Gas gauge and low gas warning

[Gene S]

Today I ran the tank to near empty to get to the cheapest station in the area.

The warning light comes on at 20 miles remaining. It says I had 11 miles left.

I filled the tank and topped it off at 17.75 gallons in a 19 gallon tank.

So if you do the arithmetic I probably had about a gallon left.

The tank electronics were about right. I think someone a while ago was asking about this.

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[L-2]

I've not run my tank as low as Post 1 on my 2025 4Runner Trailhunter. What I do notice is, after the pump auto shuts off, usually at a California or Nevada Costco, I can put 1+ gallons more with several more squeezes and auto shutoffs. With my driving, after a fill up, I'll usually show ~307 miles as my total range.

I suspect totol range may be even further, depending on the freeway trip and route direction I take between CA and NV. Westbound will be further in actual range arrving at ~500 feet above sea level; eastbound goes from 500 feet arriving at 5000 feet with a 7200 foot climb over Donner Summit in-between.

I wish I had more range, but knew about the total range limitation when buying, but not the exact figures until after buying, owning, and driving it, so far for ~8700 miles. Another 100 miles of range would have been nice, which would be more than our 2017 Tacoma, but less than our 2014 Acura MDX.

There have been times where I filled up, maybe paying ~$1/gallon more. Having a full tank sure feels good for a little less than $20 more, but just paying more occasionally only.

 

[get.outside.75]

It gets to zero miles when you get to the "reserve" level of the tank (2.8g). I have run it past zero and added 16.5gal.

 

[MikeD]

I've done way too much on this topic so a few quotes from myself:

Per the manual, there are 2.8 gallons left when fuel indicator turns amber and low fuel message pops up. I've confirmed the details with real data and that 2.8 gallons is spot on. See 4runner range thread

I've always gotten the notification at a miles to go level consistent with the recent milage I'd been getting . Typically around 20-22 miles to go, where zero miles to go (reads REFUEL NOW) is equal to about 1.8 Gallons (30-40 miles) remaining. Some photo evidence below that I have because I use it instead of pen and paper (or Fuely) for recording exact fuel usage.

And note odo value when I filled

Lastly, tank range is dependent on lots of things - temperature (!), elevation change, wind, loaded weight, air dam off or on, bigger tires, etc. Over 45 fill-ups I've gotten as much in the summer as 388 on a tank with 12 miles left on the DTE gauge (and estimated 60 miles range left based on the reserve fuel and average MPG for that tank - so ~450 miles range. This range was relatively common in the summer and mostly stock TRD ORP.
But I've also gotten as little as 250 (adjusted) miles on a tank with 8 miles left on the DTE gauge at fill-up and estimated 46 miles range left - so <300 miles range. This was in mostly below zero F weather, on a trip that I know to have a net elevation gain of ~1000 feet over ~180 miles, with my 67# Toyo 285/75R18s and rock rails and skids installed. And loaded for tailgating (outdoor Hockey game - at least it was sunny and 20 degrees during the game). But also relatively common range for cold temps (no engine shutoff) and big heavy tires.

TMI, but the point is that there can be big swings in range depending on conditions.

Bottom line: my data - and the manual - says that there is always just about 2.8 gallons left when the light turns amber and the dash says "fuel low".

 

[Nodak]

it can vary wildly as posted above. i mean between my 14 4R limited and my 25 4R platinum its a slightly better in the new one. but right now i am playing a game of where i try to keep the mpg in the sweet spot with my driving. eventually i will get to the point i will just drive the vehicle and skip the hyper mile game.

2014

2025 (anything below 18 mpg is usually due to cold snaps and remote starts to warm up the vehicle)

 

[Joestac]

Also worth noting letting it get that low is not great for the vehicle as it can pick-up particulates and debris at the bottom of the gas tank. I try not to get below a 1/4 of a tank before filling up. That is just me and my opinion though. Feel free to ignore and do whatever.

 

[RandomSquirrel]

I last filled up 16.67 gal, drove 358 miles, and the "gauge" said 11 miles remaining. I have a '26 ORPH, so that tank averaged around 21-21.5mpg. I do a lot of short trips, with some longer stints thrown in (e.g. longer = 20-30 min with 90% highway) and just ticked over 2050 miles. I guess with that fill up, that tells me there was a little over 2 gal remaining (~19gal tank) of reserve.

 

[GAPx]

it can vary wildly as posted above. i mean between my 14 4R limited and my 25 4R platinum its a slightly better in the new one. but right now i am playing a game of where i try to keep the mpg in the sweet spot with my driving. eventually i will get to the point i will just drive the vehicle and skip the hyper mile game.

2014

2025 (anything below 18 mpg is usually due to cold snaps and remote starts to warm up the vehicle)

Anything below 18mpg seems routine for the Trailhunter. Anything above that means the wind is at your back and there's a downhill in front! (Real world experience unfortunately)

 

[Nodak]

Anything below 18mpg seems routine for the Trailhunter. Anything above that means the wind is at your back and there's a downhill in front! (Real world experience unfortunately)

the hybrid helps around town alot more than i thought it would. highway @ 75 mph i lose some mpg but 55 mph zones help the mpg (but thats normal for mpg for a brick in the wind)

 

[bakutheleo]

"Topping off:" That is not recommended. You will damage emission control components doing that. If you want to legitimately get a bit more you might be able to reduce the flow rate (go to the 1st lock on the nozzle handle rather than all the way) for the last bit, although not sure how much that would add (if any). Plenty of info online about topping off gas tanks.

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