Who hasn’t been the victim of being out of gas when you’re sure you could have gone further in your car? It's commonly accepted that you can get anywhere from 30 miles to more than 100 miles on a low tank of gas. Drivers have a tendency to blindly trust their petrol tank, but there is a reason it could be dangerous to drive on empty.
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Never trust your gauge
Although cars nowadays are equipped with high-tech technology and indicators, the way the petrol gaugeworks is actually still quite basic. A bit like a floater in a tank, it actually measures the approximate level of petrol in your tank and not the real measurements. If your car is on a slope or a hill, the gauge can show a completely wrong measurement that can lead you to run right out of fuel. But that’s not all! Driving on a low tank can also cause problems for your engine and lots of damage to the car.
By running on an empty tank, the pumps and nozzles can be put under severe pressure. The fuel pump depends on the gasoline to stay lubricated and avoid overheating. So if there's not enough gasoline in your tank, your fuel pump will most likely suffer. And trust us—you don't want to get stuck in a situation where you have to replace your fuel pump yourself...
And that’s why, when your tank is less than a quarter full, it would be best to get to a service station as quick as you can to fill up.
Check out the video above for more...
