bigalpha Posted September 27, 2013 Report Share Posted September 27, 2013 Recently went on vacation (drove to SLC from southern AZ). At one point, we were climbing a mountain to go visit a park. I had a quarter tank of gas and a lot of miles registering on the DTE screen. Fast forward a few minutes and I was down to low double digit miles (DTE) and not a gas station in sight. I was literally watching the miles tick off of the DTE one by one every 100 feet or so. So, we turned around to use the remaining fuel to get to a gas station. I coasted down about 4-5 miles of the mountain in single digit DTE. What's strange is that the miles were still ticking off even though I wasn't using the gas motor. Also noticed something weird with the gas gauge. It went down to E, then blipped under it, then came back up then showed fuel in the tank. I got to the gas station with 0 DTE. I pumped 12.2 gallons and the car registered it burned 11.3. Car never shut off, though, and the gas motor kicked in a wee bit to help up a small hill. What's up with the gas gauge? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jus-A-CMax Posted September 27, 2013 Report Share Posted September 27, 2013 Search for my Nutz thread...the DTE is based on your recent history and on that day I was climbing mountains and coming down mountains so I was making DTE work overtime. You thought your DTE was weird...you ain't seen nuthin, lol. By the way, rule of thumb is that you have 20-30 miles left after DTE goes zero. The actual miles depends on whether you top off or not. So unless you are playing the hyper :) mile game, best to keep to DTE. If you are playing the game, always use the Trip computer "gas used" and keep the cut off point at 13.00 gallons used. Unless you are :twister: like ptjones, Matt or I.... :dance: hybridbear 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigalpha Posted September 27, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2013 Well, that makes DTE essentially useless, no? Especially in a rolling computerized spaceship... I never top off - but I guess that's why the fuel gauge bumped back up; to show that there was some fuel left? I never intentionally run the car that low on fuel, this was an oversight on my sightseeing while driving! lol Have you noticed the fuel gauge changing before? I've noticed it even with much more fuel in the tank. The level will be dropping then all of a sudden, it'll go up a smidge. hybridbear 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C-MaxSea Posted September 27, 2013 Report Share Posted September 27, 2013 (edited) Keep in mind that the 'car' is doing it's best to guess what your future road grades/driving habits will be based on the immediate past. It has to mesh what gas miles are left at xx mpg with what no-gas EV miles might be ahead at xxx mpg.; and it can only guess based on it's most recent experience - has it just burned fuel up an 8% grade, or has it just experienced long stretches of EVing. Like Jus said, keep an eye on your fuel used, and know whether the road ahead is full of EV opportunity ('free miles'), or an uphill grind (there go my precious drops of gas). Nick PS Pick your comfort level of gallons used, 11, 11.5, 12, 12.5..... and stick to it. Edited September 27, 2013 by C-MaxSea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigalpha Posted September 27, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2013 I don't purposefully run on fumes, but it seems pretty crazy it doesn't tell you instantaneous DTE along with 'long term' DTE. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C-MaxSea Posted September 27, 2013 Report Share Posted September 27, 2013 (edited) Nice thought Alpha, if you mean fuel/gas miles to empty in addition to gas + EV miles to empty. I think that settings option will be in the 2015 model. Nick Edited September 27, 2013 by C-MaxSea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigalpha Posted September 27, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2013 Well, having gas+EV DTE, that could be interesting, but that's not what I meant. There should be a DTE that shows how far you can drive with the car in it's current state. So, if you're climbing a grade, your DTE will be lower. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jus-A-CMax Posted September 27, 2013 Report Share Posted September 27, 2013 (edited) Well, that makes DTE essentially useless, no? Especially in a rolling computerized spaceship... I never top off - but I guess that's why the fuel gauge bumped back up; to show that there was some fuel left? I never intentionally run the car that low on fuel, this was an oversight on my sightseeing while driving! lol Have you noticed the fuel gauge changing before? I've noticed it even with much more fuel in the tank. The level will be dropping then all of a sudden, it'll go up a smidge. Yes, I noticed that too...its digital (there was discussion of this as well) based on some postings about it. Yeah. DTE is useless, at least for me....but its helpful for others. Actually, I just tanked up and I should check and see what my DTE is right now...I'll be shocked if it says > 850....lol. Edited September 27, 2013 by Jus-A-CMax Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigalpha Posted September 27, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2013 It's things like the wiggly fuel tank reading that make me very hesitant to believe the 'fuel used' that the car reports. Guess I'll have to run it down all the way to see how many gallons the car says it uses before the motor dies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtb9153 Posted September 27, 2013 Report Share Posted September 27, 2013 Yes, I noticed that too...its digital (there was discussion of this as well) based on some postings about it. Yeah. DTE is useless, at least for me....but its helpful for others. Actually, I just tanked up and I should check and see what my DTE is right now...I'll be shocked if it says > 850....lol.after I tanked up after my 602 my DTE said 562 miles before it would say like 350, interesting it is relearning I guess? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C-MaxSea Posted September 27, 2013 Report Share Posted September 27, 2013 (edited) Well, having gas+EV DTE, that could be interesting, but that's not what I meant. There should be a DTE that shows how far you can drive with the car in it's current state. So, if you're climbing a grade, your DTE will be lower.Yes Alpha, it is interesting, and I like your term "wiggly". I understood that you don't like the "wiggly", just trying to explain why it is "wiggly", and we do have to live with it - for now. Because we are driving a hybrid, and know more about the road ahead of us than the 'car', we will always have to assess the value to place in the DTE readout. I will talk to Uncle Alan about the dual option idea for 2015, changeable in settings :secret: . Nick (like the wiggly) Edited September 27, 2013 by C-MaxSea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armoredsaint Posted September 28, 2013 Report Share Posted September 28, 2013 DTE is just an estimate, especially when it's under 20 miles remaining. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hybridbear Posted September 28, 2013 Report Share Posted September 28, 2013 The gauge changes is because of the incline. We've noticed this often in our FFH. When the nose is higher than the tail the gas tank shows lower, when the nose is lower than the tail the fuel level according to the gauge increases. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigalpha Posted September 28, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2013 The gauge changes is because of the incline. We've noticed this often in our FFH. When the nose is higher than the tail the gas tank shows lower, when the nose is lower than the tail the fuel level according to the gauge increases. I thought so too, but I've noticed it changing even with steady incline/decline. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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