Question....does the distance to empty actually mean distance to empty, or do they give you more of a buffer when it ultimately gets to zero (meaning you can hit zero but as a safeguard there is some in reserve where you can keep driving a bit)?

Reason I ask is because its got a 23 gallon tank, currently showing about 18.5 MPG...filled it up last time, reset the trip, and I've used about about 18 gallons of gas. So in theory there should be 5 gallons of gas left. 5 gallons x 18.5 mpg should equal about 90-92mi until empty...but my currently DTE (again, with supposedly ~5 gallons of gas left) says about 40mi.

Just curious if this is normal or if maybe something else is going on.

 

I have a 2015 lariat with a 36 gallon tank and i've gone 40 miles on 0 miles to empty. that was all highway at 70 but still a good distance if you ask me.

 

There's probably a decent amount of fuel in there, but from what I understand you really do not want to run modern engines below half full.

Starts around the 1:00 mark.

 

^^^ Biggest load of BS I've ever heard lol just wow.

 

https://jalopnik.com/why-you-shouldn...gas-1796273605

That article says the exact same thing.

Deboss rebuilds engines, does full swaps, custom builds, etc on his channel, so I tend to believe his advice. Full time mechanic, owns his own garage (which he literally built himself.)

So, I kinda trust his opinion.

 

 

My 2014 is likely a lot like the newer ones. When it says empty it means you are down to about 15% or so left.

 

I dont know about about 1/2 way, but 1/4-1/8 for sure. The fuel keeps the fuel pump cool.

 

Posted many times. The tank has a reserve of roughly 2 - 4 gallons. DTE at zero gives you some room - but as stated your fuel pump is now not being cooled which will lead to failure eventually.

 

Reminds me of a Seinfeld episode.