Question for Hyundaitech re: low fuel behavior, 07 Sonata

Long-time lurker, once in a blue moon poster, who nonetheless appreciates the hard work you put in on this group. :)

I wanted to ask a few questions about the various behaviors of the 07 Sonata (SE V-6, if it matters) when it is running low on fuel. I've seen a few things in the hmaservice.com shop manuals, but I'm still not clear on a few others.

-- The low fuel warning light, lower right corner of the dash, should come on at 9 L (~2.4 gals) of fuel remaining, correct?

-- I've noticed how the range calculation in the trip computer (immediately above the odometer) goes to all dashes and blinks once it estimates less than 30 miles of range remaining. Once, I ran the car 20 miles past the point where the blinking dashes started, so theoretically I should have had 10 miles of range left, or roughly a half gallon.

However, only 16.3 gallons of fuel then went into what is claimed to be a 17.7 gallon tank. Does the Sonata do something like, e.g., my friend's Honda motorcycle, and tell you 'you're empty and you'd better fill up NOW' when you really still have about a gallon in the tank?

-- How accurate would it be, in your estimation, to watch for the start of the dashes, then add 30 to the odometer and figure that's the stalling-out point? Or, to ask it another way, have you seen Sonatas go significantly more or less than 30 miles on the dashes?

-- If I felt crazy enough to experiment with it, by carrying a gas can in my trunk, intentionally running it out to figure out where the run-out point is, and using the can's contents just to get to the nearest gas station, I shouldn't cause any permanent damage to anything, right?

Reply to
Larry Harvilla
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In 46 years of automobile ownership I've never had a car with a gauge that was truly accurate or linear. Every one that I've had with a warning light seemed to be pessimistic but I've never tried to prove it.

OTOH, with the price of gas going up on a regular basis, I try to fill up around a half tank because waiting can add another dime a gallon or so.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

"Larry Harvilla" ha scritto nel messaggio news:ItidnSMmPNfomoHVnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com...

Wrong :) You could seriously dmage the fuel pump, better to fill fule asap when light comes on.

Reply to
Zotto

This brings up a question, I siphon fuel from my car for my mower however I am unable to siphon from my new '08 Elantra, this is with a full tank. Any ideas?

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Reply to
B.C. MALLAM

How about taking your gas can to a gas station and filling it???

Most cars are designed to prevent siphoning and gas theft.

Reply to
Brian Nystrom

Correct. More to the point, why would anyone be so obsessed with knowing exactly when his car is going to run out of gas? Larry, are you actually going to push the limit all the time? Do you really need the extra stress and worry that creates? How stupid will you feel if you run out of gas because you calculated that the car should go at least another two miles or you let it go too low between highway exits? What possible benefit could you derive from this, especially considering that a fuel pump will cost you several hundred dollars if you trash it by frequently running the tank too low.

When it gets low, fill it up. End of story.

Reply to
Brian Nystrom

I don't have many accurate answers for you, Larry. That's mostly because I don't have a Sonata as my daily driver, and these are probably questions that only the drivers and engineers of the cars can answer.

To the best of my knowledge, there is some sort of buffer because they don't want you to run out of gas, and also because the fuel pump will never be able to pick up every last drop of fuel. That's the most likely explanation behind your fill-up measurements.

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Reply to
hyundaitech

There's a one-way valve where the fuel enters the tank during fill-up. This safety feature helps prevent fuel spillage in the event of a rollover.

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Reply to
hyundaitech

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