Oh no! Not again...

Seems kinda dumb to wait for the low fuel light to come on before buying fuel.

Since so many folks seem to favor a nanny-government which cares for their every need and removes even the smallest of risks from day-to-day living, I guess Subaru figured they needed a nanny-car too ;-)

Sorry state of affairs, really...

Its a good idea to fill-up when half-tank empty to dilute new gas with old. If you happen to get bad fuel it reduces the chance of trouble. it is particularly important for turbo engines that can suffer damage from detonation if lower octane gas is put in.

Also good practice when on the road, filling up from unknown sources, small town gas stations etc.

Basia

I grocery shop at Cub which gives me 10 cents off per gallon for every $100 purchased. The credit expires after 2 months. It is usable at any Holiday gas station, not at a store-specific station (like with HyVee). I drive very little nowadays, so I have to remember to use my gas credit before it expires. I hate when I could've saved 70 cents per gallon just because I lapsed by a day, or two. The more I put in the more I save; however, I'm usually constrained by the expiration but I have pushed refilling the tank until after the next grocery trip.

I usually go by what the gas gauge says is the fuel level, so I refill when it gets to about a quarter of a tank but I've pushed further. For local trips, I don't rely on the low-fuel light. It's when I take long trips often using the cruise control that I neglect to sufficiently monitor the fuel level. I wish they would add a beep to the low-fuel light (which can be disabled or enabled but defaults to enabled while the cruise control is enabled). I'm driving hundreds of miles and, oops, the light warns me that I'm getting too low. Nice to have. Worthless if it doesn't go on until the tank is empty, or not at all. Since it has been added -- it really isn't an option for a long time -- it really should operate correctly. It's there, it's part of what you paid for, so why wouldn't you want something you paid for to work?

While my tires have a wireless pressure sensor, that's nice despite I inspect my tires before a trip (but not when just driving a dozen miles to go shopping locally). I wish they had one on the spare tire. My cargo area has a toolbox, crate with coolant, blanket, straps, rope, fire extinguisher, water bottles, etc, a bag with more tools, tow strap, and so on which are atop the cargo floor door to the spare tire, so I don't often check its pressure. It's been a long time since I had a flat, took out a spare, and only then found it was flat. Luckily I rarely get flats while driving, mostly just very slow leaks, like at the valve. I'd rather have an easy way to monitor the spare's pressure than rely on me emptying the cargo area to use a pressure guage. I'm not immune as with other drivers that do check their tire pressures before a trip but forget to check the spare. Oops.

I'm willing to spend money on preventative maintenance than spend the same, or more, for a catastrophic event. I'd rather catch a problem beforehand than be stuck on the shoulder waiting for AAA (if I'm still in a spot where I get enough cell signal strength). AAA or any roadside assistance plan is like insurance: I pay for it but hope and plan not to use it. I also don't want to rely on my cell phone to get me out of a jam that could've been avoided with monitoring and maintenance; however, I do carry an empty gas can, just in case, and coolant, engine oil, and other emergency supplies in case monitoring and maintenance didn't work (just more insurance of assurance).

Boy, I'd sure never let the car get that low on a long trip. I rarely do it even around home where there are lots of gas stations.

No, but probably not lower than a quarter tank.

At home, I try (and succeed fairly often) to refill when I'm down half a tank. I have friends about 150 miles away where I can go should I need to get out of the Bay Area in a hurry. (I live between two major earthquake faults.) I don't want to have to count on finding gas between here and my friends' house.

Patty

Oh, okay. Yes, I have reasonably priced name-brand gas within a few miles of me.

In my Outback, a quarter tank will get me well over 100 miles.

Patty

Subaru had their airbag recall, too. If you go to Subaru's recall site

there's a notice about the Takata airbags. Clicking on "Read More" takes you to their info page which says: if your vehicle requires a recall service, we recommend that occupants not use the front-passenger seat until the repair is performed. In other articles, I found:

"In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the front airbags, these inflators may rupture due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling," said NHTSA in its recall summary. "An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants, resulting in serious injury or death." Geez, safety gear that turns into a shrapnel bomb. Hmm, even if it weren't applicable to your car, maybe you could use it as an excuse to put the wife in the back seat with the kids (sly grin). "No dear, I'm just thinking of your safety" (with a chuckle diverted into a cough).

On line Consumer Report: