What's with men and gas gauges?

[Blondie]

And driving on empty?

DH comes home from running an errand and says (as I'm on the way out the door to drive the same vehicle) "the gas gauge is acting a little weird, it goes between acting full then acting empty and back again. You might want to keep an eye on it."

Huh?

So I get in, drive away and notice that it looks like something out of a Twilight Zone episode where I'm driving in between time warps or something. The needle was going back and forth between E and F and the "low fuel" light would light up on and off. Every now and then the needle would stop on half tank too.

So....since I know I haven't put gas in it since last week at the earliest, I decide to get gas to see what happens. That baby sucked up $33 of gas, the most I've ever put in that vehicle! It must've been bone dry.

Problem solved.

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

The same thing happened to me when a few years ago. I swear, my car sputtered to a stop in my driveway. The tank said it was half full.

It ended up being that the float was stuck on the inside of the gas tank.

 

[Blondie]

I'm hoping this is the end of the problem and that when I get back in it in a few hours it doesn't start acting weird again!

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

When it happened to me, my (ex) DH had been out of town for a week. The night before, I'd driven it with my two (young at the time) daughters in a bad part of Houston.

DH got home and we went out to eat and on the way home, the engine started acted funny. We barely and I mean barely, made it home. It literally died in the driveway.

It wasn't until about an hour later that it dawned on me that it had been ages since I got gas. Sure enough, once we filled it, it was fine. All I could think, was if it had run out of gas that night before - and this was before the age of cell phones being so prevalant - oooohhh, I don't even want to think how scary that would have been.

For the life of me, I don't remember taking it in to get fixed. I can't say for sure, but I think that was the only time it ever happened.

 

[NMAmy]

DH considers it some kind of badge of honor to try to get every little drop out before stopping for gas. It makes me crazy.

I never let the gauge get below 1/4 of a tank. He'd been driving my car one evening and the next morning I dropped dd at the bus stop on my way to work (it was like 6 degrees.) She wanted me to sit there and wait but I had to shoo her out of the car because my gauge was alarmingly close to E and the low fuel light was pinging away.

 

[Blondie]

It wasn't until about an hour later that it dawned on me that it had been ages since I got gas. Sure enough, once we filled it, it was fine. All I could think, was if it had run out of gas that night before - and this was before the age of cell phones being so prevalant - oooohhh, I don't even want to think how scary that would have been.

You had an angel looking out for you, no doubt in my mind!

 

[Blondie]

DH considers it some kind of badge of honor to try to get every little drop out before stopping for gas. It makes me crazy.

I never let the gauge get below 1/4 of a tank. He'd been driving my car one evening and the next morning I dropped dd at the bus stop on my way to work (it was like 6 degrees.) She wanted me to sit there and wait but I had to shoo her out of the car because my gauge was alarmingly close to E and the low fuel light was pinging away.

I'm like you, as soon as it hits 1/4 tank, I'm filling up again. I'll be out with DH and dare to mention that it's either at or below 1/4 tank and he'll say something like "we have at least 50 more miles to go before we run out!"

Um...I don't want to find out, especially since I drive home from work late at night!

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

I'm like you, as soon as it hits 1/4 tank, I'm filling up again. I'll be out with DH and dare to mention that it's either at or below 1/4 tank and he'll say something like "we have at least 50 more miles to go before we run out!"

Um...I don't want to find out, especially since I drive home from work late at night!

Are you married to my DH? He says the exact same thing! It makes me a nervous wreck, especially when we're traveling!

 

[MICKEY88]

you ladies might want to tell your husbands that they run the risk of fuel pump or engine damage by letting the tank get that low..

 

[lap3]

hahaha....that's too funny! I'm the same way! I'll drive the cars until near empty and fill up. DW will get upset with me because I do this. I always tell her that I know exactly how many more miles I can get out of it with a full tank of gas. I don't know why I do this. Maybe it's because I'm trying to cut down on the visits to the gas station! Who knows?....

 

[Chicago526]

My dad was famous for that, until the day it caught up with him!

