# How accurate is the Miles remaining indicator?



## jmg3637 (Jul 17, 2006)

I know that it moves in 5 mile increments, but I would like to know how close it is. and the companion piece of information. 
Exactly how large is the tank?
I have been trying to see if I can get to 300 miles on a tank. On my last tank i got to 267 miles and took a little over 13.5 gallons for and average of 19.7

I started the day today at 262 with the display showing 40 left. After the first 4 miles it still showed 40, but over the next 4 miles it dropped like a stone down to 20. I am never far from a gas station so I will run it a bit further on errends today and see where it goes.


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## hobbittcar2 (Oct 16, 2007)

*Re: How accurate is the Miles remaining indicator? (jmg3637)*

The manual should give how large the tank is (I don't have mine in front of me).
As for the estimates, those are only going to be as good as the consistency of your driving. If you were a flat stretch of highway using cruise control, I bet it would be pretty accurate. Driving around town, who knows? How long are you waiting at lights? How may stops and starts? All of those things will prevent the car from having any truly accurate guess at how far you can go.


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## solarflare (Mar 28, 2007)

*Re: How accurate is the Miles remaining indicator? (jmg3637)*

I've found it to be fairly accurate in my Eos. One time the miles to go flipped to zero as I pulled into a gas station. I remember pumping over 14 gallons. I think the manual states 14.5 gallon capacity but I think it can hold more. Just last week I pumped 14 gallons, miles till empty was around 30 and the gas gauge was a little above empty rest. 
My Passat was not accurate at all. I consistently would have about 2 gallons left in the tank when the miles to empty would flip to zero. But the designers might have figured in the shape of the tank to that indication. Gas will be forced to one side of the tank on turns and hills. Just because you might have 1/2 gallon left doesn't mean you might be sucking air on exit ramps or steep hills.


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## Mr Fred Nerk (Jun 3, 2007)

*Re: How accurate is the Miles remaining indicator? (jmg3637)*

I am fairly sure that my "distance to empty" is not accurate. The warning comes on with 70km remaining but seems to drop to 20 over the next 10 km, regardless of how gently I drive. I have been too far from the fuel station and seen it reading zero but did not run out of fuel








My last car reported in the manual that when the distance to empty reached zero there was 20 litres remaining.







My wife's last car would run out of fuel when there was supposed to be 20 km to empty.








I would recommend that some spare fuel is carried if anyone is going to do the experiment and run their Eos to empty.







Any information about the results would be interesting.


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## jmg3637 (Jul 17, 2006)

*Re: How accurate is the Miles remaining indicator? (Mr Fred Nerk)*

I filled up with the tank @ 275 and the remaining had just turned from 20 mi to 15
the auto fill stopped @ 13.6 gal, but I topped it off up to 14.07 gal for just over 19.5 mpg.
I had read an article how the measure for a car should change from MPG to MPD ( Miles Per Dollar) as that is a much more meaningful number these days.
based upon the premium gas required and the prices in CA I was able toget just under 6 MPD


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## flith (Aug 5, 2007)

*Re: How accurate is the Miles remaining indicator? (jmg3637)*

I've gotten 420 miles off of a tank, all highway. The Dist to empty is a lot more accurate than my Nissan. I drove it approx 10 miles on the "0" to empty and it took 14.2 gallons.


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## Dan_Eos (Jul 16, 2007)

*Re: How accurate is the Miles remaining indicator? (flith)*

The best I was able to get (so far) was 410 miles and I filled in around 13.9 or so.


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## dqcvdtpda (Jul 21, 2006)

*Re: How accurate is the Miles remaining indicator? (Dan_Eos)*

All I can say is that I'm thankful the miles to empty isn't accurate when it hits 0.





















Many times I've had that look on my face searching for a Costco gas station in a strange area!


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## kpiskin (Apr 6, 2007)

*Re: How accurate is the Miles remaining indicator? (dqcvdtpda)*

I believe the DTE is fairly accurate, but I feel the gas gauge is kind of weird. I notice that I can routinely go 250-275 miles on what is reported to be half a tank of gas, but then over the next 100-150 miles I have an empty tank. The gauge doesn't really report linearly. 
The manual states 14.5 gallons for the tank, but I think there is a reserve. I don't know how big it is though. The reason I think this is because I routinely fill up with 14.2 gallons or so. The furthest I've gone on a tank of gas was 479 miles and averaged 33.7 MPG that I manually calculated. The trip computer told me I got 34.2 MPG. This was an unusual trip because I was driving down slower back roads, mainly at 55-60MPH, not at interstate speeds of 65-70MPH. However I still think that is incredible fuel economy for a heavy hard top convertible. FYI, I have the APR flash and that's why my fuel economy is a little higher than the typical Eos 2.0T FSI. I'm still in love with that little bit of programming. For only $600, 50 more horsies and an extra MPG boost. What's not to love?


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## WolfsburgerMitFries (Jul 4, 2005)

*Re: How accurate is the Miles remaining indicator? (jmg3637)*

In a related issue...
I'm not sure where the fuel pump is on the Eos, and there probably is a difference between the direct injected 2.0 that requires about 200 bar of pressure versus the 3.2 that only needs about 5 bar, but....
Many fuel injected cars have the fuel pump submerged in gasoline in the fuel tank. Believe it or not, the gasoline acts as a coolant for the pump (as long as there is enough gas to keep the pump submerged)and prolongs the life of the fuel pump. So if you are prone to drive until you are almost out of gas, or often drive with very little gas, you are shortening the life of the fuel pump by causing it to operate at a higher average temperature.


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## solarflare (Mar 28, 2007)

*Re: How accurate is the Miles remaining indicator? (WolfsburgerMitFries)*

Very interesting! And i didn't know the engine would run leaner with extreme low fuel level. Take notice








TB (90-07-02) for the following compliant:
"If a customer voices concerns that the trip computer does not correlate with the fuel gauge"
"Reason for the margin of error"
1. Helps protect the driver from being stranded
2. Helps ensure that DTC's are not set due to lean fuel mixture (related to extreme low fuel level).
3. Helps prevent misfire (related to extreme low fuel level)
4. Helps prevent catalytic converter damage, which my be caused my misfire.
5. Help ensure emissions guidelines are met.
6. No repair is necessary.


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