95 SVX Gas Guage accurate?
 

I have owned this car a month now. The gas guage goes to E, without the low fuel light going on. When I fill it up it only takes 13 gal. The owners manual says it has a 18 gal tank. Is it normal for there to be 5 gallons while reading E. The owners manual says that the low fuel light comes on when there is about 2 gal. remaining. I never take a chance driving far when the needle reaches E, so the low fuel light never goes on. Does anybody else have this problem??? I am avg 250mi per fill up at 13 gal.

Re: 95 SVX Gas Guage accurate?
 

I think, it sounds normal to me. You may need to try letting the needle goes further down. How lower was your lower? But, I am not sure if there's any problem with your fuel gauge.

When my fuel warning light came on, after about 10miles, I went to the gas station, I bought about 15gal. of 220miles(purely city stop-and-go driving). Your mileage sounds right if you mix driving with interstates.

Try letting the "needle" go lower, if you "dare", and you may see the 'orange' warning light. :D I asked myself to try as low as possible.....the most I only bought like 16.X gal. of premium. It's 18.5 gallons tank. I read someone bought a tank of gas about 18.X gal. - real low. However, I think that's not too good to try....I don't want to push my car while idling on uphills. :D

Re: 95 SVX Gas Guage accurate?
 

That sounds about right. The tank in the SVX is 18.5 US gallons. Like other AWD Subarus, it's a saddle-type tank because it has to straddle the driveshaft. Subaru seems to have some difficulty making the float sensors work in these cars - My wife's Legacy, my Mom's Legacy and SVX and my SVX, GL and Justy ALL show that the tank is empty when I have sufficient fuel remaining.

From the SVX FAQ, Courtesy Terry McLane:

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What's with the pessimistic gas gauge?
There has been a lot of discussion regarding the pessimistic gas gauge on the early SVX models. The gauge would read empty when in fact it still contained 4-5 gallons of gas. The fact is, the SVX uses a 'saddle' tank, and uses a jet pump (venturi effect) driven by the return fuel from the pressure regulator to transfer gas to the pickup side of the tank. The tank uses two floats, so I surmise that the pickup sensor is off. You'll find that you can run on empty for a long, long time. The car is rated at 17mpg city, and 24 mpg highway, and has an 18.5 gallon tank, so you should be able to easily go 300 miles on a tank. When my car reads empty ('92), I normally can only get about 13 gallons in it. At least I've never run out of gas.

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I've personally NEVER seen my low fuel light, even when the needle has hit the bottom of the "warning track." It is scary. One thing to remember, however: many who've actually run out of gas have had fuel pump problems down the line. The SVX fuel pump does NOT like to suck air.

I pretty much concur with the others. I was determined to get the low fuel light to appear, so I drove on E for a good 50 miles & was about to give up, when heading for a fuel stop, the light came on. Even so, I could only squeeze 15 point "something" gallons into the tank. At least I know now I could drive another 50-75 miles after the light appears.
Ron.

When I commuted in the SVX (30mi a day), I drove on a fill-up until the day that the gas light came on. Even if it came on when I left my garage in the morning, I knew I could get to work and back just fine.

When I was driving home from AutoFest, I tried to get all the way home from Evanston, IN on one tank. Using my GPS to show actual mileage left and estimating the efficiency, I figued I could get home with a little to spare.

I ended up driving for well over an hour, probably closer to two, with the gas light on. Then the GPS freaked out and I lost confidence in its measurements for the past few hours, so I wimped out with around 15mi to go.

I would have made it with, get this, exactly one gallon to spare.

Sounds like you have a perfectly normally functioning SVX gas gauge. :cool:

plenty to go
 

my '92 shows empty at 8 gallons remaining and the light comes on at 3 gallons remaining. this is great for my 80+ m/day communte. and let me tell you, going until the little light comes on lets me feel like im living right on the edge. whatch out! i might just listen to FM on the ride home!

Re: plenty to go
 

Ah, another "mega commuter." Mine is exactly 40 miles each way for 80 m/day. Kindred spirits. :D

Re: Re: plenty to go
 

Hmmmmmm. Eighty miles/day times 5 days/week = 400 miles/week. That's not all that much. ;)

Re: Re: Re: plenty to go
 

Not in an SVX it isn't. :D When you have one. :mad:

I bought my svx last april and it was june when I figured out there was a fuel light on her. My needle hits E with about 5 gal in the tank and the light comes on with 4 gal in the tank. And I get about 250-280 miles for 15gal in the winter and last summer was getting over 300 per 15gal. (I say 15gal because I have never ran her lower then that.)

mega commuting
 

the commute has gotten soooo much easier with the SVX. ive got it down to about 30 minutes each way it nice to live in a rural area (advise- buy the valentine one). i sold my 99 wrangler after i did the math and found between payments, insurance and gas it was $600 a month (gasp!). when in the groove, the gas light is a god send. should i? no, no light. can i? no no light. will i? no, theres the light.

Back OT
 

I had a thought today (and I didn't even hurt myself), carburetors in the 70's and 80's started using a plastic 'foam' type float. It was cheap ($) and it was cheap (crap) - after a couple years the float would lose its ability to float and allow excess gas into the carburetor. OEMs have been using the same material for sending unit floats for some time now, mainly because they're cheap ($). I wonder if the floats in the SVX are doing the same, beginning to 'sink' and registering low fuel levels.

The reason I question this is because I don't recall this being an issue in my '92 when it was new. But it certainly is a problem in my '94 now. Maybe someday when I get good and bored I'll pull the floats out and replace them with some from another car (they occasionally come with new fuel pumps.)

Beav

My wife, who commutes 41 miles each way with the SVX each day, regularly gets 400+ miles out of a tank of gas. In fact, she usually fills up at around 420. I don't have that kind of noive.