My 84 Camry Shop Manual and Owner's Manual say that my fuel tank capacity is 14 US Gallons. My fuel gauge reads empty after having used 10 gallons. I've had the car for two years so I'm not sure if the gauge is accurate but assuming it is; Is there a 4 gallon reserve that doesn't show on the gauge? Anybody have an idea?
Simple test. Run it until it is actually empty (the engine stops), then see how much it takes to fill it up. Hint: carry a spare gallon or two of fuel in the trunk, as you will probably not be next to gas pump when the engine quits.
But yes, on every car I have ever owned, once the gauge is on "E" (empty) there is a reserve of some amount in the tank. Otherwise, a lot of people would be stranded out of gas.
Merritt
I have a bunch of old Toyotas. What happens is, the guage develops a 'dead' spot, where it either doesn't move at all for a while, or it drops all of a sudden and you have half of what you had before.
Most Toyota tanks are 13.7 gallons with w .3 gallon reserve.
many cars use an in-tank fuel pump; in some cars (eg Saturns, at least the older ones), this pump can be damaged by running them dry. I don't know if older Camrys are this type. It would be a good idea to carefully track the number of miles on each tank using your trip odometer, but I would not deliberately run it dry, just in case. (For what its worth, I have pumped up to 15.2 gallons into my 1992 Camry but I don't know how close that is to running dry- probably very)
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