Does the Range shown on the dash have a "safety" factor?

There must be some sort of safety factor built into the Range "miles to empty" listed on the dashboard. Tank capacity is listed at 14.8 gallons. On its last tank we ran the Range down to only 15 miles. Yet it only took 11.8 gallons to fill it up to the pump shut-off point.

As an aside, I used to fill my Integra's tank to the brim every time, to the point where I could see the liquid gasoline in the filler hole. I got 100% accurate MPG calculations that way. Later I read about how overfilling the tank can cause issues with the fuel system, return lines, tank pressure, etc, etc. so I stopped doing that. For a number of years I have always just let the pump click off by itself and be done with it. Sometimes the tank is filled a little more, sometimes a little less, but long term it averages out the same.

So anyway, on that last tank we drove the car 311 miles, and for 11.8 gallons that's about 26.4 MPG, best so far since we bought the car. But really I should have been able to go quite a bit more, right? Like another 50 miles or more, given a 14.8 gallon capacity, right?

Interestingly, after filling the tank it said Range: 364 miles. My app on my phone that keeps track of vehicle fuel and maintenance calculated that I could go 367 miles on a tank, given average MPG and tank capacity, so almost the exact same! Can't wait to see how it does on a road trip.

I have gone 40 miles past Range= 0 personally, and not by choice... Who needs that kind of stress LOL. (boom02)

For those that do decide to push it, make sure that you make note, or reset one of your trip meters on the odometer so you can keep a running log of how many miles it has been since you hit "0" on the Range.

The consensus is that there is 2 gallons of usable fuel remaining on flat level ground when the Range hits 0. Your MPG will be important here.

as a further note, AWD versions have .5 gallons more capacity at 15.3 gallons vs 14.8 for the FWD.

mazdadude said:

The consensus is that there is 2 gallons of usable fuel remaining on flat level ground when the Range hits 0. Your MPG will be important here.

Click to expand...

I think the consensus is more that there might be up to 2 gallons of fuel when range hits 0.
The 2013 service manual says range goes to 0 at 6L (2US galons, 1 Imperial gallon).
6L = 1.58 Gallons.
When I fuel up at range 0 I usually pump in just under 13 gallons, so the 1.58 gallons remaining at range 0 seems closer to reality than 2 gallons.


there is also this thread.. poor focus ran out with 12mi indicated range!
https://www.reddit.com/r/cars/comments/4w4t66/til_that_a_2013_ford_focus_can_run_out_of_gas/

Yes. A forum member DBLXX who had traded in his 2016 CX-5 AWD GT due to transmission problem actually did a dry tank test on his brand new CX-5 last August. He drove 516 miles in total with full fill-up, to the top of the filler neck, to 62 miles past when the range indicator initially said "0 Miles to Empty."

1st full fill to dry tank drive

Just FIY for people who don't know, CX-5 AWD has bigger gas tank - 15.3 gallons, than FWD which has 14.8 gallons.

About 2 gallons. How long that last 2 gallons lasts depends on driving conditions...

Thanks, I've been calculating (phone app) 24-26 MPG so far with 3 fill-ups, pretty much all city driving. Haven't tested it yet on a road trip with all highway driving.

Saw an article last month that roadside service calls were way up the last year or two according to AAA.
They said it was mostly due to people trying to use the Range Till Empty gauge as a reliable source. They recommended just never letting your car drop below something like 1/4 tank or something.

I'd bet it's different for every CX-5.

I've been told by dealership it's about 50 km depending on driving condition, my Mazda3 was about the same (oh that was not a fun day)