Team-BHP - Matiz : A dumb question on "reserve fuel lamp"

Duh.. a real dumb one! OK, I still drive a Matiz, and love her especially for FE factor (16 km in city, 20 on HW). I usually fill her full and top it off. I won't usually refill till the reserve lamp glows indicating a low fuel in the tank.

I am not sure about at what level of fuel does that the lamp turns on? I usually won't take chance, so head for the nearest filling station (usually not requiring to drive more than 5 kms).

Can anyone tell me how many KMs can I possibly drive after the lamp glows?

That's not the wisest of things to do.

We understand, that you're trying to maxmize your fuel economy. However, driving till you're running on fumes (so to speak), is bad for the engine. Fuel always contains some impurities / residue which collect at the bottom of the fuel tank.

I'm not into techincal terms but as far as my layman's knowledge goes - when you drive till the fuel gauge reaches "E" and beyond, there is a good chance that these impurities might get sucked up by the fuel pump and clog / damage it.

Worst case scenario - they pass through the fuel filter and enter the engine - you don't want that! :).

As per your query - I'm speculating here - you should be able to drive approximately 50kms after your fuel reserve light turns ON, depending on prevailing traffic conditions, ofcourse.

The best practice is to tank up when the fuel level is low, like 1/4 th of the tank than waiting for the reserve light.
The main corcern is impurities, Debris, or water blocking the filter , orgoing to carb and your car getting stuck in middle of nowhere.

Thanks guys for your replies. Looks like I have been taking a costly risk with the engine. I will be more careful from now on.

Quote:

Originally Posted by adya33 (Post 657573)

You should have first checked owners manual as it clearly says that after reserve light glows you have about 5 to 5.5 liters of fuel

No user manual with me :( Thats why had to ask this question.

I dont see any issue waiting for low fuel lamp to turnup. Most of the cars have good enough fuel when lights comes up. My car shows up when there is 12 L of fuel there. In way its a good measure for calculating efficiency. But one shd check his car manual for exact figure for reserve fuel.

My Matiz has run 2,60,000 kms and I always drive till the fuel reserve light comes up without any adverse consequences. I find that most useful to calculate FE, it gives excellent results to calculate reseve light to reserve light. Incidentally, teh owners' manual DOES NOT mention the reserve light. I learnt of the reserve capacity from the Daewoo dealer, and also from my own measurements - I have got up to 70 kms on reserve before running out of fuel.

its anyday better to fill up when the fuel guage is at 1/4 th mark.

a) This will avoid water and rust in tank being sucked up by the fuel pump.
b) Prevents corrosion inside to a great extent since the tank will be splashed around with the petrol.
c) Lesser loss due to vaporisation.
d) Obvious peace of mind factor and flexibility to make any emergency trip etc.

In short it aint worth it to see the orange light guys.

My matiz usually runs 60+kms after the reserve lamp glows. And i get a FE of just about 10!!! but dont trust the matiz fuel guage too much as it is not at all accurate.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hvkumar (Post 657836)

My 2001 Matiz's owners manual indeed had information regarding reserve fuel light.

Yes it is upto 70 kms as per what the Service fellows had told me. And i agree with the threadstarter that this car is really a gem....not only in mileage but also in terms of the engine quality, i have been owning one for 6 years and not a single instance of engine trouble, though issues of rust have surfaced recently.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JayD (Post 658376)

My matiz usually runs 60+kms after the reserve lamp glows. And i get a FE of just about 10!!! but dont trust the matiz fuel guage too much as it is not at all accurate.

JayD,
I totally agree with that, i had to get the guage checked once....but only after it betrayed me, that too on the highway in Tamil Nadu where i had to walk 5 kms in the scorching heat to the nearest petrol bunk to get a litre of petrol...phew.