It seems to be an unwritten law of motoring that your refuel light comes one just as you sail past the exit for the motorway service station. The next fuel isn’t for 25 or 30 miles – will you make it? It’s a stressful situation, especially as the empty light doesn’t always give an accurate indication of just how far you can go without running out of fuel. Every car is different, but in most vehicles the light will come on when the tank gets to between 10% and 15% capacity. Some cars have a two-stage warning system, whereby the light will come on at around 10%, and then start to flash when the reserves get even lower.

Digital Readouts

Many modern vehicles have an onboard computer which gives more accurate predictions of how far you can go based on the speed you’re currently driving. These are perhaps more accurate than simply looking at the gauge and guessing, but shouldn’t be relied on either. There are plenty of motoring blogs which will tell you about people who have carried on for 10 or even 20 miles after the gauge hits completely empty, but it’s a seriously risky strategy.

Help – I’m Not Going to Make It

If you’re on the motorway and are sure that you don’t have enough fuel to make it to the next filling station then what do you do? The signs you are running out of fuel include feeling the car start to stutter or fail to accelerate. If you realise that’s what is happening, then pull over to the side of the road as soon as it is safe to do so. If you’re on the motorway, stop on the hard shoulder. From there, you have a few options. If you’re a member of one of the major breakdown companies, they might be able to come out and rescue you with some extra fuel. Alternatively, you could call a friend or family member and ask them to come out and meet you with a fuel can. The least preferable option is leaving the car and walking along the motorway yourself to get fuel, as it comes with the very real risk of being involved in an accident with moving traffic.

Carrying Extra Fuel

Another option is to carry some extra fuel with you at all times, but is this a good idea? It’s never a good idea to be carrying around litres of very flammable liquid in your car’s boot, just on the off chance that you might run out of fuel. It’s far better to have a better plan for filling up your car when you have the opportunity, and not getting to the stage where you’re running on empty.

Is my Fuel Gauge Faulty?

If you think that your car is showing as empty when there is plenty of fuel left, then it’s worth flagging it up with a mechanic when you book your car in for its MOT test. They should be able to test whether it’s faulty, or just over sensitive.