Larry Harvilla

Long-time lurker, once in a blue moon poster, who nonetheless
appreciates the hard work you put in on this group.

I wanted to ask a few questions about the various behaviors of the 07
Sonata (SE V-6, if it matters) when it is running low on fuel. I've seen
a few things in the hmaservice.com shop manuals, but I'm still not clear
on a few others.

-- The low fuel warning light, lower right corner of the dash, should
come on at 9 L (~2.4 gals) of fuel remaining, correct?

-- I've noticed how the range calculation in the trip computer
(immediately above the odometer) goes to all dashes and blinks once it
estimates less than 30 miles of range remaining. Once, I ran the car 20
miles past the point where the blinking dashes started, so theoretically
I should have had 10 miles of range left, or roughly a half gallon.

However, only 16.3 gallons of fuel then went into what is claimed to be
a 17.7 gallon tank. Does the Sonata do something like, e.g., my friend's
Honda motorcycle, and tell you 'you're empty and you'd better fill up
NOW' when you really still have about a gallon in the tank?

-- How accurate would it be, in your estimation, to watch for the start
of the dashes, then add 30 to the odometer and figure that's the
stalling-out point? Or, to ask it another way, have you seen Sonatas go
significantly more or less than 30 miles on the dashes?

-- If I felt crazy enough to experiment with it, by carrying a gas can
in my trunk, intentionally running it out to figure out where the
run-out point is, and using the can's contents just to get to the
nearest gas station, I shouldn't cause any permanent damage to anything,
right?

--
Larry Harvilla
e-mail: larry AT phatpage DOT org
blog-aliciousness: http://www.phatpage.org/news/

Highways section still in progress at http://www.phatpage.org/highways.html

Edwin Pawlowski

"Larry Harvilla" <larry@phatpage.org> wrote in message
> -- How accurate would it be, in your estimation, to watch for the start
> of the dashes, then add 30 to the odometer and figure that's the
> stalling-out point? Or, to ask it another way, have you seen Sonatas go
> significantly more or less than 30 miles on the dashes?

In 46 years of automobile ownership I've never had a car with a gauge that
was truly accurate or linear. Every one that I've had with a warning light
seemed to be pessimistic but I've never tried to prove it.

OTOH, with the price of gas going up on a regular basis, I try to fill up
around a half tank because waiting can add another dime a gallon or so.

Zotto

"Larry Harvilla" <larry@phatpage.org> ha scritto nel messaggio
news:ItidnSMmPNfomoHVnZ2dnUVZ_oqhnZ2d@giganews.com ...

>... intentionally running it out to figure out where the
> run-out point is, and using the can's contents just to get to the
> nearest gas station, I shouldn't cause any permanent damage to anything,
> right?
>

Wrong You could seriously dmage the fuel pump, better to fill fule asap
when light comes on.



--
Zotto Sonica barbonica driver
http://www.flickr.com/photos/zottoida/

B.C. MALLAM

This brings up a question, I siphon fuel from my car for my mower however I
am unable to siphon from my new '08 Elantra, this is with a full tank. Any
ideas?


On 5/3/08 7:44 AM, in article U6ZSj.300980$%k.405401@twister2.libero.it,
"Zotto" <zottononmispammare@inwind.it> wrote:

>
> "Larry Harvilla" <larry@phatpage.org> ha scritto nel messaggio
> news:ItidnSMmPNfomoHVnZ2dnUVZ_oqhnZ2d@giganews.com ...
>
>> ... intentionally running it out to figure out where the
>> run-out point is, and using the can's contents just to get to the
>> nearest gas station, I shouldn't cause any permanent damage to anything,
>> right?
>>
>
> Wrong You could seriously dmage the fuel pump, better to fill fule asap
> when light comes on.
>
>

** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **

Brian Nystrom

B.C. MALLAM wrote:
> This brings up a question, I siphon fuel from my car for my mower however I
> am unable to siphon from my new '08 Elantra, this is with a full tank. Any
> ideas?

How about taking your gas can to a gas station and filling it???

Most cars are designed to prevent siphoning and gas theft.

Brian Nystrom

Zotto wrote:
> "Larry Harvilla" <larry@phatpage.org> ha scritto nel messaggio
> news:ItidnSMmPNfomoHVnZ2dnUVZ_oqhnZ2d@giganews.com ...
>
>> ... intentionally running it out to figure out where the
>> run-out point is, and using the can's contents just to get to the
>> nearest gas station, I shouldn't cause any permanent damage to anything,
>> right?
>>
>
> Wrong You could seriously dmage the fuel pump, better to fill fule asap
> when light comes on.

Correct. More to the point, why would anyone be so obsessed with knowing
exactly when his car is going to run out of gas? Larry, are you actually
going to push the limit all the time? Do you really need the extra
stress and worry that creates? How stupid will you feel if you run out
of gas because you calculated that the car should go at least another
two miles or you let it go too low between highway exits? What possible
benefit could you derive from this, especially considering that a fuel
pump will cost you several hundred dollars if you trash it by frequently
running the tank too low.

When it gets low, fill it up. End of story.

hyundaitech

I don't have many accurate answers for you, Larry. That's mostly because I
don't have a Sonata as my daily driver, and these are probably questions
that only the drivers and engineers of the cars can answer.

To the best of my knowledge, there is some sort of buffer because they
don't want you to run out of gas, and also because the fuel pump will
never be able to pick up every last drop of fuel. That's the most likely
explanation behind your fill-up measurements.

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hyundaitech

There's a one-way valve where the fuel enters the tank during fill-up.
This safety feature helps prevent fuel spillage in the event of a
rollover.

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