Fuel guage math question......?
 

How many lights have to be out, to put in $20 worth of gas at $2.70 / gal. ?

Half plus one.

Consider a remedial math course..;)

nine lights out = good answer
 

you passed ( I think?) .......lol

7 lights have to be out, for the whole $20.!

It depends. Your fuel gauge indicators depend on your average MPG - not actual fuel left in the tank.

No it doesn't. The lights are calibrated to estimated volume remaining.

The miles remaining display in the LCD read out is according to your MPG.

^ Really? I thought I read somewhere in the manual about this. Well I guess that'll make me feel a bit better.

There are 16 little lights for the fuel guage, correct?

Yes - I noticed this today at the dealer while getting my oil changed lol.. its kinda cool... 16 gal tank w/ 16 little lights ... so ... for all the not so mathematically inclined that's 1 light per gallon of fuel left ha ha... Kinda neat actually - I like that more than the stupid needle

^Fuel tank (gals.) 19.0 <according to Nissan web site.

But were in agreement on 16 lights!

16 lights, 19 gallons. It would make a little bit of sense if there was 3 gallons remaining after the last light goes out, but that is too logical....... Ah me!

$20.00 divided by $2.70 a gallon=7.40 gallons

So how many lights is 7.4 gallons?

$20.00 divided by $2.70 a gallon=7.40 gallons

19 gallon tank divided by 16 lights=1.18 gallons per light

7.40 divide by 1.18=6.27 lights off, so you need "7 lights off" to get the whole $20.00 in the tank.

Correct me if I'm wrong!

Bingo ! That should do it........ except that I have been lead to believe the tank still has "x" amount of fuel in it after the last light goes out? Wouldn't that mean that each of the 16 lights equals less than the 1.18 gals?

I pay no attention to the lights, but when the warning comes up in the window it usually takes 16.XX gallons...

I know lately that $20 gives me half my lights back ;)

So, in summary.....assuming gas remains about $2.50, if more than half the lights are out, it should take $20 worth, no problem?

Speaking of fueling up the car... you guys notice the fuel nozzle doesn't go in as deep? I actually put more more effort keeping the nozzle in and upright. It feels like it doesn't go in deep enough [knock on wood].

After the last light goes out, you should have, "I'm guessing/assuming 2 to 3 gallons".
"But if you take it that low, you're going to suck up the crap and gunk from the bottom of your tank"! Not a good thing to do! I wouldn't go below a quarter of a tank!

Half lights, $20.00 for sure!

Sounds good. Mysterious lights solved.

I average about 18-20 miles, after the last light has gone out. At that point, the amount of gas that I can fill up is just about 19 gal, usually around 18.7-18.8gal. The 18-20 miles that I drove, I did this 2 or 3 times, was a mix of highway and city driving, but more on the city side. In that situation, I usually average around 18-20mpg, as I've been watching this stuff pretty carefully.

CONCLUSION: There is approx. 1, maybe close to 1.5gal left in the tank once all lights are out. Also, seeing how its a 19 gal tank, subtract the 1 or 1.5 gal above (from conclusion) that leaves say 17.5 gal that are spread out over 16 lights...or approx. 1.1 gal per light.

Hope this helps :)

91 octane at $2.50/gallon?? Jesus wept...cheapest I've seen recently was $2.99 (ARCO). :driving:

I don't watch the lights, I use the miles remaining display in the LCD and when it gets to about "50 miles left" I get gas.

91 was $1.99 for a while here in OK but has gone up to about $2.50 since last 2 weeks of May.