At what level do you fill your car's fuel tank?

[randomness]

[Poll #1714922]

Comments

[mizkit.livejournal.com]

I'm all about Some Other Answer, as we have no car. :)

[bercilakslady.livejournal.com]

I do not currently own a car, but when I did I would fill it around 3/8 full.

[woodwardiocom.livejournal.com]

We fill it when the little "Fill Me, Seymour!" light comes on, which is around 1/8th of a tank.

[jendaviswilson.livejournal.com]

Technically it is when the gas light comes on, which is probably closer to 1/8. But I rarely am further than a couple of miles from a gas station, and my daily commute is shorter than the amount of gas left if I can't fill right away, as I can do it the next trip. Your "at what level" question is vague--I go seek a gas station at empty, and fill to full. Who refills their tank at full?

When on road trips I keep a closer eye on it. I have never run out of gas enough to stall.

And because my driving is very predictable, I tend to go empty about once every two weeks, and so I get a car wash at the same time at one of those drive-through washes, which is only $3 with gas. When I have to fill at a different gas station, my dusty car bugs me.

[ladybird97.livejournal.com]

I'm a slacker - I almost never fill it up unless it's on empty :) The one exception is if I'm coming across the border from the US to Canada, where I almost always fill up on the US side because gas is so much cheaper there.

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

No car. No gas. No problem. :-)

[chanaleh.livejournal.com]

I almost always wait for the fuel indicator as well, and I count that as "empty", even if it's technically more like 1/8 tank. :-} (Mine actually seems to come on around 1 gallon remaining, out of an apparent capacity of 11 gallons.)

[spinrabbit.livejournal.com]

I drive zipcars; the rule is that they must be returned with at least 1/4 tank, so I refuel then. When I drove my own car, I would refuel at the last possible moment.

[theloriest.livejournal.com]

I don't drive much anymore. But if I borrow somebody's car, I always refill it after I am done as a thank you for letting me borrow their car.

When I had my own car, I would refill it at around a quarter tank.

[chhotii.livejournal.com]

2) Often Rich fills it
3) What fraction does "soon after the indicator light comes on" correspond to?

[digitalemur.livejournal.com]

I marked 1/8 but my refuel notice comes on at more like 1/10 remaining, and that's when I really do it.

[contrariety.livejournal.com]

There's a point - it's about halfway between 1/8 and Empty - where if I have to park my car facing downward on a hill, the gas is wrongly positioned to flow into the intake (or something - I've never seen the inside of my gas tank, so I'm really guessing). Therefore, I have to refill when it gets to that point, or I risk embarrassing calls to AAA.

[donnad.livejournal.com]

I tend to fill mine around 1/4 tank, but if I know I'm going to be going someplace and have around or less than half tank, and think I may need to gas up enroute, then I will fill it before I start my trip.
So it really depends on the circumstances for me.

[bryant]

I don't really understand the difference between gas tanks and lithium-polymer batteries, so I let my gas tank run down almost all the way to empty before recharging it.

[irielle.livejournal.com]

During the cold season, Anton told me to fill it up whenever it gets to about half a tank because he said you don't want your gas tank too empty when it's cold out. Since I grew up in lands of year round warmth, I take his word for it, although it varies depending on how cold and windy it is outside when I get close to half a tank. During the warmer months I tend to fill it up at around 1/4 tank, because I'm paranoid.

[tyellas.livejournal.com]

Because my abode is about 1/6th of a tank away from the nearest metropolitan area, if I'm at 1/4 and I expect to go metropolitan twice, I'll fill or top up. Fuel prices in NZ are rocketing at the moment.

[sarakate.livejournal.com]

Quite a lot of my driving is in the 100-mile round trip range (that's the round trip to my mom's house, for instance), and I don't care to set off for that with less than a quarter tank, so it seems like that's usually about where I end up filling it. If I'm just tooling around locally, though, I'll let it get to the point where the indicator comes on (just below 1/8), and then go fill it up as the last thing before I go home on that particular trip out; I've discovered through practical experience that if I decide I'll wait till the next time I head out, I will be running late that time. :)

I rarely wait for the light to come on

[drwex]

Usually it's somewhere below 1/4 but can be higher if it's Friday. This is due to passing three gas stations on the way to/from work but it requiring a special trip otherwise. Thus my fill level is most strongly correlated with my own laziness/convenience.

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

Do you mean you have an all-electric car or a hybrid?

"tank" implies there's liquid fuel, not batteries, but I will certainly change the question to clarify.

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

Your "at what level" question is vague--I go seek a gas station at empty, and fill to full.

How would you clarify the question? I mean to ask what level the respondent decides to refill the tank.

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

3) What fraction does "soon after the indicator light comes on" correspond to?

I believe this is vehicle-dependent, so I thought I would leave that to the respondent to answer.

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

Sure. :)

But what did you do when you did fill the tank in a vehicle? I mean, if you ever did fill the tank on a regular basis.

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

Sure. :)

I am wondering, though, what you did when you did fill the tank in a car, assuming you ever did so.

I suppose I should think of a way to clarify that.

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

(that question I asked should have been phrased:

Do you drive an all-electric car? Or, instead, do you drive a hybrid?)

Re: I rarely wait for the light to come on

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I figured "My refueling decisions are not well correlated with the level of fuel currently in the tank" might be the answer for some people as well as me. :)