mode will do this anyway), but I haven't seen anyone prove they are saving money, and I've seen people come around to the other way of thinking; to let the car decide for you.

[dax777]

Attachment 5611Attachment 5610
I had gone 2.5 months and 3900 miles since my last fill-up, but had to take a long trip today (140 miles). Just for grins, I ran the Volt out of gas on purpose. I put it in mountain mode, and just drove it until the engine died and the car switched back to electric with 14 miles range. I drove until I had 4 miles left and then filled up. The most interesting thing about the experience is that the trip odometer said I had used 9.6 gallons, and I put 9.753 gallons in the car. Pretty good for a 9.3 gallon tank! I'm still impressed with the highway mpg in gas mode. 40.9 MPG average at 67mph.

Thanks for sharing the experience, almost like being there...its good to know this is possible with the Volt, absolutely love this car...may miles of smiles be yours....

[dax777]

Yeah, you are way too cool! There's already been a thread on this from a guy who got stranded by the side of the road thinking he would get 10 miles after he ran out of gas. (http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread....d-Your-Battery)

Yes, it won't hurt your engine, but what about your expensive in-tank fuel pump and the very expensive lithium-ion battery? The fuel pump is not designed to be run dry, and the limp-home mode is very stressful on the battery - the lower limit was set there for a reason; else GM could have advertised several more miles of range.


As far as the 9.753 gallons (you are very precise), do you stop at the first or second click, or are you one of the people who keep clicking the nozzle until you are putting gas on the ground? The tank is designed with a space for expansion (especially with the sealed tank). You can trick the shutoff and use this space, but are likely to damage the emissions system (including the charcoal cannister) if the fuel has to expand enough to send fuel out of the tank into the other plumbing in the fuel system.

Mountain mode will be producing high-cost electricity from gas, and unless you use all the electric range by the time you get to your destination, you are wasting money. There has been debate over whether it is more efficient to use MM on the highway and save battery miles for stop and go (normal CS mode will do this anyway), but I haven't seen anyone prove they are saving money, and I've seen people come around to the other way of thinking; to let the car decide for you.

Just curious, which mode do you use on the highway versus city stop and go traffic?

[holland_patrick]

[QUOTE=Bob_Livonia;144415

As far as the 9.753 gallons (you are very precise), do you stop at the first or second click, or are you one of the people who keep clicking the nozzle until you are putting gas on the ground? The tank is designed with a space for expansion (especially with the sealed tank). You can trick the shutoff and use this space, but are likely to damage the emissions system (including the charcoal cannister) if the fuel has to expand enough to send fuel out of the tank into the other plumbing in the fuel system.
[/QUOTE]

This is true as my Volt needed to go in for service less then 5 days after i had her because of over filling at the dealership.. they needed to replace the pump and the can. It will be click and done for me.