We were on our yearly family vacation to MN to go fishing (we live in IL). Driving up to the lake, Mom noticed the fuel gauge was almost at E (This was early 80's and I'm not sure they had warning lights for low fuel back then) and told Dad that we'd better get off at the next exit.

Dad said "nah, we're fine for a little while longer".

Mom told Dad to pull over at each of the next three exits.

Half way between the 4th and 5th exit, the station wagon sputters to a stop, needle on E. Mom was NOT happy, and neither was Dad. He wasn't upset about having to walk several miles to a gas station, it was because he had to leave his wife and 3 kids alone on the side of the road! Dad started to hike to the gas station, but was lucky and got a ride both there and back by sympathetic drivers that picked him up (again, early 80's folks!) so he wasn't gone long.

Almost 25 years later, we STILL haven't let him live it down (afterall, it's funny NOW ). He's never run out of gas since, and usually fills up between 1/4 and 1/8 of a tank.

 

[Pooh_Friend#1]

My dad and SO is the exact same way, they will drive the car to the gas station on fumes and barely make it. I am waiting for the time my SO runs out of gas and I cannot wait to laugh at him and tell him told you so. Drives my mom and I nuts. I will fill up when it hits just below 1/4 of a tank.

 

[mickeyboat]

DH thinks I plot against him, because every time he gets in my car, it needs gas. I just don't notice the gauge that often, and the bell signal for low gas is often overshadowed by the volume of the radio. And I kinda plan it that way!

Denae

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

Men. We could have just as much fun by starting a thread, and leaving off the last word of this one's title.

 

[MsLeFever]

Are you married to my DH? He says the exact same thing! It makes me a nervous wreck, especially when we're traveling!

Mine is the same way! I like to fill up when the gauge is at 1/4 and DH must get some sort of adreniline rush when the gas light is on.

 

[Barkley's DH]

Just to let u ladies know that not all men are this way. I always fill up at 1/4 tank and DW will let it go down to E.

Of course DW also supports the theory that if she is running low on gas, then she should speed up so that she can get to the next station before it is gone. I keep trying to explain that this will just increase the full consumption - but she won't listen.

 

[monarchsfan16]

Coming home from my grandparents' after Thanksgiving we coasted into the gas station on fumes. We were in my mom's car which has one of those digital things that tells you how many miles you have left on that tank of gas. Leaving my grandparents' it was way below what we needed, but we'd been city driving, and pretty soon would be hitting the highway. So my stepdad refused to fill up. At every exit my mom begged him to fill up, but he refused, wanting to save money (it's cheaper closer to home). We somehow made it to our favorite gas station, but there were only 5 miles left on the tank according to the digital thing. I wasn't happy and mom was furious.
I'm one of those that fills up between 1/2 and 1/4 tank. It's less painful at the pump (my truck has a 20 gallon tank), and better for winter driving. My fuel guage also acts wierd once I have less than half a tank.

 

[MinnyGranny62]

We were on our way over the Mackinaw Bridge one summer...and I noticed the gauge was on E. I asked DH to get
some gas before we started across. He actually said that he
wanted to see if the light would come on that said he was low on
gas.

Oh and yes he did stop and get gas.

 

[Bella the Ball 360]

See this is the natural progression. Men do not like to ask for directions. It is an affront to their manhood. Where is the logical place to ask directions? A gas station. So the less they have to go to a gas station the more macho they feel. It is kind of like pulling a bullet out with your teeth if you were in the old west. No gas equals oodles of testosterone!

 

[kydisneyfans]

I base it totally on price-if the light or gauge is close to E-I MAY stop and get a few bucks if the price is high. If I know I will be in an area with lower prices-then the fill up will occur there. The trend here is that gas climbs about .20-.30 cents a gallon once a week, then drops about .15 the next day.

The way I see it is that if I can save .10/gallon x's 20 gallons a week-over the course of a year, I have saved enough gas money for a trip to Disney.

Any why can't women, or at least my wife, operate a gas pump. The last 2 attempts from my wife included an accidental drive off, as she thought she swiped the CC at the pump but it did not take, and the other was a tank full of premium when she should have bought unleaded.