Fuel Tank Capacity 18.5g Question.

[immax01]

My '95 ES300 reports to have a 18.5Gallon fuel tank capacity. However, when i fill up at 1/4 remaining, it only fills up 9 gallons, and recently i couldnt find a gas station and i went pretty low, the low fuel light even went on, i think it only filled up about 13 gallons.

Does that mean i have over 5 gallons/100 miles left once my fuel gauge hits Empty and the light goes on? This seems wrong to me, although thats the way it seems to add up. Not that im going to start driving on low, but for informational purposes im interested. Thanks!!

[dcfish]

Although I do not have a ES anymore, My GS has a 19.8 tank, When my low gas light goes on I still have around 5 gallons left. Because when I fill up 14-15 gallons is all I can get in the tank.

[Sexus ES300]

yeah my 98 es does the same thing il have the gas light on the showing under an 8th of a tank and i can only fill up 14-15 gallons

[homemechanic]

the manufacturer built in this safety factor for those keep driving down to the last drop w/the fuel light warning. When the gauge hits empty, there is still 1-2 gallons left. This gives you a chance to get to the gas station.

if you really want to fill up to the max. capacity, you have to really top off the filling.

Most importantly, i would fill up when you are down to 1/4 tank. the fuel pump needs cooling. in order to displace the heat, it uses gasoline to carry the heat away from the pump to the walls of the tank. the less fuel there is in the tank, the less efficient the cooling will be and result in fuel pump failure in the long run. this is also the same for airplanes, but they have more than one fuel pumps as back-ups.